Bibimbap at Sizzle Bento (Canberra)
Shop 3-4 Garema Court
City Walk - Canberra
Over the last few months I have ventured to Canberra, our nations great capital, on quite a few occasions for work. I must admit that my naive impression of Canberra pre work trip was that it would be somewhat of a culinary desert (…us Melbournites tend to be rather spoiled in this area). But how wrong I was. I have eaten some amazing meals in some quite funky little venues. And one dish that I can’t go without is the bibimbap at Sizzle Bento.
By the way, check out the culture section of the Sizzle Bento website for some interesting reads. For instance, an excerpt on the art of noodle eating “…lead the noodles with your chopsticks step by step into your mouth, while sucking them in with a controlled slurping sound. Try to copy the slurping sound of people around you.” Hehe. Love it.
Sizzle Bento is by no means a fine dining establishment. It is a franchised operation that caters to the mallrats of Canberran shopping centres. What is cool about the Garema store (notwithstanding the kitschy faux waterfall in the entry) is the brash rudeass mamasan who asks for your order before you’ve even looked at the menu. Not that being brash is necessarily a bad thing. She has got the place running on rails and offers a lively atmosphere to the joint.
Anyway, back to my lunch. Bibimbap literally translates as “mixed rice”. There are various forms due to regional differences, but I am most familiar with the one that comes in a hot stone bowl, or dolsot (which I will explain the use of later).
First up is the rice, plain and of the white variety. On top of that is meat, usually beef (as it was in this instance), although chicken or tofu can be substituted. Next a saute of vegetables - carrots, zucchini, onion and mushrooms. After that, a portion of piquant pickled beansprout kimchi. Lastly, a crisp shred of iceberg lettuce and julienned cucumber. The crowning glory? Of course it would be the fried googgy egg, sunny side up. When burst it oozes down into the rice and coats the grains in eggy goodness. The other wonderful ingredient is the special seasoned red pepper paste. It is sweet, thick, smoky, hot and ooooh so good. And it must be used in abundance.
Now to the dolsot, or hot stone bowl (remember that from earlier on?). Well what makes this dish truly shine is well before filling up the dolsot with rice and all the other goodies, it is heated to a ridiculously hot temperature and coated in light sesame oil. The cooked rice is dumped in and it pops, cracks and sizzles as the rice sticks to the sides. So when you get to the bottom of the dolsot you have this crunchy rice crust (think of socarrat in paella), which my friends, is the whole point of this wonderful dish.
Written by mellie on
September 26th, 2006 | Tags: restaurants | Category: Uncategorized
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September 27th, 2006 at 12:40 pm
Wonderful photos! The ‘burnt’ rice is a big thing to Koreans - the hardened rice is called ‘nooroong-ji’ and if there is any in the rice cooker it’s either eaten like crackers or boiled into a gruel. Heck, there’s even a lolly that’s meant to have that flavour!
September 28th, 2006 at 6:39 am
hi there, i’m a long time reader first time writer to your wonderful blog and i just wanted to say how much i enjoy reading about your culinary adventures and creations. i’ve recently left the safe shores of melbourne to work in canberra so your latest post is quite timely for me, as i was lamenting about all the nice food joints i was leaving behind *sniff* i’ve walked past sizzlebento several times not too sure whether to give it a shot but your review (and pix) make it awfully hard to pass by…and i’ve been keen to try bibimbap (its name alone is priceless) for some time. Keep up the great work!!!
September 28th, 2006 at 9:05 pm
Hi there Ellie - thanks for that little bit of extra information regarding nooroong-ji. Always good to add another foodie word to the repertoire ;-). I don’t know what I’d think about the nooroong-ji lollies though!! Perhaps it’s the vegemite of Korea!
Hiya Serenity - what an absolute lovely comment to write. I’m glad you’ve finally been prompted to write something! I have been really enjoying Canberra actually. Some places you may want to try are ZenYai (Thai-ish), Oriental House (Oriental-ish), and Blue Olive (Breakfast-ish). I can’t vouch for any of the other dishes at Sizzle Bento (as I *always* go the bibimbap) - but from what I see from other tables, they don’t look too bad.
September 28th, 2006 at 10:13 pm
I’ll eat anything with an egg on top but that looks absolutely divine. Do I have to go to Canberra to get one?
Cheers Gillian
September 29th, 2006 at 9:19 pm
Hey Gillian. Korean eateries appear to be popping up everywhere at the moment. It is such an underrated cuisine, and you liken it somewhat to Japanese cuisine (in some dishes anyway!). And thankfully you don’t have to go to Canberra to eat Bibimbap. There are a gazillion places that do it down here.
