Totally underwhelming…read more To start off the place smells like a deep fryer. If the food had been great I'd have been happy to overlook that but it wasn't. The starters we had (dumplings and pancakes) were fine but not amazing. The mains (#21 bibimbap with spicy pork and #55 the pork belly special with kimchi) however were utterly boring. I've just come back from a trip to Seoul and the food was amazing - nothing as dull as this was. Some of the dishes had some spice but no flavour. If this was my fist experience with Korean food I'd never try it again. As it wasn't I will try again - just not here.

One one my friends managed to break with the tradition of going out to the stock standard pubs that…read morewe tend to go to on a Sunday night and instead dragged all of us down to this place, a place that here and her boyfriend (not that they actually claim to be an item, but they always seem to be together, but that's another story) go to when we go to a place they don't like. Well, I have to say that while the restaurant was pretty nice (it's Korean) I wasn't all that impressed with my noodle dish. It started off okay, however by the time I got to the noodle at the bottom I simply couldn't finish it. Also, they don't split bills, which is a big put off for me, especially since I don't always carry spare cash on me. It's okay, but not one that I would be hurrying back to anytime soon.

We were back in Melbourne for the evening so for dinner, I wanted Korean BBQ. There's a ton of them…read morenear the Queen Victoria Market so after a quick search, we settled on Toodouri. This street houses three other KBBQ spots (Donwoori, Woo Ga and Hallah). Talk about stiff competition. We dropped in on a Tuesday evening (around 7:15pm). It wasn't too busy so everyone was sitting on the main floor but they do have an upstairs. This place is legit; the BBQ's are charcoal style. The menu had some happy hour specials (10:00pm to 1:00am) and daily specials (Monday to Thursday only). The rest of the menu consists of charcoal BBQ (beef, pork, chicken, seafood), set menus for 2/3/5-6 people, casserole (aka. hot pots), soups, main dishes and drinks. Service is great as they do all the cooking and cutting for you. They also changed our plates halfway and took out the hot charcoals when our last meats were done cooking (so that they didn't overcook). FYI: they give a 5% discount if you pay with cash. Otherwise, they charge you for using card (1.5%) and it has to be over $30.00 AUD. - Purple rice ($2.00 AUD) - oddly, you don't get any rice with the set menus so we had to order one bowl to share. - Banchan - you get three types (kimchi, bean sprouts and pasta salad) and it's unlimited refills. The kimchi actually impressed me as I'm not usually the biggest fan. Bean sprouts were good, pasta salad was boring. - Beef set B ($47.50 AUD) - beef bulgolgi, LA beef ribs and kimchi soup. They bring out a basket of lettuce wraps (the cheap kind) and pickled onions. The kimchi soup was fantastic! Great broth; again, tasty kimchi and there was a mix of tofu, enoki mushrooms, jalapeños and green onions. Bulgogi was nicely marinated and LA beef ribs were thin, satisfying bites. - Pork belly ($13.90 AUD) - this is their Tuesday charcoal BBQ special. You get three pieces of pork belly. They weren't too fatty and got crisped up on the BBQ. Another solid Korean spot. Reasonable prices, great service and tasty food.

Quirky and eclectic, but the food is tasty and reasonably proportioned for the price. Side dishes…read morequite generous with up to three refills each. Recommended.

Wonderful Place. Recently opened (in last 6 months) Seoul Kitchen has excellent service, with very…read moreattentive staff, and food that tastes amazing. You are able to have a la carte or the BBQ option where you choose your meat and vegetables and cook them yourself. They offer to cook the food in front of you if you prefer as an option. A definite must in the the area if you enjoy great service and great Korean food.

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 ambiance, vibe, and decor. A visual and audible treat. I especially liked the 80's music…read moreplaying throughout the dining room. Service is quick, friendly, and attentive. Good menu with a lot of interesting options. Tried three different appetizers and the winner was the sashimi. Wonderful flavors with king fish. The butter chicken with curry was excellent. Just wish it came with some naan to soak up that wonderful sauce. Cocktails are creative and great. Just a bit measured and small, but I get it. Would dine here again and again.

The ambience was very social. Seemed like everyone wanted to be here as there was a wait list and…read morevery limited seats for walk ins. Make reservations! They also have a downstairs bar too with seating that was also booked and packed. Nice variety of dishes, chef curated plates that were visually pleasing to the eye. The drinks while good and unique were carefully measured and extremely small for the price points. 3 cocktails and I didn't feel buzzed. I feel like Australia is very big on preventing intoxication. One of the few places that had knowledgeable staff and to my surprise actually nice and welcoming. I tried the BBQ Salmon wrapped in a banana leaf, braised beef curry, and a couple of drinks. Rather your traveling or a local who hasn't tried this place, it definitely should be on your radar. I was traveling from California and ChinChin was by far the most memorable dining experience I had.

