Meal #20 – Korea

This week’s culinary crusade united the Korean peninsula for the first time since the communist invasion – take that Kim Jong (mentally) Ill!

Dae Jang Kum
1/309 Clayton Rd, Clayton
Opposite Clayton Railway Station
9543 2842

This week’s foray into Korea was a real mixed bag. While the décor was fairly close to what you would find in most small Korean restaurants, it did little to enhance our enjoyment of the experience. Overall the restaurant was rated fairly positively by the diners. This was helped quite a bit by the owners of the restaurant. Hailing from Seoul, they were reasonably attentive and quite nice…nice enough to try 3-4 times to take a picture of the group. Our diners this week included Deb, Sarah, Paul, Sai, Caroline, Rami, Bianca, Helen, Philip and Dom.

The standard Namul (side dishes) were mostly suitable for those with non-meat requirements and kosher eaters. The side dishes were also topped-up on request (very Korean): bean shoots with garlic and sesame oil, paechu kimchi (standard cabbage kimchi), potato and vegetables, seaweed (in a sauce resembling French dressing), fishcakes with spicy sauce.


Traditional side dishes such as the Pindattok (vegie pancake) and Jap-chae (sweet potato noodles) were served as entrees and were reasonable representations, although the Jap-chae was too weak in both sesame oil and garlic.


Mains included Sundubu jiggae, a very good recreation of the spicy soft-tofu soup. Those partaking of this soup were pleased, although reactions to the level of spice were not ideal ~ more chilli, please. Even though extra chilli was requested, there was not enough. The same lack of chilli was found in the Bulgogi (stir-fried beef), although its light spice worked well with its soy-based sauce. The Sam-Gye-Tang (Ginseng Chicken) was apparently also lacking in sufficient amounts of ginseng.


The absolute must-have was the Beef Galbi (BBQ). This is one of the most common and popular Korean meals (not least because the diner does the cooking on a hot plate at the table, usually in amongst quantities of beer and soju). There were some things missing from this standard dish. Duenjang jiggae (a stew-like soup, salty, fermented soy-beany and delicious), and, surprisingly, duenjang dipping paste were both absent. The soy-bean dipping paste is an absolute necessity, and it was disappointing to see it missing. In place of these foods the cook provided mushroom and onion for frying.


The Kimchi jiggae was another slightly westernised dish, with an added base of tomato. A tomato base is still delicious, and not uncommon in Australian Korean restaurants, and admittedly the dish varies wildly in Korea itself.


Overall:

Two of our diners had previously lived in Korea – both of them declared that this meal was “Mashiseyo!” (Delicious!), and although some dishes lacked that extra chilli-punch, this claim was agreed with by all. The staff at Dae Jang Kum are friendly and attentive, and with meals ranging from $15-25 this restaurant is a cut above the average Korean places to be found in Melbourne suburbia.