Seoul Tookbegi Korean Restaurant

This restaurant is one that my friends and I have wanted to try for a long time. It is known to us as the Korean restaurant beside Little Lamb. Today, we found out that it was called "Seoul Tookbegi".

Horrible picture, I know.

At first we wanted to go for the Korean BBQ buffet for AUD 26 per person, which is rather reasonable considering the amount of meat I can consume. However, there were two girls with us and they were not up for the challenge so we decided to order dishes. At least we thought we were.

Some of the dishes and side dishes.

This is called "brisket point end deckle off" on the menu.

"Cow tongue".

Due to the rather badly written menu, we thought that the "brisket point end deckle off" and the "cow tongue" were cooked. Instead we were given two plates of raw beef and a hot plate. Cherry, being her usual helpful self, cooked the briskets and ox tongue while I was taking more photos of the food.

Nothing like beef cooking on a hot plate.

The beef briskets and the ox tongue were decent, just like any other you would find in other Korean restaurants. The beef was not marinated but had an intense taste of beef in it, just like a bloody porterhouse steak. No sauce is needed to enhance the flavour of the beef other than a simple sauce mix of sesame oil and salt. The eater is however required to exercise caution when dipping the beef into the sauce lest too much salt gets on the meat and overpowers the flavour with sheer saltiness.

Black pepper spare ribs.

Keith ordered something which resembles black pepper spare ribs. For me, the ribs were rather poorly seasoned as they were more sweet than savoury. The flavour of the sauce was not as intense as could be but this could be my problem since the salty sesame oil probably screwed up my taste buds for the night.

After everyone was done with their dinner, Edwin was still awaiting his ginseng chicken soup. It was a painfully long wait, more so as the four of us kept making jokes that the workers have yet to pluck the ginseng or caught a chicken. Eventually, after visiting the kitchen a few times, Edwin got his soup.

Ginseng chicken soup.

Seoul Tookbegi definitely saved the best for last for today's meal. The ginseng chicken soup was delicious. The chicken itself was cooked to perfection, with the meat just turning pink but with no raw bits. Taste wise, the chicken was infused with a strong ginseng flavour but it was not bitter. Unlike other chicken soups, this had a savoury, rightly seasoned chicken instead of a bland chunk of meat sitting in broth. The soup itself was also packed with the goodness of ginseng, although being a tad under salted.

The verdict? Seoul Tookbegi serves good but not great food. For its price, it definitely does not look the part like other posh Korean restaurants with a similar price range. Service is excruciatingly slow due to the limited number of workers. 

One question remains. Will I return? Well, probably for the ginseng chicken soup.

260, Russell Street, 

Melbourne, VIC 3000, 

Australia.

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CJ Lunch Bar

I had been looking forward to doing a review of CJ Lunch Bar after having dinner there last Friday so instead of a typical weekday home cooked meal, I decided to take Edwin for dinner.

CJ Lunch Bar is definitely the place to go if you are searching for cheap eats other than sushi rolls or Chinese a la cartes. Far from the fancy, pretentious, posh place in town which serves authentic Korean cuisine, CJ Lunch Bar strips everything down to basics. Good old beef on a hot plate, some kimchi and cold bean sprouts on the side, all for under 20 bucks per person.

Be warned though, the lunch bar is very hard to find if you do not know the way around Melbourne too well. I would never have found this place if not for Keith's friends who took Keith who took me there.

For today, we ordered the beef bulgogi.

Good old beef.

There is something special about the beef bulgogi here but I have a hard time placing my finger on what exactly is. The beef is thoroughly cooked but still tender, nicely flavoured with sauce, not too salty, and certainly did not overpower the natural flavour of the beef. The caramelised onion definitely worked magic by adding a little sweetness to the dish. Although the beef they use are not high quality cuts, for 15 bucks including a rice and sides, no one would complain. Definitely a winner in my book.

Chicken cheese bulgogi.

I can imagine purists screaming their heads off at the thought of covering bulgogi with cheese but CJ Lunchbar took the leap and created what most would agree its magnum opus.

The first time I went there for dinner I thought that the strips of cheese were shredded pickled cabbage or something typical of Korea. However, when I saw those bright yellow strips of cheddar melt, my heart melted too and I swore to return for this dish.

It was not as good as I imagined it to be. The cheese lacked flavour but definitely gave the spicy chicken dish an interesting texture. The chicken itself was boldly flavoured with a spicy red sauce which was rather pungent. For me, the chicken were too finely diced that it did not feel like I was eating chicken, it felt more like a chunky stew except with cheese. This is just me being fastidious and trying to sound like a snobby connoisseur. For a simple meal and its value, this $16.50 dish is magnificent.

Not authentic but definitely fantastic.

The verdict? I preferred the beef bulgogi while Edwin favoured the chicken cheese bulgogi. However, we both agreed that the meal was definitely worth more than the amount we paid and that we were definitely going back.

Shp 2, 391 Little Lonsdale St corner of Hardware Lane

Melbourne, VIC 3000, 
Australia.