Vora Cafe

120 Hardware Street, Melbourne
Phone 03 9670 2008

Vora Cafe is an unusual little Korean place that sits quietly and without much fuss on Hardware Street. EG and I had walked past it many times but had never felt drawn in. To be honest, if often looked quite dead. From the street you look through the front door to a darkened kitchen, and to the right in even more subdued lighting was a dining area that occasionally supported a smattering of economising Korean students. Nonetheless, it was a place that intrigued us, and after many months, we decided to try it out.

We kicked off the meal with some passably good gyoza - pan fried dumplings filled with minced pork and vegetables that came with a lightish dipping sauce. They were a teeny bit on the oily side.

I chose the dolsot bibimbap - rice served in a hot stone bowl with a selection of vegeables and kim chi (pickles), topped with a sunny side up egg. All the ingredients were wonderfully fresh, and the kim chi straddled the sweet / sour / hot balance quite nicely.

EG chose the seafood kimchi soup - a hot pot of viciously red liquid packed full of cabbage chards of and seafood mix. It was not overly spicy, but still very flavoursome. The seafood was well cooked and the dish came with a bowl of steamed rice.

Service was friendly enough; you order at the counter before taking a seat and they bring out the food to you. The dining room too is not so bad when you sit down, although there is still something a little unsettling about the chi of the place. It more feels like a place to be fed (ie. an eat and run), as opposed to a place to kick back and relax for a good meal with mates. But it's cheap and offers passable Korean fare.

Sake Bar Kura

1 Malthouse Lane, Melbourne
Phone (03) 9654 7454

Sake Bar Kura is quirky little hidey-hole restaurant located at the end of a derelict laneway (Malthouse) which runs off another lane (Flinders). The industrial/rustic Japanese entrance, complete with sauna-like cladding and kooky sake barrel, seems kind of surprising in the environment. Which I guess is one of the reasons this eatery is quite popular with the white collar lunch brigade.

The lunch set menu ($15) consists of pickled vegetables, entree of the day, grilled or fried fish, miso soup, main dish (13 to choose from) and fruit. I think that $15 is a reasonable price to pay for such a selection, but perhaps it is just a tad over what I would normally spend for lunch on a regular work day (I usually aim in the $6 to $10 bracket).

The venue itself is rather funky. The timber cladding on the outside follows inside to some very rustic (and extremely heavy) tables and bench seats. A certain amount of design has been influenced by Japanese aesthetic, partnering clean lines with natural elements such as a faux slate walls and bamboo featurettes. A little technosavvy device on the table will alert staff when you need them, which I initially thought was rather neat, yet felt reluctant to exercise. Call me old fashioned, but I like the game of catching the waiters eye when they wizz past.

But let's get down to it - the food. Today the lunch set included pickled zucchini and daikon, a meat ball with braised fennel, and deep fried fish/prawn ball. Of the three, the deep fried fish/prawn ball was probably my favourite, but then that old adage of "deep frying leading to goodness" is never far wrong. Personally, I think the pickled veg could have had more pickle about them - the flavour just vaguely dabbled in sweet and sour.

I chose the Katsudon for my main - a panko crumbed pork fillet served with a demiglass (sic) sauce on cabbage and rice. The pork itself was wonderfully tender and juicy, but what really added interest was the demi-glace. Past experience of katsudon sauce has been a dark brown worcestershire-like brew. But this one was full of the taste of tomato and was very very picquant (vinegary?). It really was quite interesting. I don't know how traditional it is (and to be perfectly honest, this sauce was far from being demi-glace as I know it), though I have read that the Okayama version of the dish uses this style of sauce.

EG went the attractively plated Sashimi don - slices of fresh salmon, tuna and kingfish with wasabi, ginger and soy on rice. As you can see it was attractively plated (...though I still think you can't beat the ridiculously cheap sashi don at Don Don), and the fish was wonderfully fresh. The warmth of the rice beneath went to warming the raw fish on top.

To finish, we were given a quarter of an orange. Yup. One quarter. Obviously $15 doesn't allow for much more than that ;-). Oh, and another puzzling thing. We ordered green tea and were given two western style cups with a green tea bag in it. What the?!? This just didn't make sense. Once again, call me old fashioned, but what the heck happened to teapots?

So whilst the food was somewhat interesting, I think it misses the mark in some areas. It would do well to foster the location with some more interesting, inventive and value for money food. And teapots. Yeah. That would do it.

Oriental Spoon

254 Latrobe Street, Melbourne
Phone +613 9654 9930

I really like Oriental Spoon, but then you may have guessed my particular penchant for Korean cuisine. The place exudes a vibe that reminds me somewhat of an energetic puppy - boisterous, youthful, refreshing and just oh so happy to please. The venue is airy and ultra modern, a good use of decor and interior design. The staff are fresh faced and ever so helpful, clothed in bright funky polo tops. And the food - well, let's just say it certainly won't disappoint on any level - freshness, quantity, authenticity and price.

Above is a the artfully presented tofu and seafood hotpot, sitting atop a portable cooker that makes this meal delightfully interactive. Under the pile of sliced zucchini, enoki and button mushrooms, spring onions, chinese cabbage etc. are huge blocks of silken tofu and an assortment of seafood; prawns, mussels, fish slices and calamari. In the middle of the pot is a huge spoonful of gochujang (I think), which is a spicy red chilli paste that acts to flavour the broth. As you stir the paste into the bubbling and boiling stock, the liquid turns a shade of fear inducing red. A sniff of the vapours will set both your eyes and nose running, and after every sweat gland has kicked into overdrive trying to cool your rising body temperature, well, you might be lucky enough to have the use of your tastebuds again and realise that this is a beautifully flavoured dish. Mmm.

Along with the hotpot you receive the requisite bowls of assorted banchan/kimchi and steamed rice. Then it is a matter of digging in with your ladle and chopsticks, and ferreting out all the sunken treasure. This "small pot" is certainly sufficient for 2 to 3 hungry people, or 4 not so hungry people.

On another visit we sampled the seafood pancake. It had the okonomiyaki's about it, but didn't follow the cabbage route. So it was tender and tasty with slivers of spring onion, prawn, scallop and fish slices in batter. Presented ever so nicely as a grid on a wooden chopping board, it was further accompanied by a cabbage salad (see...it make an appearance somewhere) with a tomato and mayo dressing, and a light dipping sauce.

We also sampled the jjin mandu, or steamed dumplings (quick digression - read a fabulous entry about Korean dumplings at Kitchenwench). Whilst they didn't look the business (ie. perfectly formed/crimped), they did taste the business.

Yak Gae Jang, a spicy beef soup, was slightly different in taste to what I've had previously, but still a good version.

Finally, a classic bulgogi, on this occasion made with squid instead of beef. It was sweetly salty/smoky/hot, and perfect when partnered with steamed rice and some cooling kimchi (and an Asahi beer ;-)).

Oriental Spoon is well patronised by the local student population, who demand cheap and cheerful feeds in a bright funky venue. And this certainly doesn't dissapoint. I'm following them on this one for sure.