When I heard that a Japanese and Korean restaurant was opening in the Trafford Centre I was both excited and hopeful. The Trafford Centre is not a place known for it's great food, and although there are some decent places to eat, most of it is a huge miss when it comes to quality. I rushed over to try this place out as soon as it had opened. what a huge let down. The place feels and looks like it is still part of Yang Sing, I assume it also has the same chefs and the only difference is that it claims to serve Japanese and Korean food.
The menu's have a decent selection but it's also no where near authentic Korean or Japanese, it's fusion, toned down and mixed with Chinese. We shared a veg jeon (pancake) which was the oddest jeon I have ever tasted! Paper thin, no real taste, couldn't taste the kimchi in it at all! Tasted like an onion pancake. It was also slightly burnt. No dipping sauce given with this dish either, which is very strange. I had the chicken katsu and honestly. no panko breadcrumbs, big no no! No curry sauce at all, the dish was very dry. Soy sauce in the rice which (would have been unwelcome with a real katsu curry) was welcome with the lack of flavour in everything else but should not have been needed. Yet the strangest thing was not the huge helping of mixed fruit that came with the dish but the over abundence of mayo that had been squirted all over it!
Katsu curry and fruit I've had before but mayo on the fruit? Yuck! My partner had a bibimbap which was served in a bulky wooden box which contained the stone bowl. Very odd I understand the bowl is hot, it's meant to be, but I've never had it served to me in a child safe wooden box before! My partner said it was very bulky and hard to eat from. The red sauce was not left at the table but put on by the waiter, which my partner did not like, he likes to be able to add as much as he likes as he eats. Also you were not given the option to mix your own bibimbap as in most places, which was also strange, the waiter just picked up the spoons and mixed away without asking.
My partner said the red sauce was tasteless and watery, a watered down version basically of what a good red sauce should be. I'm unsure if they are afraid to use real Korean ingredients due to fear of English palletes not being used to it but still. calling yourself a Korean place when you water everything down is a bit rubbish. I don't think they have a good grasp on what Korean or Japanese food is, and this was outlined by their supposed 'mandu dumplings' nope, not mandu, those are quite clearly gyoza, or fried dumplings. Although mandu are a little similar to gyoza, they are not the same! All in all very disappointing, had high hopes for the place but it didn't live up to it. Would I eat here again? Most likely no, I wouldn't unless I really fancied watered down food. Quite pricey for what it is too. If you want good Japanese food, Samsi in Manchester is pretty good and for Korean Seoul Kimchi or Oriental Fire are really good choice. Oriental Fire also does nice tasting Japanese food too. read more