Open Korea Restaurant
Image: Driving home along Parramatta Road after post-work drinks, it’s hard to avoid the lure of bad food – but just up from the awful arches, vivid blue and red neon illuminates a healthier domain.
Driving home along Parramatta Road after post-work drinks, it’s hard to avoid the lure of bad food – but just up from the awful arches, vivid blue and red neon illuminates a healthier domain. This inexpensive, little Korean restaurant boasts a kitchen happy to receive diners after ten on a school night! Dining right before I gave up octopus, I can guiltily report Takoyaki ($6.90) topped with dried bonito and springy greens, are tasty. The standout dishes here are the mainstays of Korean cuisine: bibimbap and bulgogi. The hot pot of Beef Bibimbap ($13.50) is a complete (and oil-free) meal in a bowl – thin strips of beef, abundant vegies and rice with raw egg and chilli sauce stirred through at the table for a creamy finish. Invest in a Pork Bulgogi Set ($19) to compliment the sweet and salty strips of grilled pork with kim chi (an essential part of any Korean meal), miso soup and assorted pickles. The dish was well-balanced on one visit, and oversweet on another. Regardless, it suits a refreshing Korean Hite Beer ($6). Warm Japanese Sake ($15/large) proved too salty for me. A better bet is BYO from the vast (but pricy) cider collection a few doors down at Camperdown Cellars.
Open Korea Restaurant
154 Parramatta Road, Camperdown
Ph: (02) 9557 4993 www.openkorea.com.au
Korean $-$$
