Chimac - West Melbourne

I rarely go to restaurants and have a unsatisfactory experience. I always give a food joint a good perusal online before I eat there for  the first time. I've been to Chimac 3-4 times and have previously rated it highly. No more. I went to Chimac on a busy Saturday and feel like the food has downgraded considerably.

Menu

Wonder Soy Chicken

The wonder soy chicken ($18) was so very sad. Quite dry with a very thinly coated layer of the honey soy sauce. Very lackluster, should've just went to Gami for my Korean Fried Chicken fix. Also they do not provide any more pickled radish. What is this travesty?!?!

Quesadillas

Again, these beef bulgogi quesadillas ($17) were very dry. It is usually bolstered by the salsa, it seems like they skimped out on this as well as the sauce. Just by looking at my previous quesadilla photos, I can see the difference in sauce drizzle.

Gyozas

We had ordered the corn cheese but it wasn't until our mains came the waitress told us they had run out and asked if we wanted something else. Should not have bothered with the gyozas. Given that there was no sauce, I expected them to be beautifully flavoured. Thank-god for the slaw. Not the best way to end the meal.

Overall, I left feeling quite disappointed with Chimac. Once it was a joint, I proudly recommended to my friends for its Korean Mexican fusion. The service was pretty shoddy as well. We had to sit for ages before asking for our own menus and then got our drinks mixed up as well. I get that it is busy but it didn't feel great seeing proper customer service provided to all the tables around us. Melbourne is spoilt for choice for Korean food and I will go elsewhere to satiate my cravings.


Taste: 4.5/10
Presentation: 6/10
Service: 4/10
Value for Money: 7/10



 

Sam Sam - CBD

I recently had a catch up with the grills at Sam Sam. I have heard mixed reviews about this place but we we were looking for a quick Korean fix and decided to give it a shot. We all ordered off the Value Meal Menu (11:30AM - 8:00PM).

BOK BOK

I got the Spicy Chicken Bulgogi which consisted of marinated chicken (topped with extra cheese) with mixed vegetables in spicy Korean chilli paste sauce and steamed rice ($14). It looked deceptively chock full of chicken but mostly full of onions. It was a standard chicken bulgogi dish which was nice but not amazingggggg. PS give me more than just 1 piece of broccoli pls.

BIBIBBIBIBIMBAP

Mong got the BiBimBap which was traditional Korean vegetable mixed rice with egg and her choice of meat of beef bulgogi ($13). Personally I'm not a fan of this in general because it is bland AF. Mong did have to put a shitload of sauce to make it more flavoursome. The bottom was also not crispy because it wasn't served in a stone bowl. I liked the presentation tho.

PORK BAELLLLY

S had to eat the Stir-fried Pork Belly ($13) because Shomoko stole her dish. It was stir fried with vegetables and a spicy Korean chilli paste sauce on steamed rice. It was aight.

SOY SWEET

Shomoko grabbed the Sweet Soy Chicken Bulgogi ($12) which was marinated chicken with mixed vegetables in seasoned soy sauce and steamed rice. A shitload of onion as well and a little sweet for my liking. 

I LOVE KIMCHI FRIES

OOFT look at dese KimChi Fries ($12). They're SAM SAM seasoned chips topped with caramelised kimchi, crispy pork belly, lemon zest sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese and spring onion. It looked a treat and tasted pretty decent. Since it was only layered at the top, once you finished it, the chips were pretty soggy and without toppings as the kimchi and pork belly were pretty sparse to begin with.

Overall, Sam Sam was a pretty decent feed. Everything tasted good but nothing noteworthy. The prices were pretty cheap for a filling meal. I love kimchi fries in general so these hit the spot but I've had better at Chimac and Chick-In. I might return for dinner one day and try out the fried chicken. They look rowdy AF and I love radish, like actually. 

Taste: 7/10

Service: 7/10

Presentation: 7/10 

Value for Money: 8/10

 

Oriental Spoon - CBD

I went to Oriental Spoon to catch up with some uni mates. We managed to order from the lunch menu. Cheap Cheap. Just a quick soup appreciation post.

I dream about this soup sometimes

A.B got the Spicy Seafood Udon (sans the udon because he is on keto) ($13) and this was so incredibly yummy. I'd say one of the best Korean seafood broths I have tasted. The seafood, which included prawns, squid, baby octopus and mussels, was also cooked beautifully. It came with banchan (free side dishes) too which was unexpected since it was a soup. It wasn't even my dish but I kept coming back for it since it was so delicious and plenty of it.

LOVE KIMCHI ANYTHING

I got the Kimchi Fried Rice with Loinkatsu ($14). This had a good flavour to it. It was a tad salty tho so more greens would've been nice to break up the salt and also for extra rowdy presentation points.

He copied me!

V the pleb also got the same dish but the Tender-Loin Katsu ($14).