October 9th, 2006 at 12:43 am
MEL!!
I finally have a restaurant recommendation for you! We just got back from a weekend in Canberra and I had the MOST divine breakfast ever. We ate at “Silo” in Kingston. I had the breakfast bruscetta - their house made sourdough topped with poached eggs and Chilli Jam, with a side of slow roasted tomatoes. It was HEAVEN. David had a gruyere omlette. They make their own bread (4 varieties I think) and pastries - really an excellent place with a great vibe for a fabulous brekkie. The coffee was also FAB!
As I was eating and swooning over it all, I kept wishing I had a digital cam on me so I could photo and review it!
I can also recommend “Rice Paper” which is in Civic, where all those restaurants are (funnily enough, it’s diagonal across from a Sizzle Bento..) We had a great meal there as well.
Michelle
(newly amazed at the food n Canberra)
October 12th, 2006 at 2:44 am
Canberra has some great hidden foodie gems. I used to go there for work a lot myself. I mean, let’s face it, where there are fat politicians, there are generally some good restaurants to be found.
October 16th, 2006 at 1:12 am
Hey there Michelle! Silo sounds absolutely yummo. Mmm…slow roasted tomatoes. You must have remembered how crazy I am for those! And will have to try Rice Paper as well, despite my bent for Bibimbap at Sizzle Bento
Hiya Lady Lunchalot - so true, although I find the plethora of English style pubs quite amusing
February 12th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
Hi Mel,
I am afraid Canberra culinary landscape is so far backward off next to Melbourne.
Just about everything you care to name in Canberra goes by the principle, ” has everything but only one of everything”. Hence massively cranked up price / lower quality due to non-existent competition
Just to show you how desserted it is!
do you know where to get the following in Canberra:
1. Authentic French Crepes ala Breisoz in Fitzroy
2. Omakase style dining ala Jamon Sushi in South Yarra
3. Dumplings ala David’s Shanghai Dumpling
4. Asian bakery
5. 7-8$ good tasting with endless variety Chinese take-away. Mind you that 10$ will only barely get you the most basic fried rice!
6. Cafe with flash interior yet reasonable price like The Botanical
7. Genuine Spanish Bar Tapas ala Movida
8. Super flash ( and of course invincible) restaurant ala Vue De Monde
9. Durian/Pandan/Green Tea gelati ala Il Dolce Freddo @ Lygon St
10. BBQ Pork bun at Nam Loong restaurant
Canberra is simply a town that promotes playing-it-safe and conformity rather than individualism, quirkiness and edginess. How can you expect good quality cuisine in this way?
I hardly notice the following:
1. Best flair that emerges from Canberra
2. Best import that come to them.
Sorry to be this harsh to them but I just can’t bear living in this place anymore…….
February 12th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
emzeegee and hungry tree,
While Silo Bakery is good, plenty of other Melbourne establishment simply trumped them.
Have you tried the following:
1. Mart 130
2. The Botanical
3. Bistro’t Dorsay
4. Walter Wine Bar
5. Pearl
6. and of course, Babka!
February 13th, 2007 at 11:19 am
Hi there strandedincanberra - Ooooh…I really do hear your cry! My post was more of a “wow…look, you can actually get some halfway decent food in Canberra”. I didn’t blog it for its culinary excellence
Seriously, I’m the last person you have to convince how good we have it down here in Melbourne (gastronomically speaking). I pretty much wave that flag on a daily basis!!
And your comment to Emzeegee - well, she is happens to be a qualified pastrychef (and a damn fine one at that!). She knows her shit - so I wouldn’t doubt her opinion. That being said, the breakfast places you mentioned also totally rock
Now strandedincanberra - I have a mission for you (since not many people seem to be doing it in your neck of the woods). Go forth and find those culinary gems in pollietown, and blog the beegeesus out of them. They are there - I guarantee it. You just have to give enough shit to find them.
February 13th, 2007 at 6:17 pm
Well, you know… I am just so spoiled with tonnes of Australia’s best food in Melbourne.
Moving to Canberra is like downgrading from BMW to Toyota. Bearable for a while but not for long!
My apology if my previous comment insulted you in anyway.
I am just so disappointed with such a lackluster quality of its restaurants.
The most likable aspect of my move is perhaps proximity to Sydney.
I tried some of their most lauded restaurants or establishment. However, next to Melbourne standard they are just a bunch of abomination. Imagine this, Singapore noodle with such a petty portion that doesn’t taste right for 14$! It won’t be anything much more than 10$ in Melbourne with far better taste in comparable suburb. Mind you, it happens at one of the winner of Restaurant and Catering ACT award!
So, I kind of lost my hope for decent dining here….