Dae Ga Korean BBQ Restaurant - Parramatta, NSW

Have I mentioned how much I love my new adopted home of North Parramatta? No? Well, I absolutely love it here. This is my first experience of living in a CBD and it's equal parts exhilarating and overwhelming. The sheer amount of choice you have at your doorstep is staggering. I can literally satisfy almost any craving I have within a short 5 minute walk...KFC, Sun Ming, Japanese food...you name it, I have access to it. On the topic of cravings, I find it absolutely fascinating how one's cravings can sometimes be contagious...such was the case when I had sudden urge to eat Korean Barbeque. Our whole church group picked up on the same notion and that's how the Mrs and I found ourselves heading to Dae Ga Korean BBQ Restaurant.

The Mrs and I had noticed this restaurant a couple of months ago...It'd taken over the old spot where Chef's Taste had previously occupied and looking from the outside, we were rather intrigued about how good it would be. It was then the perfect opportunity to try this restaurant by bringing our rather large and hungry group of friends and family. The moment we saw the menu, we (I) was sold...everything I love about Korean food all in one restaurant. The offerings on the menu range from various hotpots and standard Korean dishes to Barbeque (duh) and even...Korean fried chicken. The Mrs and I (having eaten the most Korean food out of everyone) took it upon us to order for everyone on our table. On top of the variety, the staff at Dae Ga are all rather nice and friendly. Despite the large group we came in, they happily (if not slightly stressfully) accommodated us and I definitely appreciated the honesty in their service when assisting the Mrs and I with our ordering.

As with every Korean restaurant, the first to come were the various banchan (side dishes) that come complimentary with your meal. I can't say that the ones served here were particularly outstanding but definitely good for curbing your growing hunger in anticipation for your main meals. Additionally, bear in mind that it is rather hard to find a Korean restaurant which offers side dishes that are out of the ordinary...if you know of any restaurants where that's the case, please do let us know in the comments.

After the banchan came the second most anticipated dish: Soft tofu hotpot. Now, you might ask: why would you order a bubbling hot soup on humid nights like we've had recently? Because it's so good you don't care. Despite the heat and humidity, this soup is like a warm, spicy hug no matter where and what time you order it. This is one of those dishes that you can never go wrong with. Dae Ga does this dish moderately well...it's less spicy than I'm used to but that just goes to highlight the mild yet richly savoury flavour of the seafood stock.

In retrospect, we should probably have order more soup...but luckily, the combination platters we ordered came shortly after which helped supplement the soup we'd already been having. We decided to order two combination As as they contained the most variety of meats and was the type that's generally accepted by those new to Korean cuisine (bulgogi, Pork ribs, Samgyeopsal...or Korean bacon). This is where one of Dae Ga's shortcomings comes in play...they use gas stoves instead of Charcoal. Additional to that, our tables were provided the ingenious Korean griddle pans which drip excess oil into another bowl....for health reasons. Although slightly healthier, this definitely does take away from the experience as the pan takes longer to get hot and doesn't get the smoky char that you look for when barbecuing meat....still, it's still great that I'm able to get Korean BBQ so close to me.

The Mrs and I had also ordered other items such as Seafood Pancake and Korean Fried Chicken but by the time the dishes came, we were so consumed by our appetites that we'd neglected to take photos...but take my word for it, the pancake and chicken was actually unexpectedly decent. In my opinion, Dae Ga is a good option for those living locally who want a quick fix for their Korean cravings. If you're not bothered to drive to Eastwood or Strathfield, do give this nice local restaurant a try.