Samwon Gardens

Samwon Gardens

I have not done a food blog in a few months, its not that i haven't gone to new places its just been hard to find time to upload them. The other night we went to a Korean restaurant and it was hidden in a strip of Greek restaurants . It had a mixture of Japanese and Korean dishes but we decided to eat there anyway.

We ordered the Korean dishes because on many occasions when you order dishes from other cultures it can be disappointing. When ordering we always have favourites to try and these are them.

Tteokbokki  is sweet chili dish using vegetables and soft rice cake. Is never is super hot but always juicy and tasty.

Jap Chae is made of sweet potato noodles with vegetalable and either beef or chicken but we always go beef. Its a fun dish to eat with all the noodles as they stick together and it makes it harder to pick up.

Bibbimbap  is a mixed rice dish and normally you get it a ceramic type bowl and the rice gets very crispy. You get a chili sauce to mix in. It  has sliced vegies and a cooked egg on top. You wait a while for the rice to crisp up then add the chili sauce and mix it altogether.

Spicy fried chicken we decided to order the sweet chili chicken and it was deep fried chicken with an amazing sweet chili sauce. The chicken was very tender and juicy. It was not overcooked but just amazing and we will come back for this dish.

For a random Korean restaurant we really enjoyed it and will be back.
Kind E-gards
Dale Stewart

Random Meal

Random Meal

We are starting to cook at home more often and try to cook random meals, we bought random veggies and decided to make a Korean type soup. We bought a tub of sesame and garlic bean paste.

We put about 2 liters of water in.

Once the water started to boil add your paste and mix it in. It does not matter what veggies you use just cut them up small so it cooks faster.  We took 500 grams of premium mince  and spooned them into meatballs.

After putting in our meatballs we let it cook for a few minutes then added the veggies. We added this chili sauce to add some spice

It was a great meal to warm you up and is cheap to make.
Have you tried using random to sauces to make a meal?
Kind E-gards
Dale

Wagaya

Wagaya

You know it is a strange location when it takes longer to find the restaurant than it does to find the parking. I walked down Little Bourke and could not find the entrance so then walked up Bourke St,it took me about 30 minutes from when i left the car to find the building and it is on level 3. You take the escalator to Level 2 and then the lift to Level 3

Once you leave the lift you see the name behind the cherry blossoms and the place looks very fancy.

At the end of the table they have a touch screen and that is how you order your meals. They have a big selection of food and it is a mixture of Japanese and Korean. It is pretty cheap to eat at.

The alcohol is cheap beers range from $6 to $10 so i was pretty happy with that. I had read about Kimchi pizza but never seen it anywhere is Melbourne so i thought i would give it a go.

The pizza base was crispy and the kimchi was a little bit spicy but juicy as well. The cabbage is soft and had a lot of garlic so i was happy. The pizza was a bit cold when i received it but i think because of the way you order, the food gets made in that order so i think it was probably sitting there while the other items got cooked. I was still happy with my pizza.

I really wanted some eel so i got the Eel Skewers and i ordered them last so i was just about done when they arrived so it was perfect timing.

The outside was crispy and the inside was soft and tasted like the teriyaki sauce. It was amazing and probably the best eel i have had in Melbourne.

The others ordered a selection of sushi and some pasta. It looked good but i was saving space for dessert.

Here are some more Instagram pics

I enjoyed it and may be back another time to try some more random meals.

Have you been here?

kind E-gards

Dale Stewart

 

The Local Taphouse

The Local Taphouse

Last night we went out for dinner to The Local Taphouse. Its a small old school pub, beer bottles lining the walls. A typical kitschy type of place we go to. The staff are friendly, quick service and always lovely to go here.

When you walk up the stairs on the left is the bar with an awesome selection of beers.

Whats the point going to a pub if you don't have beer?

 Our Friend had the Haanbakk Oak aged Ale

I had the beer paddle which is 5 different beers (90ml) each but still fun to do.

You start from the left (lightest beer) and drink to the left (darkest beer).

I started with the Mclaren Vale Indian Pale Ale from South Australia, very light and fruity with slight bitterness after taste.

Next was the Doghouse Indian Pale Ale from New South Wales, quiet hoppy with a bit of bitterness, but still great.

I had the Jerome Lambic next from Illawarra Brewing Co, New South Wales, it had a  red wine taste to it, but was also slightly sour. 

Madamin is from Loverbeer Italy, tasted like cherries but not as heavy as the next beer.

Last was Boon Kriek  from Brouweri in Belguim which was another Lambic .It was like drinking cherries. It had a very strong flavour.

We had Cream Korokke with apple sauce, with chips and mayonnaise.

The korokke was very crispy with the creamy center and just went so well with apple sauce. You can never go wrong with chips can you?

I had the 3 beer burger, it was really juicy and tasty

Kim Had the Beef Green Curry, it had some chilliness to it. But was still lovely.

After all that we ordered desert..Why it sounded amazing

Bread and butter pudding with a toffee sauce

 It is definitely a place to try for good food and burgers.

Kind regards

Dale Stewart

Korean Dinner

Hodori Korean Garden

After a crap day at work, and some dick rear ending Kim, we decided to go to our favorite Korean restaurant, its a small place but the food is fresh and filling.

When we arrived it had a few people, by the time we started eating it was quiet,

With Korean food you generally get all you can eat Kimchi, honey potatoes, brocoli and other random bits and pieces.

The drinks are so small you need at least 2 ;). I had my corona, the ladies had pear drink with pear pieces in it.

Spicy rice cakes, its a sweet yet spicy dish with sweet potato noodles in it.

Beef So Bulgogi which is sizzling plate with beef and veggies marinated in soy sauce. Not really spicy but sweet and full of flavour.

Beef Dolsot Bibimbap, its beef served in a hot stone pot.  we leave it so the rice gets crispy at the bottom of the pot. You mix a bowl of chilli into it to add some spice. Its an amazing dish.

So much food we have some left for lunch except we are going to brunch with friends.

I would highly reccomend  this place for a cheap yet satisfying meal.

Kind regards

Dale

For all my older Cafe's/ coffee posts Here it is