This is a hidden gem down McKillop that boasts a good selection of Korean dishes and the…read moreopportunity to grill your own meal! Not to mention the decor is classy and chic. I went with the bi bim bap, a classic that was cooked to perfection. Loads of toppings on purple rice. It was so delicious. You also get to add as much hot sauce as you desire. Plus there are unlimited sides like kim chi, pickled radish and seasoned onions. For a dinner meal coming out at under $20, it can't be beat! I would gladly come here again.

Having been to a number of Korean BBQ places in Melbourne (Oriental Spoon, Hwaro, Marroo) I would…read morehave to say this is one of the better ones. It's decked out decently enough; kind of has a warehouse feel complete earthy tones. I'd recommend dining in the basement close to the front for 2 reasons: 1. The smoke that inevitably billows out in korean bbq will rise and so if you're one of those poor buggers on the top floor, you will be copping 3 levels worth of bbq fumes 2. It's very close to the kitchen so your food comes out amazingly fast. One thing I must share are the desserts at this place which are absolutely amazing. The desserts are only 6 bucks a pop and you can have everything from black sesame ice cream, green tea cakes and ice-cream, lemon sorbet with jelly and black and white chocolate mousse. You'd easily expect to pay $15 for comparable desserts elsewhere. To understand my complex voting system, this place is a 4 for food, plus 1 for the dessert and minus one for the service, which was about as interesting and engaging as a wet lettuce leaf. They are attentive enough in that they bring out the food fast, and replace your grill as soon it gets blackened like coal, but as I've stated elsewhere, to get a 5, I need an experience with friendly casual banter! TIP: this place has unlimited lettuce and side dishes if you run out.

The food here was amazing, ambiance was very street Korean and comfortable, and the service was…read moregood - Sunday surcharge was a bit steep, but the meal made up for it.

Cute little Korean restaurant on Rose Lane, the "new laneway" in the Upper West Side building…read more Korean Table is surrounded by I Love Chicken, Hakoya Ramen, Kyoto Mart, and Rolling Nori - and it holds its own for sure! I came here on New Years Day for dinner. The menu is 6 pages long, but there is a picture of every dish, which makes it really helpful to decide (I assume especially if you're not Korean). I kept it classic and went with the beef bibimbap, and boy am I glad I did! The only adjustment I made was no bean sprouts. Served in a sizzling hot stone bowl, you'll have to control yourself for a couple of minutes to let the rice continue to cook and get all crispy on the edges. The server was quite sweet and asked me if I knew how to eat it when she delivered the bowl. I sheepishly said, "um, mix it all together?" and she nodded in approval and skipped away. All of the ingredients and flavors blended together perfectly, aided by a generous helping of gochugang (sweet/spicy red sauce). I added a grapefruit soju to wash it down. Like many places, you'll self serve cutlery (chopsticks, spoons, napkins) as well as water from the counter. Someone takes your order either at the register or your table (didn't seem to be rhyme or reason to which or why), and then drops off your food when you're done. Space is tailored to groups of 2 or 4, though one group of about 6 or 7 kids came in together looking worse for wear after NYE. Prices are about $15 each for most entrees. The food was delicious (see photos) and I will be back!

Great Korean/Japanese hidden away in the CBD. It's not down a typical laneway covered in graffiti,…read morebut next door to (or part of?) a car park. Don't let this less than glamorous location put you off. What it lacks in "cool location and ambiance" it more than makes up for in quality. Walk past the giant pictures of Kpop stars and you'll find it. Clean, quick, cheap and healthy. I'm all about Korean cuisine rather than Japanese, but I'm sure that's good too. Maybe not the place for a date, but perfect for healthy lunch.

Food was good. Nothing to complain about. Japchae and ttbeoki was really good. Galbi ok. Service…read morewas great. I ordered my beer first so I could sit and relax while I decided on what to eat but the cashier said that I had to wait till my food got there. A bit annoying but they said it's food and bev rules, not there's. Evidently w o food they cannot give u a beer. I get it, but by the time I got back to my table the beer, rice and sides were already there. I would definitely go back there again. Lady cleaning the tables was super nice. I asked her for directions and she even walked outside w me. It was recommended by a few people I had asked. Thank u for a nice experience

A super surprise about the food taste, spicy Chechen feet would be the number one recommendation…read more Impressed by the beer with light and sweet taste.

This was one of the worst dining experiences I have had. When my family and I walk into this…read moreestablishment we get a seat immediately with a kind waitress which we thought would be a great meal. Then my father notices that the dishes were not clean in the establishment showing how lazy or busy they were. I went downstairs to the bathroom and it wasn't the cleanest and just had a weird off setting feeling to it. The water was the final straw it tasted very funky and odd. Also it spilled every time we tried to poor it. As we were drinking the water my sister noticed a BUG IN THE WATER PITCHER. My family then decided to leave the establishment because of how disgusting that was. This aid a warning to everyone going to this establishment in the future. Make sure to check your water pitchers!

