Jack K-Snacks!... The Stone Age (석기시대)

The weekend is nearly coming to an end, I hope you've all enjoyed it! So with the new week about to begin it's time to wrap up K-Week with one more K-Snack!

I saw this at a Korean grocery shop and thought "Ooh chocolate rocks! How awesomely primary school!"
I have a penchant for old school foods and snacks. I also like handy little packets that I can stow in my bag, it's always good to have nibbles on the bus, out shopping, and anytime else. The name of these chocolate rocks translates as "The Stone Age" heehee! Well, not much to report in terms of taste, it's exactly like the kind you had in school - candy covered milk chocolate that look like little stones. Which ain't a bad thing, the old school classics shouldn't be messed with.

It's old school alright.. all the way from the stone age.

What: 'The Stone Age' chocolate rocks (석기시대)
Where: Find it at Korean grocery shops. I got mine from Wellbeing Mart (10 London St, Campsie), one of my favourite Korean shops - it's big and has loads of different things.
How much: $1.00

Jack K-Snacks!... Sunkist Cherryade

Alright, it's by Sunkist so it's not thaaat exotic but it has Korean writing on it and you won't see it here at coles or woolies so it qualifies for a K-Snack!

I picked this up from Conveni-8 for $1.20. It's....ok. The cherry flavour is not bad - a tad medicinal, which seems to be a real love-hate sort of thing when it comes to these kinds of drinks (think sarsaparilla, cherry cola etc). It's a little too sweet for me and a little on the artificial-tasting side. But that's cause I prefer my cherry juice straight up!

Not exactly a winner, not exactly a loser. Oh, and for the curious, what's the Korean name on the can? It literally spells out the sound of the word "Cherryade", go figure!

Hmm, maybe it needed more kiss from the sun to taste better...

What: Sunkist Cherryade
Where: At selected Korean and other asian shops. I got this one from Conveni-8 (303 Pitt St, Sydney)
How much: $1.20 is what I paid

K-Week continues... NARU Korean Restaurant

So far during this K-Week, the posts have been fairly standard Korean things. Korean BBQ, instant noodles - nothing too new there. But there are many, many other Korean foods out there and I will, over time, try to blog about many more. So I thought it fitting to introduce something very Korean this week.

Haejangguk (해장국)  is a Korean "hangover stew". Read more about it on wiki. I first had this dish in Strathfield last year and it is a really hearty dish, perfect for the oncoming winter. It's very Korean too, you won't find it at any old restaurant - here in Sydney I've only seen it at a couple of eateries and it's always the specialty dish.

And now there's a new restaurant in the city that specialises in Haejangguk. Yay! It's called NARU and I have been waiting and waiting for this place to finally open as I had walked past it many times while they were still renovating. Was it worth the wait? Most definitely.

Finally it's open! Head downstairs and it's a little piece of Korea.

It's in an inconspicuous spot amongst the other Koreatown restaurants - you need to walk down the stairs to get to the entrance. But inside is a bright space full of Korean's eating Haejangguk. The menu is a laminated A3 sheet with a few noodle dishes but the rest consists mostly of meat and seafood. The Haejangguk comes with either Short Beef Rib or Spicy Pork Rib. We got the Spicy Pork Rib ($13). It's a big serving and comes out in a hot pot - there's big chunks of pork rib, cooked chinese cabbage, eschallots, shredded fresh mint and cheoncho powder (powder from fruit skins of a citrus tree). It's all nestled into a hot, chilli soup. The flavours combine together and have a great kick. And the pork is so soft, you can't help but try to pick every last bit off the bones. They even give you a small tin 'bucket' lined with a plastic bag for discarding the bones.

Haejangguk - the tastiest hangover cure I've ever seen and yummy banchan on the side.

Check out them bones!

I thought we should order something a little different to the Haejangguk to try, so opted for Grilled Fish and Soybean Paste Stew ($12). It's very simple, the Soybean Paste Stew has only a little spice to it and is filled with cubes of tofu and cucumber. The fish looks rather plain but don't be fooled - it's so tasty and perfectly fried, not a dry bite to be found.

She looks a little plain, but mmm that is one tasty piece of fish!

Last but not least are the banchan side dishes that come complimentary (doesn't everybody just love complimentary banchan at Korean restaurants). These are definitely worth mentioning because NARU actually sells banchan, there's a fridge section near the entrance. The best one we tried tonight was the Kkakdugi (깍두기) which is kimchi made with daikon. It's tart, crunchy, chilli and cold all at the same time, just looking at the photo again I could eat some right now! But funny enough I didn't spot it in the banchan fridge for sale. There was, amongst other things, regular kimchi and white kimchi (kimchi without chilli, apparently this was the original form of kimchi before chilli was introduced to Korea).

