mi rak korean restaurant @ rowe st., eastwood

Up until the other week, I'd always thought this place was called Eastwood Korean Restaurant; well that's what their sign says. It's only as you look closely on the words printed on the glass door that you'll make out the words 'Mi Rak' proceeding Korean Restaurant. And for someone that's been here a good number of times now, it does seem sort of silly and I didn't know what this place was called!

The boys enjoy their Korean Hite beer.

Chicken & Ginseng Soup. This one's just mildly flavoured by ginseng (which is to my liking) but the surprise in this not-very-big bowl is a whole baby chicken.

The standout at Mi Rak has to be their Seafood Pancake. Ordered time and time again, it is always crispy just like it should be. Although sometimes I think it should come with a little bit more chilli sauce on the side for dipping.

With the weather being a bit warmer, we opted for the Korean Cold Noodles (with chilli sauce) and Bossam (thinly sliced cuts of pork that you delectably wrap in greens and accompany with a chilli bean sauce). It's a lot of pork for even the four of us; ended up eating just about half amongst our other dishes.

Korean beef ribs when you don't feel like cooking it yourself at the table.

Dad was missing for dinner this particular night so we ordered him takeout as we were leaving. Dinner all up came to just a bit over a hundred dollars for the 5 of us (including dad) which isn't too bad. Missing from these photos is there selection of side dishes; there were 6 in total which they kindly filled up as we went through them. They even packed a whole box of side dishes with the takeaway that we we left with!

korean style ddukboki spicy rice cake

Married life has certainly taught me a thing or two about food; how to shop for groceries, how to get the best prices, how to cook for two but most of all, how to be adventurous and cook up restaurant meals in the comfort of your own home. The boy and I have tried to be good and tend to cook dinner most nights; main reason being that if we cook enough we have lunch to bring to work the next day which ends up saving us a tonne of money (and it's healthier too)

Korean Spicy Rice Cake is one those things which I always order if I see it on the menu at a Korean restaurant. Usually it's only the boy who is brave enough to eat this with me because depending on how heavy handed the cook has been with the chilli, this one can come with some serious bite. Cooking it myself, I could see why.

Soak 1 package Korean rice cake in boiling water until softened. In a small bowl, mix together 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp chilli flakes, 1 tbsp minced garlic, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1/2 tsp ginger powder, 1 tsp salt and 3-4 tbsp gochujjang (Korean red pepper paste). In a large pot, boil 2 cups water, stir through the sauces until all dissolved. Add 3 sliced green onions, 1 pack sliced fishcake, 1/3 head of cabbage, and the soaked rice cakes and simmer for about 5 minutes until the sauce thickens. Once the sauce has thickened, the dish is ready to eat.

I'd say on a scale to 1-5 (5 being hot), this is probably a 4.5!

Surprised how easy this one was to make and reheated really well the next day in the microwave at work. A colleague of mine even commented how gourmet it looked and how adventurous I was but really, it takes just over 10 minutes to make from start to finish.

tudari korean bbq restaurant @ eastwood

I'm very close to being able to say that 'I've tried every single Korean restaurant in Eastwood'; recently adding Tudari Korean BBQ restaurant to the tried list. I guess this post is a little misleading, whilst a bbq restaurant, I didn't actually end up eating bbq, opting for one of their hotpots instead which was absolutely perfect for a cold night.

Korean side dishes are one of the things I look forward to to start a Korean meal. This place trumps them all in terms of the number of side dishes on offer; 14 in total. Free refills too and we didn't even need to wave down a waiter, they just came to the table and grabbed the empty dishes and replaced them. They're all tasty side dishes too save maybe for one (this one which had dried little fishies in it; the sight of their eyes always puts me off).

With the partitioning in between each table, there's plenty of privacy. Perfect for the boy and I as we ate our meal and sipped happily over our bottle of shochu, giggling away. The shabu shabu hotpot more than adequately fed the two of us as you can see. 

