562 Little Bourke St, Melbourne
Phone 03 9642 5696
Melbourne Hwaro Korean Barbecue is a very likeable dining experience. Sitting on Little Bourke St down the Spencer side of town, it is all subdued lighting, dark timbers and industrialness. But it is also relaxed, buzzy, and filled with a healthy dose of barbecue smoke.
One cannot commence a Korean feast without the obligatory kimchi. Apparently the Kimchi Museum (yes, there is one) has documented around 187 different types of kimchi!
We started with some blanched bean sprouts heady with sesame and salt, squares of eggy omelette, and fermented baechu (cabbage) not shy on the chilli.
This banchan (side dish) is a particular favourite of mine, although I’m not really sure what it’s called. The beans are rather firm to the tooth, and slathered with a sweet, sticky soy sauce.
Sliced spring onions dressed with a little chilli. This is used later with cups of iceberg lettuce to wrap cooked slices of meat before eating.
And the meat. To the left, chicken thigh marinated in chilli, a light soy and lots of sesame oil. To the right, a big slab of marbeled beef.
And this is how you cook it – on a grate right over hot coals. An extraction fan sits about twenty centimetres from the cooking area to suck up all the smokiness, hence the big black shadow in the middle of the meat.
A variety of dipping sauces are also used. My favourite – sesame oil with salt flakes. Mmm.
We also shared a seafood pancake/omelette – prawns, squid tentacles and mussles. A light salty dipping sauce helped to cut through the oil.
Then to dessert – black sesame ice-cream, hundreds and thousands, and salty savoy crackers. I’m not joshing – the combination actually works!
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*slobber* That looks really good- will have to try this some day
I love this place, and tried to go back last week but alas, it was booked out. My friends and I just stood inside the restaurant for a few minutes and sniffed the smell of the meat cooking over the coals. Using coals just makes the meat taste so much better.
The ice cream combo sounds very interesting. I must try it one day.
I heard from one of my friends that it was quite pricey, but a lot of students still go here. How much was it /head?
Hi Piggy Eatalot – yes, put it on your list. You’ll love it
Hiya Thanh – long time no hear! Yeah, it’s a great little place, huh?? Good reminder to readers that one needs to book, especially for a prime night.
Hey Daryl – I guess it really depends on what you order. There are some prime cuts of meat and seafood which can be pricey (but then, we’re only speaking $20-$30 at most). The few times I have been I’ve been in a group of four or so (I think it gets cheaper the more mouths there are to feed). With a beer or two, it probably works out at being $40-$45 a head.
Someone must have been seriously drunk when they thought of that ice cream combination! But yet I just have to try it.
omg! it was great. Went on a Saturday and it was my birthday they totally shut down the lights and sprung out with my birthday cake singing loudly, very fun.
the meat is absolutely to die for yum yum.
Hey Maria – it is a wonderous thing. Truly. I think it is the salt with the sweet that does it.
Hiya Chi-Lan – I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I find the staff excellent as well. The first few times we went, they were always helpful with cooking, providing direction etc. Always polite
Haha, glad that you like the place as well! It’s my current fav Korean bbq place!
Hey Hungry Hamster – yeah, I love it. It’s a great night out if you have a few mates who want to kick back with a few beers.
Had it just now, it was uber yummy. I think it edges out the other Korean BBQ place. (I wonder if it has to do with the charcoal???)
The banchan (small dishes) that you were talking about; the soy saucey sweety bean thing; is called kong ja ban. Kong for bean, and ja ban for marinated.
Thanks for letting me know Brian – it is one of my favourite banchan!
This place is overated.
I went last week and it was hard to see any koreans eating there. It seems they have found better restaurants in Melbourne which has better food and is not overpriced.
This place is for westerns.
They had frozen calamari cut in half for $20 served on wooden base that is used else where for soups! wtf??
I agree with Benny,when this place first open, the quality of food and service was very good.I always love to go there.
Now……I don’t want to go there and many of our friends feel the same.
They rush you to finish food in 2 hours and when you ask for more side dish they tell you that you need to pay extra.
The price of this place is not cheap but the service is not doing any better..and who charge side dish in Korea restaurant??? This is rip off!
I have to say I am very disappointing, I use to love this place and recommend all my friends to go, now I stop doing that.
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