So next time you're in the mood for Korean, consider trying NARU for something new. The only question that remains is - does Haejangguk really cure hangovers? I'm not too sure as I've only had it when I've been sober. If anyone has put it to the test, please let me know the results!

What: NARU Korean Restaurant
Where: 375 Pitt St, Sydney. The times on the opening banner said Mon-Sat 11am-Midnight, Sun 3pm-10pm but on the glass window it says Mon-Sat from 8am, Sun 11am-9pm. Take your guess I suppose!
How much: Dishes range from $10 to $45. Our meal cost only $25 for 2 and we were more than satisfied!

Jack K-Snacks!... 쵸코 플륫 (Choco Flute)

One thing I've noticed is that Korean snackage is fairly easy on the wallet. The weird thing though is that quite a few of the Korean grocery shops in the city don't have prices on the shelves - this annoys me somewhat as I like to know how much something costs when considering my purchases. So I don't really know exactly how much this Lotte Choco Flute was, but it's roughly in the $1/$2 range.

Choco Flute is a packet of 3 chunky 'flutes'. My limited korean can figure out what 3 of the 4 layers (or 'quartet' as the pack seems to say, nice pun from Lotte) are - caramel, peanut and chocolate. The last one I don't know the korean for but obviously it has to be the wafer. It's pretty nice, I'm not really a caramel lover cause I don't like food that sticks to my teeth but I managed to scoff all 3 sticks in no time at all. Kinda like a lighter, more musical version of a Picnic bar!

Choco Flute - 4 'quartets' of caramel, wafer, peanut and chocolate.

Not as ugly as a picnic bar but pretty tasty!

What: 쵸코 플륫 (Choco Flute) from Lotte
Where: You'll find it in selected Korean grocery shops
How much: Somewhere around the $1-2 mark.

Jack K-Snacks!... 맛있는 라면 (Delicious Ramen)

Korean snacks feature highly in my snack-diet. But today's K-Snack is one of those foods that can be a snack or a meal. That's right, I'm talking about the ubiquitous instant noodle!

But 맛있는 라면 is not your average instant noodle. It's name translates as "delicious ramen" and it really is delicious in my opinion. It's very much like the majority of other Korean instant noodles with a bright red super spicy soup - yum! It's got some dehydrated vegetables including mushrooms, carrot and even broccoli - yum again! So why do I like this one better? It's got no MSG. Say what? Instant noodles without MSG? Yes, such a thing does exist! So it's probably about as healthy as instant noodles can get and it really does taste good. You can get the cup noodle size for a snack, bowl noodle size for a small meal or you can buy the packet one and cook up a proper meal. I've had all three and of course the packet one is the best but the other two are also good for emergency eating or late night snacks. Delicious!

No MSG, dehydrated vegetables - healthy instant noodles?

What: 맛있는 라면 (Delicious Ramen)
Where: You can get it at most Korean grocery stores
How much: The cup version costs about $1.00, bowl version is around the $2 mark and the packet noodles comes in a pack of 4 for $4.00

Welcome to K-Week! First up - Kozy!

Happy Easter to everybody! Hope you are all enjoying a well-deserved break. For me, this means catching up on sleep (I have a HUGE sleep debt) and just as importantly, finding time to work on the preciousssss. Not that 'ring' precious, but 'this' precious - our blog!

So welcome to K-Week! This week of posts from me is all about a cuisine which I love loads and eat loads of - Korean food! To some it may seem there's not much variety, the stereotype of Korean food is Kimchi, Korean BBQ, Bibimbap and Bulgogi. I do love all those things, but there is so much more, and the variety available in Sydney these days is getting better and better. Let's get to it!

First up, what is this dark alleyway??? Where exactly am I taking you?

Err.. where are you taking me?

Don't be scared! I'm not going to threaten you with a knife and demand your money! No, no, nothing like that. In fact, this is my absolutely favourite Korean BBQ restaurant in the city. Yes, there are many good k-bbq's around, but there are many reasons why I like this one...

One night many months ago I was on my way to O Bal Tan (another very good Korean BBQ place in a city laneway). But on my way I came across this laneway, and my tummy told me I should go and have a look-see at what was down there. Lo and behold I found Kozy, a Korean barbecue restaurant. I peered through the doorway, took a squiz at the menu and decided this was our new destination instead. It was a fantastic meal and ever since that night I have returned many times. It is the only k-bbq restaurant I have eaten at ever since.