I couldn't help but order one of my favourite things in the world - dumplings! A larger serving than what I thought it would be but were very tasty. Could be that we were eating too slowly so the skin of the dumplings did dry out a little but we cleared the plate regardless. Actually, I think the boy and I always clear our dishes regardless of how full we are.

With a bottle of shochu between us to share, dinner only came to about $60 between the two of us which I thought was incredibly good value. Service was very friendly, the seating comfortable and with parking just outside the front door, there's really not much to put you off coming back. Even the boy didn't complain about the Korean BBQ smell which you tend to get from eating at Korean restaurants (regardless of whether you eat bbq or not), seemed like the restaurant was quite well ventilated. I never thought I'd comment on the ventilation of a restaurant but I have to say, I'm not a big fan of eating Korean when you know you'll go home smelling like barbequed meat!

duroo korean restaurant @ rowe. st, eastwood

So I thought I'd tried all the Korean restaurants in Eastwood worth trying and then Minto shut down and reopened as Duroo Korean Restaurant. I actually liked Minto (it's a rather cute name too) so not sure what went on there but well, as one restaurant door shuts, another opens, well strictly I walk in and check it out and report back.

One of the things I use to judge how 'good' a Korean restaurant is is their selection of side dishes at the start of the meal. Duroo offers a good cross section of mild and spicy, assorted vegetables too. Great thing is that the waitress came round to top up the side dishes without us even asking.

One of the dishes I always order is Pajon (aka Korean pancake). It's a very decent sized serving here and  rather tasty too - just the right amount of crunch and seafood pieces mixed in the pancake.

Bibimbap - another popular Korean dish which I love eating; the more chilli sauce in it, the better! Remember to stir quickly when it gets to the table so that the rice doesn't cook and burn where it touches the hot stone bowl.

Spicy Hotpot. Definitely spicy and a great choice for a winter's night.

In some ways, I think Duroo has come along replacing Minto but all that's really changed is the name. Duroo is more or less offering the same menu as its previous owner  and like all the Korean restaurants to be found in Eastwood, the cooking and the food is solid and great value too. This definitely goes on my list of places to go back to (and well, I really only have two lists going on and to be honest, I have yet to come across a place offering bad Korean food.)

eastwood korean restaurant @ rowe st., eastwood

I came here with my good friend Mashi for dinner one night and it ended up being such a good night (well when you put two hungry girls together who seem to be able to chat about just anything), we ended up leaving the place and forgetting our pancake which we were meant to takeaway. It was a rather good pancake too! Poor pancake, I really could've eaten you the next day!

Crazy talk aside, Eastwood Korean offers a good selection of side dishes to start the meal - a balance of spicy, sweet and ones that are neutral tasting to complement what you might order. My favourite side dish of all time is Kimchi (and I imagine it would be for most people too), I wonder why it doesn't come on a bigger plate?

We ordered the Spicy Sausage & Noodle Hotpot to share - it looks just like the one on the menu! I know it's a pack of 2 minute noodles on top but there's something so very enticing about it.

The hotpot could've adequately fed the two of us but an extra dish for a bit of variety never hurts. We managed to get through half of this and decided to take this one away. If only we remembered to take it away!

Here are the noodles cooked in the spicy soup - delicious!

Really enjoyed the meal and can see why the restaurant is always so packed out - food is fantastic and the service is quick. Actually quite surprised that we managed to get a table this time and well alas, we couldn't sit for too long as they were keen to clear up our table for the next as soon as we were done. Both of us were really intrigued by the big plates of fried chicken that the bigger tables nearby seemed to be ordering - well you'll know what I'll order the next time I'm here!

yummy world @ ethel st, eastwood

It's actually my second time coming to Yummy World in Eastwood and as per my first visit, I find this little Korean restaurant extremely welcoming and comfy that I think I must be attached by some invisible threads which keep pulling me back! The first time I came with a close girlfriend and between us we shared two dishes which left us rather full, this time I brought the boy along and we managed to get through 3 dishes  quite comfortably - so it's not me, the boy does eat a lot!

Spicy rice cake with fish cake, vegies and a hard boiled egg. If you were to takeaway all the extras and leave me with the rice cake and chilli sauce, I could easily just eat and eat, and eat!