It was quiet during the normal lunchtime rush so I enjoyed an eclectic mix of music as I sat in a…read moredimly lit room. Probably the first thing I noticed after the casual and natural art decor was that Yoku Ono is staffed by all females. It was quite uplifting to see! Having heard about their ramen, I went with the spicy miso with pork belly. With only three to choose from, I hoped they knew what they were doing. They sure did! It was a beautiful presentation in the bowl, with heaps of toppings. Four thick slices of pork belly, half an egg, mushrooms, bamboo shoots and nori. Not to mention all the slightly thicker made noodles. I'm not generally a chicken broth fan but they did well to season it with black sesame oil. I will say there was absolutely no spice. I'm not sure if they just served me with the regular miso ramen in error. It was still a tasty meal! I would return to try the tan tan men or something else from the menu. They have an impressive sake list and bar seating along with upstairs seating for the busier times.

With a distinct lack of real ramen on this side of the city I was pleasantly surprised to discover…read moreYoku Ono. It's a welcoming restaurant with nice ambience. The chicken karaage was enjoyable and well presented. At around $17 the ramen was fine, not in the class of some of the popular ramen joints in the city. I found the broth lacking in the depth of flavour I crave for in a bowl of ramen. The noodles were not to my liking and did not taste hand made. I also found the pieces of pork mostly consisting of fat. If you need ramen on this side of the city, it's the only real choice, personally I'd prefer to frequent some of my favorite ramen businesses in the CBD.

While Loi Loi is far from the best Vietnamese restaurant in the stronghold of this part of…read moreRichmond, they deliver pretty consistent and cheap meals. They also have a great sign (see photo), so I give them the benefit of the doubt on an outward aesthetic level at least. Loi Loi have this crazily extensive menu that covers a whole lot of Vietnamese, Chinese and Indian staples. While the flavours sometimes lack in depth, the produce is always fresh and of the dozen-or-so meals I've eaten there, I've never had something that was bad. But, I've never had a meal that I'd call great either, so it kind of falls into a bit of a no-man's land in terms of Victoria Street Vietnamese. That said, the Mee Goreng (Indonesian?) is pretty good and the servings are bloody huge. So if you're hungry and don't want to line in the more popular and potentially much better places up the street, Loi Loi is a soft option.

Had sweet and sour veggies and chicken lemon grass with chili delivered late on a Wednesday night,…read morefood was great! Still hot, not greasy. Chicken was good quality.

We were visiting Melbourne and wanted to visit a more unique kind of place. Supernormal fit the…read morebill! Here's what we noticed: - You'll definitely want a reservation as the place gets packed. For our party of two we were seated at the bar, which is a really long bar and appears to be the primary area where parties of two get seated. It was nice, fun to be able to watch the action behind the bar. - They had a great cocktail menu and so we ordered some unique drinks. Both were really good. - The menu is pretty broad with small plates to share and larger entrées too. We end up starting with the Korean Rice Cakes, which was probably a highlight of the meal. It was also a pretty generous size. Then they brought out the Lobster Roll, which was good, but probably a poor ordering choice for us since it really wasn't that unique...although it was very yummy. And finally, we had the Duck Bao, and it was excellent. There were so many other things we would've liked to order from the menu, but this was a lot of food for just two of us, although we saw other parties of two order so much more. But, we wanted to save room for the peanut butter parfait. It was worth the weight/wait! - Service was good. At first, it seemed like they were rushing to move us along, but then as more people came into the restaurant, it calmed down a bit. - The place has a great vibe, but it's a little bit loud as you would expect with a place like this. Bottom line: This was one of the best meals we've had so far during our trip to Australia.

Supernormal had been on our list to try before leaving Melbourne. It's a whole vibe. We didn't…read morehave a reservation, so we ended up waiting about 30 minutes. Not awful but also not something I normally do. The food was good, though I suspect some of their standout dishes lean heavily on seafood, and because I have a shellfish allergy I missed out on the items people most likely are raving about. We ordered the white chicken with potatoes and spinach. It had good flavor, but I'm not a fan of cold dishes and this one is served cold. The greens and broccoli ended up being the most flavorful dish we had. I was not a fan of the rice cakes. They were very rich/sweet/thick???? and they give you a lot of them. We also got the dumplings, which were really good. The peanut butter parfait was delicious. Overall, I'm glad we experienced it. The vibe and atmosphere definitely lived up to the hype, even if the food itself didn't completely wow me. I wouldn't mind returning for lunch to try their ramen, since it's a special only on the lunch menu.