Monday 10 May 2010

hwa gae korean restaurant @ railway pde, eastwood

I'm really not all too sure where April went but I find myself in the first few weeks of May and I have the  boy making a point that I only blogged six times in April. Argh, I think it comes part and parcel of blogging that you always end up with a backlog of posts and as hard as you try to get up to date, you always fall behind (that's especially the case when you're talking about food - I each much faster than I blog!)

Anyway, planning to keep this post short and sweet. Here's a little place discovered in Eastwood last Friday night when the boy and I were looking for a bite to eat. Having read Mashi's blog, I was planning to go to the restaurant two doors down but looking in, they were full so we settled for Hwa Gae; another Korean restaurant along the stretch of Railway Parade. When I say little, this place seats maybe a max of 25 covers (and really, that would be quite squishy!)

For those unfamiliar with Korean food, you'll be pleased that find pictures of every menu item spanning across the 4 pages of the menu. The one thing I love about eating Korean is the selection of starters!

J thought he'd be adventurous and ordered the Korean Sausage Soup. After this came bumbling to the table, we discovered 'Korean sausage' actually meant a combination of stomach and intestines. I had a few bites and all I can say is that internal organs really aren't my thing. J was a bit better with this dish and ate most of it.

Something you can't go wrong with - Seafood Korean pancake (I reckon I order this one wherever I go!)

My favourite of the night had to be this one - Spicy rice sticks with fish cake and cabbage. Back in the days when I used to watch Korean dramas, I'd always wondered what this would taste like. Well after having it for the first time, I can say that it's just the right amount of spiciness and I love it! It's actually quite addictive so you might consider ordering a plate to yourself!

It's been a good couple of days since my meal here and I can't stop telling people how cheap this place is; all of the above came to a total of $28 for two of us (is that a bargain or what?) The food was fantastic (of course next time we'll know not to order the Korean sausage but hey, that's just me not liking it). Well my brother agrees with me that it's a cheap Korean meal (haha...yes I might've told him at least twice how I thought it was incredibly cheap) and well, despite a limited menu, it's actually a place I really enjoyed eating at. I didn't have to spend ages pouring through the menu, there's enough items on the menu to make it easy to choose and not too few to stop you from coming back again. Food comes quickly to the table and the waitstaff are extremely polite and the restaurant has just the right amount of noise for a pleasant night out. Love it and recommend it!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

my favourite Korean dishes would have to be allll the little side dishes that come with the mains! I especially love the long bean sprouts and the seaweed one.

I'll be in Melbourne next week, any chance you will be too??

mashi said...

Nice find! I'm a regular to these ones along Railway Pde other than Zenya (for my ramen fix)!

Craving Korean food now x

Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse) said...

I have a bad habit of ordering the same things when I go to different Korean places, but I love marvelling at the different side dishes on offer.

missklicious said...

I know! Where has this month.. actually whole year gone???

That seafood pancake looks really nice - will have to try it out next time at Korean BBQ

panda said...

vickys - i could make a meal out of all those side dishes! the boy isn't shy at all and will always ask for another plate once we've finished :)
anyway, i'm not in melbourne next week but do have fun and post about your trip!

mashi - i think j knows that i secretly love you; you know of so many good places to eat at! we should go out for korean some time!

mademoiselle delicieuse - I'm just as guilty; i guess eat place has a different take on the same dish!

missklicious - this year is zipping by really quickly!! and yes, do try pancake next time you go to korean bbq; it's one of those dishes which are always good :)