The most important thing at k-bbq? The meat! Kozy's got all the must-haves and it's very, very good quality. I always order Wagyu Flapmeat ($24) and it is worth every dollar - so meltingly-tender and flavoursome. Even if you accidentally over-cook some it's still soft (seriously, it is! I know cause I've done so). I also really like their Pork Belly ($17). There's a variation, Wine Pork Belly ($18). Both are good, but taste wise I have to admit I can't really taste much difference with the wine. The wined-pig's crispiness was a little better but maybe we just happened to do a better job of cooking that particular night, I'm not too sure. Another favourite is Beef Tongue ($18), not everyone likes tongue (yes that sounds wrong) but I do like it's lean, slightly chewy texture. It all cooks exceptionally well because Kozy uses real charcoal. And here they change the metal grill-plate for you regularly - you don't have to ask them and you don't have to pay. I couldn't ask for more. Well I could actually - one of the best things about k-bbq is that it's not an overly meat-heavy affair when eaten properly. You get fresh lettuce leaves - place a piece of meat in the middle and some dipping sauce. The standard offerings are sesame oil with salt and pepper, and korean style miso based sauce. I love both and they complement the meat really well. Wrap it all up and it's a great balance of flavours. We get as much lettuce as we like here at Kozy, and there's also fresh garlic and green chilli too.

The 'banchan' side dishes are a good standard, if you ask nicely I'm sure they'll refill them for you. On one occasion that I ate at Kozy, it was my birthday celebration with all my girlfriends from school and we went through a lot of banchan, our waiter was very kind and kept refilling it. Maybe it's cause we went through it so quickly and with such gusto, like a banchan-hungry mob.

Meat is always on the menu at a k-bbq.

Banchan side dishes and dipping sauces on the left, big thumbs up for charcoal on the right.

Pork belly, wagyu flapmeat, wrapped up in lettuce. OMG I am in heaven everytime I eat this. Seriously!!!

They also have those hot pot soups, the prices range from $12 to $15. All the ones I have tasted so far have been good - Gom Tang (thick beef-bone soup with sliced beef and vermicelli in hot pot), Hae Mul Silky Tofu Stew (spicy silky tofu stew served with mixed seafood and vegetables in hot pot), Kimchi Cheegae (kimchi stew with tofu, vegetables, and pork served in hot pot), Duen Jang Cheegae (Korean style miso stew with beef and assorted vegetables served in hot pot).

So far so good - good food, good service. But there's one last, fantastic surprise.... wait for it.... cheap Soju!!! That's Korean distilled beverage for the unfamiliar - in other words - alcohol. It's super cheap because for every $30 you spend you can have one bottle of Soju for $1! Yeap.. one dollar!! I think it's a minimum spend of $10 per person or something like that, I can't quite remember. But in any case, the cheap Soju is awesome value. My girlfriends loved this bargain as much as I do. Does that make us a banchan-hungry mob of Soju guzzlers?

Don't get me wrong soups are good... but $1 Soju is even better!

Do you still need another reason to check out Kozy? I would say no. But perhaps I haven't convinced everyone. During the day, there's no bbq to cook at your table. Instead there's a lunch special for only $7.99. You can choose from numerous options - a bowl of noodle soup or maybe rice with a dish of meat. You get some banchan side dishes too. All for $7.99! I've had the afore-mentioned Hae Mul Silky Tofu Stew with rice, So Bugolgi Set (Korean sizzling bbq beef marinated in soya sauce served with rice) and the Jan Chi Guksu (Korean style noodles with kimchi and vegetables in seasoned soup). The stew is hearty and makes for good comfort food, the bulgogi beef is soft and flavoursome which goes well with rice, and the noodle soup is light with a little kick of kimchi. All are generous serves that come with banchan side dishes and make for a very filling lunch. Awesome value!

Lunch special Hae Mul Silky Tofu Stew with rice and banchan. Only $7.99! And it don't look so dodgy in daylight.

Jan Chi Guksu in the foreground, So Bulgogi Set at the back - both $7.99, I smell a tasty bargain...

In summary:
I love small eateries in little laneways.
I love authentic Korean bbq.
I love a $1 Soju bargain.
I love a $7.99 lunch special that is filling and tastes good.
So it's easy to see why I love Kozy so much, it really is one of my favourite places to eat in Sydney!

What: Kozy Korean Barbecue
Where: 7 Wilmot St, Sydney (02) 9267 3533
How much: Lunch special $7.99 (regular lunch menu also available), BBQ meats in the $20 range, many more items available on the menu. Aaaaaand don't forget the $1 Soju!