4.5 rating, but will round up for good value and portion sizes…read more It seems like Korea's reputation to produce fine things has been continuously growing over the past couple decades. 20 years ago, Korean cars and electronics didn't exactly carry with it a strong association with excellence. Today, they're an absolute giant in these regards - not to mention becoming an economic powerhouse. Korean food has also grown in popularity too, and one can go to many restaurants and find some "Korean-flavoured" dish on the menu. That preamble brings me to fried chicken. Even five years ago, how many non-Koreans would have drawn an association between fried chicken and Korean food? Flash forward to today, and Korean fried chicken has an association with excellence in a similar way that Samsung does with phones. At my final evening in Melbourne, I didn't really have a plan where I was going to eat, but when I spotted KFC (Korean Fried Chicken), the decision was made for me. One thing that stood out to me on the menu was the reasonable prices. $15 all in for a dozen large wings is a great deal almost anywhere. In a CBD in an Australian city, this is almost a steal. At this point in my trip, I was accustomed to tax and tip being worked into the menu prices and it was apparent that this meal wasn't going to eventually hurt my credit rating. Flash forward to the wings themselves, I ordered the soy+garlic. Very good wings, terrific value though I have to say I have had better. I'd say those were 4 star. The surprise of the meal was actually the ribs. The full rack came with fries and salad and was somewhere around $28. Loved, loved, LOVED the ribs. Honestly, the fries were just ok, the salad was just a salad, the aforementioned wings were a 4, but the ribs were so perfect that I just have to give the place 5 stars. That, and I think I paid about $50 all in for a massive amount of food for two people.

Food: 4/5 Service: 3/5…read moreCleanliness: 4/5 Decor & Style: 4/5 Bulgogi Hotpot was good/decent, but I've had better. I do like the ambience and having hot pot sitting on the streets, something I've never had before with Korean hot pot. This is a good place for late night dining.

Miznon was full, Busan was closed. We chose Ohsso at random off the street. We'd give Ohso a 3.3…read morewhich would round out to a 3.5 if that option was available. This is best described as a Korean cafe, I reckon. The space is pretty rough and ready and open to the street. Seating is on backless stools. The food is serviceable but without real wow factor. We chose the pork and kimchi dumplings to start. There were 6 to share not 8 as the server has promised, not that that was ever going to be a game changer with people as good humoured as us. The dumplings were good. We liked them and they disappeared with some speed. I chose the Seafood Jiim for main and my partner chose the Bulgogi Hot Pot. The hot pot was the dish. Silky smooth with good amounts of beef and onion, it's a beauty. Really nicely flavoured and we both loved it. A very generous serve on offer which we couldn't finish. The seafood dish wasn't as successful. Probably a strategic error on my part to order it. Overspiced for me. There was a good amount of seafood though and again the dish was a good serve. Note, the wine choice here is alarming. Basically there is no choice and the house wine is a NZ sav blanc, never our first choice. That is as may be. We had some unexpected entertainment during our meal. We heard the life story of the three people at the next table. Their mission seemed to be to speak so loudly, shout almost, that the whole restaurant could hear. As annoying as it was it was also strangely compelling.

Uncle Jung's is in amongst a group of smaller food outlets in the walk through of Melbourne…read moreCentral and Elizabeth Street, Menzies Alley. Having frequented its neighbour, Saigon Square countless times, I decided to mix things up and give Uncle Jung's a try and I was very glad I did. I went for one of the bibimbab bowls - here you choose your meat (or veg) of choice along with a combination of other vegetables like mushrooms, carrot, zucchini, etc along with a raw egg. I opted to try the Spicy Pork minus the raw egg. We chose to sit in the upstairs area that is shared by this group of food outlets and as with its sister stores, the food arrived quickly, was delivered with a smile and looked delicious. I could still hear mine sizzling away and loved the presentation with the addition of the mini chilli and soy sauce bottles on the side, enabling you to add as much or as little of these as you pleased. My only complaint would be that for "spicy pork", it didn't taste spicy at all - having been to other Korean restaurants in the past, I have come to learn that one chilli in Korean speak is the equivalent of three or more anywhere else! However, this was no biggy as I simply added chilli sauce to get it to the right heat level and devoured every last morsel of food. I definitely recommend making a visiting and trying one of the bibimbab bowls - I don't think it will be too long before I make a return visit! They also have a card you can get stamped and earn your 10th meal free - got to love a place that rewards your return custom!

If you are after a great Korean modern take. You have to try uncle Jung's. It offers Korean…read moretacos, Korean burgers, fried chicken, and chips with an awesome variety of sauces to choose from. Uncle Jung's used real nixtamal tortillas.. Not your usual imitation Mexican super market branded tortillas. If you feel like trying something completely new right in the cbd. Give uncle Jung's s shot and you won't be disappointed.