The last time I went to a Korean restaurant, I ordered all spicy dishes unknowingly and nearly did the same this time but ended up changing one of the dishes around so that there were only two. But hey, have a look at their selection of side dishes, all chilli except for the one!

Beef Bone Soup which is mildly spicy. Slightly disappointing in that there's not a lot of meat in this dish, only very small slivers of meat on the bone.

I think both our eyes bulged when this plate of homemade fried dumplings arrived at the table. One word - colossal! We managed to finish them, I personally quite liked them but yes, they were a bit big and even the boy thought so.

The restaurant probably sits just under 30 people (which I imagine would be quite a tight squeeze) but it draws in a rather pleasant crowd of families, young and old couples. You can actually see quite a bit of what goes on in the kitchen but I think the highlight for me is the friendly service (and the owner lady who just smiles at me as she sees me whipping out my camera to take a photo of the food, no questions asked). Compared to some of the other small Korean restaurants I've tried, Yummy World has quite an extensive menu; it'll probably take me a good number of trips here before I manage to get through it all. Current tally - 5 items off the menu!

minto @ rowe st., eastwood

I'm not too sure what's gotten into me but all I seem to be eating lately is Korean food, and I love it! My staples are usually Korean pancake, noodles and/or hotpot and visiting Minto on Rowe Street in Eastwood, these were exactly the items I ate! Bizarrely, this dinner at Minto's ended up being a spicy as unknowingly (well we should've known), the boy and I ordered all spicy dishes. Blame it on it being Friday night when I'm usually a bit brain dead and forgot to actually use my brain!

Kimchi pancake that comes served on a sizzling hot stone plate. This is a slight variation to the usual Seafood Korean pancake and in all honesty, the pancake didn't taste spicy at all (though some will contest otherwise when it comes to 'degrees of spiciness' and if you genuinely can not take spicy then probably best not to order).

Mini hot pot with tofu, cabbage and dumplings in a spicy soup served with a bowl of rice and assorted side dishes. This was probably my favourite of the night and a great warming dish for a chilly evening (pun intended!). Again, I didn't find it spicy but keep in mind that I eat quite hot.

Spicy Cold Noodles - a variation on the standard cold noodles and I really think that spicy is better. However, by the time this bowl got to the table, the boy and I were already quite full on the pancake and mini noodles and struggled to get to the bottom of this one.

Our waitress that night, who I think must be an owner, was ever so friendly and joked with us about how we could take spicy food when we ordered our dishes. It should've occurred to us at that point that everything we ordered was spicy but somehow or other, it took all the dishes to get to the table for the two of us to realise that all we'd ordered was chilli in some form or another. Ah well, I hear that chilli is meant to be good for your digestive system and actually increases your appetite! Anyway, I need to come back here and try some of their non-chilli dishes as by the end of the night, all I could taste was just chilli! I guess the downside of chilli is it does have a rather overpowering taste!

shobu @ rowe st., eastwood

When it comes to food and anything related to food, I find that I can get quite obsessed. If it's a chef, I'll buy all their cookbooks, if it's a food magazine I'll try to grab every issue and well when it comes to types of food, my latest craze is Korean food and I really can't get enough of it. When the opportunity comes up to go out and eat, the boy will ask me what I want to eat and he knows without asking that I'll say 'How about one of the Korean restaurants in Eastwood?' There's just so many Korean restaurants in Eastwood that I can't get to them quick enough!

Shobu is on Rowe Street in Eastwood, the side of Rowe Street where the bulk of the Korean shops and eateries are (FYI: Rowe Street is chopped in half by the train station...odd, yes!) It was actually by luck that we stumbled across Shobu, being a Friday night, most of the restaurants along the street were filled up and Shobu had one last table available, albeit a slightly small one.

Here's all our side dishes squeezed up on the table. Wasn't a big fan of the cold spam coated in sauce but loved all the other side dishes.

We ordered the Sukiyaki hotpot (which oddly didn't come with noodles and which I thought was on the menu but we didn't bother asking as it already came with bowls of rice which we struggled to finish). 

