M's Food Find #73

A cuisine that you dont find me blogging about too often. Because I am not really a big fan of it. However, my friends love it and somedays I cave in.

Korean food. And this little place tucked away in the heart of the Shelley/Canning area, well I suppose it may be worth a trip: Phil Bean




Clever storage under the tables.


Some seafood/veg pancake thing - it is as you can tell generous in ingredients and tasted quite alright. I remember thinking I wanted chilli sauce on it.


Eggroll was delicate but nothing too special.



The mapo tofu is very stock standard and something I wouldnt probably order ever. Or anywhere else really because I just dont find it worthwhile.



The hotpot was flavourful and quite worth it. I mean so far the prices are steeper than normal but they are generous in their portions.



Some burger a friend ordered, she must have liked it but honestly, if I wanted burger there are wayy better burger joints out there in Perth! I mean we are in Australia!


I remember liking this hotpot over the other..


Bibimbap, my favourite korean dish. In fact really only thing I eat in this cuisine.


More authentic than the ones in the city because of the stoneware used and the proper eggyolk (instead of a sunny side up). I liked it alot. Very fresh and yummy.


Too salty.


Photos credits: mayydiaries.blogspot.com

Saba fish, like any Japanese restaurants. I found this quite standard and one cannot really go wrong. But very difficult to get right. This is just normal. Not exceptional.

Have you been? Do you think it is worth travelling down for? In my opinion, its worth a try but I dont see myself returning often. Maybe because I am not a korean food fan.

Kitchen Venture #8: 'Bibimbap'

So it is about FOUR months since the last kitchen venture post. Since February and my kitchen experiments with cold soba, I have yet to actually cook or experiment in the kitchen since. No actually, since I moved in here, I don't cook very much. So I find ways to improvise and break the sandwich and cereal rut.

And somehow, I managed and survived. The life of a very lazy student. Lazy when it comes to feeding myself. And also I am impatient. Today doing groceries, I saw a frozen meal I wanted to get and then it said ready in 6.5 minutes, I thought that was too long to myself. Oh boy.

I am pretty easy going when it comes to food. I mean I like fine dining and I totally know what's the difference between for example, otoro and toro; woody undertones and fruity tones. Trust me, I eat enough to know and I am spoilt rotten by Daddy when I am home. Nevertheless, we can't always have good food. And thank god I can live on salads and stuff. But there are days I want something more.

Photo credits: mayydiaries.blogspot.com
It came to my attention (after a couple of years) that I can buy microwavable rice. Previously I don't cook rice at home nor do I own a rice cooker. I don't like rice that much unless its sushi or when I get the mood. OKAY, back to the above photo, it is my version of the Korean dish bibimbap which is a signature Korean dish. The word literally means "mixed meal." Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables) and gochujang (chili pepper paste). A raw or fried egg and sliced meat (usually beef) are common additions. The ingredients are stirred together thoroughly just before eating. It can be served either cold or hot. Vegetables commonly used in bibimbap include julienned cucumber, zucchini, mu (daikon), mushrooms, doraji (bellflower root), and gim, as well as spinach, soybean sprouts, and gosari (bracken fern stems). Dubu (tofu), either plain or sautéed, or a leaf of lettuce may be added, or chicken or seafood may be substituted for beef. For visual appeal, the vegetables are often placed so that adjacent colors complement each other.

I am not a fan of Korean cuisine as I have mentioned before but I make an exception for bibimbap because I love fresh raw vegetables and sunny side ups. So in my version, I use brown rice (microwavable ones if you are as lazy as I am). I shred cucumber, tomatoes, red onions and/or carrots or slice them into round shapes. Because those are my staple vegetables. So easy to eat them, no cooking involved and very minimal water rinsing.

After arranging them above the rice, I add baked beans or canned tuna or canned chicken or ham or pork floss. ANYTHING you like basically. You can be hardworking and fry up some minced meat and stuff. At most, you should put two of the items named in this paragraph. Because anymore would really be overkill to the rice.

After all that, you top it off with a suuny side up with a runny yolk. The yolk HAS to be runny so the rice and meat can properly soak it up when you break it. That's the best part as it adds a new level of flavour to the meal.

There, done in minutes and minimal waiting around for something to cook. As long as I am kept busy, I have no complaints. I really liked the dish being kept fresh with all the raw vegetables. Like a rice salad thing. And filled with my favourite food. You can definitely do it too. Such child's play! I would imagine a kid loading it up with M&M's and chocolate sauce or something HA HA HA.

Till my next kitchen venture, Mayy xo

M's Food Find #32

On another spontaneous night for the second week in a row! Am I on a roll or what? Just you wait till Tuesday when I see my adventure ball, Kath and fellow shopaholic, Sam. April is looking good, and the workload climbs higher. Well, gotta relieve pressure somehow. Food is the way to go. And dressing up pretty. A cute flight of stairs outside of Western Australia Library. There was a purple flight too with squiggly words and funny pictures. I like all these quirky little things in Perth. After a long walk from parking at the Court, and discovering Tong 86 Korean BBQ only serves beef and pork for meat (Shiyu and I can't eat beef, Nurun can't eat pork), we walked all the way down to the busy part of Northbridge with absolute no idea where to go eat. Because well, I don't really want duck. The girls really wanted korean BBQ so I thought oh well, let's just get the craving over and done with for them. We passed by this small looking shop, Seoul Kitchen, Korean BBQ and Buffet in Northbridge (195 William Street). In we go, because we were either tired or hungry. So not impressed with the strong smell of food and the lack of strong aircon. All I can think about was my hair and clothes. Bleagh. Nevertheless, after some waiting and poor service, we got to sitting on the floor, at the back where there is aircon. The night is not off to the best of starts.

That is the BBQ set for two for Shiyu and Nurun. They chose chicken for their meat. For AUD49.95, I guess it is not too bad. But it is not really my thing. The chicken was tender after grilling, and tasted very yummy. Good marinade. The fish slices too. I didn't try the prawn and scallops so I can't tell you if they were fresh. But they had to be I suppose. That is the 3 side dishes there, Kim Chi, beansprouts and potatos. The potatos were really good. The waitress also kept checking back to see if she need to change the pan for them which was good I suppose. But other than that, it was very crowded and the service was not prompt. Photos credits: mayydiaries.blogspot.com

I ordered the only thing in korean cuisine I like: Bibimbap. It is also a shame I don't eat beef because that's the traditional one with raw egg. Here, the chicken and pork bibimbap is not on the menu but you can request for it. I got the chicken one so Nurun could have a try. She is not a fan. I mixed that all up and I wish I could have more eggyolk. Overall, pretty healthy. For AUD13.90, it's nothing special. Maybe the beef would be worth it, especially the marinated one.

Well, that's my saturday dinner. For those of you who like the fun of barbecuing or eating your hearts out, it is something in Northbridge you can go for besides the usual Chinese and Italian. And eat your fill before a night of booze and partying is wise.

Till my next food find, Mayy xo