Tucked away in the top end of the Melbourne CBD is a secret well-guarded by the Asian community…read moreversed in the art of K-BBQ. There is definitely a specific set of techniques involved when consuming Korean Barbeque, as was evident when meeting fellow ATOTB's blogger Tiff at ChangGo for our death by pork. With both of us arriving in our oversized sack dresses and having starved ourselves for most of the day, we knew things were about to get serious. ChangGo doesn't take bookings after 6pm and I was advised to arrive early to secure our spot on the waiting list. We were relieved (and ridiculously hungry) when we were finally shown to our table an hour and fifteen minutes after arriving. Little did we know that we were about to coud go from being so hungry to so full in a very short amount of time. The 'death by pork' that I speak of involves of eight serves of pork belly in eight different flavours - wine, herb, ginseng, garlic, curry, hot, miso, and plain - and is placed on a table on a metre long plank. The pork is part of a set menu (Palsaik set, $52) that also includes the traditional accompaniments to K-BBQ (kimchi, pickled daikon, bean shoots, rice cake, spring onions, lettuce, steamed rice), as well as a Seafood and Tofu spicy stew (also interchangeable for a pork kimchi stew) - all intended to serve 2-3 people. Being rather petite little (competitive) Asian girls with a love for pork belly and all things K-BBQ, we gladly accepted the challenge. And boy, were we defeated. That bad boy definitely took it's toll on us, and I could not even look at pork for the next week. If ever there was a healthier way of eating pork belly, ChangGo seems to have found the answer with their angled grill plate allowing the excess fat to drip away. The seafood and tofu stew was a generous serve (it could easily feed four people as an entree), full of seafood and intensely flavoured, unlike the generic hot pepper paste flavour that most cheap Korean places offer in their stews. All of the flavours of the pork belly were well marinated and intensely flavoured, with the curry flavour being the only disappointment. Koreans aren't really known for their curry, and as curry fiends, Tiff and I were already quite wary - we would have expected and preferred a kimchi flavour! The waitresses were very attentive, ensuring that even the most rookie of KBBQ-ers were well looked after. Though there was a long line of diners waiting for our table, we were not made to feel rushed, and enjoyed our eight courses in as comfortable a time as possible when consuming eight serves of pork belly. Our commitment to the cause meant that we left ridiculously full bellies, an absolutely demolished table, and delirious enough minds to suggest the option of sharing an Asian icey dessert afterward. Word of warning: everything you say while in a pork belly food coma is stupid, and you should definitely not eat more until at least 24 hours later. Review originally posted on http://www.ataleoftwobougies.com

We arrived at this restaurant at 6:30 pm on a Thursday night only to find that there was already a…read morelong queue of people waiting outside. It took us 30 minutes to get in but it was well worth the wait. We tried the 8 flavours of belly pork set (8 slices of belly pork which came with some vegetables, 2 bowls of rice, seafood stew/hotpot and some dipping sauces) and it was perfect for 2 hungry diners. We loved cooking our own food on the hotplate (with plenty of help from the waitresses) and it was fun to try all the different pork marinades. It was delicious and very good value!!

Best value Korean bibimbap lunch in Melbourne cbd, hands down! So what's the deal? The lunch…read morespecial is a choice of either pork, beef or chicken with rice, and loads of mixed vegetables (beenshoots, pickled carrots, cucumber, radish, lettuce) AND a fried egg on top. For vegetarians, it would be everything sans meat/egg. Compliments to the chef, as the bibimbap is consistently awesome each time I come here. Think that's all? Guess again. A delicious miso soup AND a set of small side dishes accompany your meal. The side dishes can vary but it wouldn't be complete without kimchi of course! The others may consist of pickled radish, sweet potato, blanched beanshoots or fried tofu. If you ask nicely, they are usually happy to provide a free top up (unless it's just for regulars). Even if you're not on the VIP list, seriously a 3 course meal for the incredibly modest sum of $6.50 for a standard bowl or $8.50 for a sizzling stone bowl (if you prefer your rice crunchy) is THE bargain of the century. Most other Korean restaurants I've been to charge $$ for side dishes or don't give you any at all. These guys serve up an enormous quality and filling lunch for half the price of their trendier counterparts. Which leads me to bring up the fact that yes the interior is dated/old fashioned but I would prefer to call it traditional :) Adorned on the walls are posters of Korean celebs and events (eg. FIFA world cup) from years ago, which were not placed there as a kitchy homage to the Gen Y glory days, but there because they were cool and relevant back then, and the restaurant has actually been around for that long - they just haven't taken anything down. But by not renovating the interior, they are passing the savings onto us yay. Find me a better deal and I'll shout you lunch!

I stopped by Seoul House while attending the Australian Grand Prix. I ordered a spicy beef entree…read morewhich was delicious and also came with many sides. It was great value and delicious!

Bad service. The…read morefloors are not clean and they want you to remove your shoes. When I asked why when it's not sanitary, the waitress couldn't answer me except with an unkind shrug of her shoulders. And forced my party to remove their shoes. Rude. Plain rude. Not recommended. The place is not even ideal being hidden next to the hallway of a public carpark building. We left right away with our group of 14. Worst service ever.

Very affordable korean lunch spot. Inside a carpark! I tried tge $7 mayo bowl lunxh special. Pick…read morechili or non spicy and your choice of topping: beef, pork, chicken or tofu to be served with rice or noodles. They also provide barley water to go with your meal