With the table holding the side dishes and hotpot, our Korean pancake was relegated to the extra seat that  one of the waiters added to our table. We quickly gobbled this one up as with the extra seat, the waiters/waitresses kept bumping into the seat as they were getting round the restaurant. I particularly like the Korean pancake here as it's dense, crispy, doughy and chewy all at the same time. The doughy-ness probably isn't very healthy but I absolutely love anything that is doughy in texture (and in hindsight, explains why I find it hard to lose weight!)

Really enjoyed the food here and the service was particularly attentive. If you are a reader of Eatability, you will probably read about how small this place is and how chaotic it may be but don't let that put you off, the place is small and will appear chaotic but I would think that's the nature of small places. Often I find that small places that are busy serve up great food and I think this is one of those places. Call me biased but I do try to see the positive in the places I eat at otherwise why bother eating there in the first place! Anyway, have my eye on Minto next (also on Rowe Street). Anyone keen to join me?

sea garden korean restaurant @ railway pde., eastwood

I'm a keeper of mental lists. So on top of the day-to-day work that my brain needs to do, there are some extraordinary lists kept in my brain which get checked off as I go through them. There are lists of chores that I need to get through (I try to keep these as short as possible), there's lists for books that I want to read, people I want to catch up with but perhaps the longest list of them are my lists of recipes to make and restaurants to visit. On the latter of those lists, Sea Garden Korean Restaurant has been on it since January this year after I read Mashi's post about it here.

Not sure why it's taken me so long to visit this place considering it's in my suburb and just walking distance. I actually tried coming here once but somehow got sidetracked by a similar Korean restaurant just two doors down. I have to say though, there are quite a few enticing Korean eateries in Eastwood which are fantastic and well worth trying and yes, you may be like me and get distracted and try someplace that you hadn't quite planned for!

Nothing like an assortment of colourful side dishes to start a Korean meal. Great thing about these is that you can ask them for refills. When I eat out with J, it's usually the Kim Chi that gets topped up again and again, and again.

I know it doesn't sound all that exciting when it's a feature of every Korean restaurant but you can't have a Korean meal without Korean seafood pancake. In a way, I actually have a huge crush on the sauce that comes served with the pancake! I particularly love the cracked egg on this version at Sea Garden.

If you read Mashi's post, you'll see that she had this pork cutlet dish as well. Both the salad and pork cutlet have a generous serve of dressing and do everything to compliment the dish. 

I can't quite remember the name of this dish but it's rice cake (a lot of it) in a milky/eggy soup and topped with cuttings of dried seaweed. It's a rather filling dish but that soup is ever so soothing for the tummy.

From memory, the meal was only about $30 between the two of us and we were both contentedly full and waddling back to the car, parked just metres away next door in the carpark. If you're driving here, you should find parking just next to the restaurant or down railway parade quite easily so there's plenty of bonuses coming here.

The restaurant staff are very friendly or should I say motherly. It's a very tiny restaurant so probably not so suitable for big groups but for groups up to 4, it's a great option to have up your sleeve. Food is homely and enticing and the prices certainly won't break the budget.

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!

arisana restaurant @ rowe st., eastwood

When it comes to cheap food & eating, come to Eastwood and you'll be spoilt for choice. On one side of the station, you find home to Korean food and the other, Chinese food (mixture of Cantonese, Peking, Northern Chinese). I probably haven't tried as many of the Korean restaurants as I should've and the other night, when J&I were looking for a quick bite to eat, we thought we'd give one of the places a go.

Way back in the times of primary school, Arisana was more of a formal sit-down Korean restaurant. Stepping through the doors this time round, it was clear that things had changed a little, the set up was a lot more modern (probably had changed owners) and the place was attracting more of a mixed crowd, from young families, your 20 something groups, people that probably lived just down the road and were grabbing a bite to eat. Upstairs must be a function room as halfway through our meal we saw a busload of people coming trampling down.

A mixture of sides. The pieces of raw onion look lethal but were actually alright with the black bean sauce that came with it.