Overall, pretty decent place. They have heaps of staple Korean dishes and our friends who got the bibimbap, fried chicken and topokki enjoyed their dishes too. Highlight was that Spicy Seafood broth and I would definitely return for that.


Taste: 9/10
Presentation: 8/10
Service: 7/10
Value for Money: 8/10

Chick-in - CBD

After a long day of class, I went with the uni squad to Chick-in near Southern Cross Station. We were too excited that we completely over ordered. Thank-god they forgot our order of their Signature Kimchi Fries ($17). Between the 5 of us we ordered 2 Whole Signature Fried Chickens ($32ea) and 2 Chick-In Plates which consisted of Gang Jung, pork Bulgogi, Dumpling Salad, Kimchi, Rice and Miso Soup ($15ea). A.B got the Chicken Salad ($16).

Whole Chicken (for 2)

The fried chicken was hands down the best chicken I've ever had out of all the Korean Fried Chicken joints in Melbourne. It's a big call but it was just so succulent and tender as the juices were literally dripping with every bite. I didn't even mind that the chicken wasn't coated in sauce because I got to enjoy the chicken on its own. The coleslaw was nice.

Chick-In Plate

This was really good value for money as it was jam-packed with variety. The Pork bulgogi and miso soup were especially memorable with yummy flavours.

A.B's Chicken Salad

A.B like his Chicken Salad. It was tangy and refreshing.

Our Setup!

Overall, we had a great feed at Chick-In. I've heard about it but didn't expect it to be this good. I would definitely recommend this place if you have a craving for Korean fried chicken. The serving size suggestions are on the generous side so don't over order like we did. Thank-god, K and Sham were legends and had 9 pieces of chicken each while we only had 3-5. Service was lovely since our waitress was really bubbly and accommodating. I would defo come back to try to Signature Fries.


Taste: 8.5/10
Presentation: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Value for Money: 8/10 (under $20 pp)

Big Mama - Carlton

With a craving for cheap Korean/Jap food, the uni squad headed to Big Mama. Over the last 3 years, we have come here countless of times. Between the 4 of us, we ordered the Chilli Chicken Karaage ($14.80), Korean BBQ Beef ($15), Kim Chi Ji Gye ($15) and Teriyaki Chicken Don ($9.50) and 3 servings of rice ($2 ea). 

Chilli Chicken Karaage

This was delicious, which is why we order it every single time. The chicken is more sweet than spicy but just so addicting. Yum!

Korean BBQ Beef

We wanted variety so we went with the beef. The flavours were there but the beef was sliced a tad too thin for my liking. It was the most neglected dish out of the 4.

Kim Chi Ji Gye

The kim chi soup was warm and a good spoonful to have in between all the meat we had. We were promised pork but I'm fairly sure there were only 2-3 tiny pieces. The flavour was pleasant.

Teriyaki Chicken Don

This tasted like every other teriyaki chicken ever. Nothing special but still good to eat so no complaints from us.

Dat spread. Much wow.

Overall, we had a great time at Big Mama. The servings were pretty generous and we were so full by the end of our feed. The free side dishes were a nice touch. Honestly, you can't go wrong with ordering the Chilli Chicken Karaage, it goes off every time. Would I go here again? Most definitely and an added bonus is that it is very close to RMIT.


Taste: 8.5/10
Presentation: 8/10
Service: 7/10
Value for Money: 8/10 (~$15 pp)

Da Rin - CBD

I met up with my sister, Q and high school friend, J after class and we went to Da Rin. It was 1:30pm and only 2 other people were there. We ordered the Korean Fried Chicken - sweet & spicy and honey & garlic ($34), Cheese Corn ($10) and the Squid Tuigim Dosirak ($12.50).

Korean Fried Chicken - Mix It Up

Despite ordering the hot & spicy chicken, we got the original chicken instead. The waitress gave us gochujang sauce to pour over but it just wasn't the same :(  However, the pieces were really succulent and I didn't even get my hands that dirty because it was so easy to eat. The radish cubes were the best since it was so refreshing to eat in between bites of the chicken. The coleslaw was nice too but they could have eased off with the mayo dressing.

Cheese Corn

I've never tried Cheese Corn before so I was pretty excited to eat this. I love corn and I love cheese so obviously this should have tasted amazing. The first couple of bites were interesting but then all I could taste was the surimi (crab stick aka fake seafood). I found myself picking around it while I was eating because it was so overwhelming.

Squid Tuigim Dosirak 

The Squid Tuigum Dosirak was pretty average. There was too much batter and the taste of the squid was lost. The vegetables were nice though because it was good to have a different salad with all the chicken we were having. If I bought this dish on its own, I would've been disappointed.

Our Meal in its Entirety 

Overall, I thought the meal was decent. The Korean Fried Chicken was the star (as it should be) and we were content with how yummy it was. The sides didn't live up to our expectations. Service was attentive but the mix up with the chicken did suck.

Service: 7/10
Taste: 7/10
Presentation: 7/10
Value for Money: 7.5/10