It took us a little while to pour through the menu and at first, did remark on how expensive everything was. We were set on ordering 3 dishes but mid-order, the waiter stopped us and said that the two would be more than enough. We took his word and certainly did not regret it. Our jaws dropped when this plate of chilli chicken came to the table.

Followed by this plate of Arisan Black Bean Noodles.

These two plates could've easily fed four! Each dish was a bit over $20 which made it a little expensive for two of us but with 4, it's clearly a bargain. For the first time ever, J&I stuffed ourselves and dejectedly asked for the rest to be doggy bagged. Both dishes were fantastic and when I got home with the takeaway boxes, they were gone by the next morning.

tomato @ chatswood

Proof that I haven't been further than Mac Centre in awhile, J goes 'Ken's decided we're eating at Tomato tonight...but yeah, nothing's confirmed, we can decide when we get there'. In my mind, I had started compiling images of tomato entrees, tomato mains, tomato desserts...where on earth was there a restaurant called Tomato in Chatswood?! Was it new? And were we really going to be eating tomato dishes that night?! I hoped not.

Even as we were standing just outside the restaurant, I still asked the question 'So where is this place?'. Turns out it was well hidden upstairs, just above 'Big fish, little fish', next to the gym at Chatswood; entrance was via a lift. I found out also that we were eating Korean and upon perusal of the menu, there were no tomato dishes (yes I checked) and well, it's actually a very nice place to chill and bum. Trust me, you'll love the sofas (great for leaning back on after you've eaten!!)

Pang, Em, J & I ordered 4 dishes amongst us. Em all geared up on a Sunday with our rice cake, egg and dumpling soup.

Our other dishes: Korean pancake, curry beef cutlet with rice and cold buckwheat noodles.

They've actually got a rather extensive menu albeit a little time consuming to read through (basically there's Korean and English translations but how it's laid out, you start wishing that they had photos for everything to make it easier - esp. when you have dishes with the words 'stimulate' and 'spicy intestine' in them). The other guys went for hot pots which were massive. There were side dishes with our meal (unfortunately, no photos) and had drinks (which are on the expensive side). All up we each paid $20 which included a tip; not bad at all!

Anyway, Korean karaoke is just next door also, if anyone is interested!

chocolate kkomz @ eastwood

Amongst my favourite foods, Korean food features quite prominently. In particular, I love 'pajon' (Korean pancake), Bibimbap and spicy Hot Pot. I also love the way they marinate their meats (I know it's probably a little too sweet for the older generation) but for the 20 something year old, it's the best taste in the world! There's also Korean BBQ which leaves its taste literally in your clothes and when it's one of those all you can eat buffets, you can really knock yourself silly! Allow me to introduce Chocolate Kkomz in Eastwood; one of the regular Korean eateries I visit and also recommend.

I probably came here the first time with a close girl friend and have since been back many a time. With their comfortable booths offering a high level of privacy, I have found this place to be one of the better places to catch up with people and allows for chatting over dinner. There are bells at each table for you to get hold of a waitress so throughout your meal, you are rarely disturbed. One of my good friends has argued that this is a place for couples but I disagree (given he's a boy, I suppose this isn't the sort of place you pick up chicks at. Boys!)

Korean Pancake cooked to perfection.

Soba noodles with assorted bits and pieces (can't remember the actual name for this)

King Grill (assorted meats including chicken drumsticks, ribs, sausages, hamburger patty etc.)

My favourite: Spicy Beef & Kalbi Hotpot.Tofu Steak.

The serving sizes are generally quite large and are priced quite decently. Where they say on the menu 'Serves 2', you can trust that it will adequately feed 2 people (boys included). Service is probably a tad on the slow side and conversing with the waitresses can be difficult (I read on some other reviews that this had consistently been a problem). Hopefully this will change in time but for the food you get, and the price that you pay, this is definitely a place I recommend anyone to give a go. There's a few parking spots right outside but generally, it's quite easy to find parking on that street. Worse comes to worse, you can always park in the council carpark which is just a short walk away!