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.

Chicken Maru - Hurstville, NSW

Lately, I've been feeling a bit tubby...which is to be expected since as you may know, I've had a LOT of fried chicken lately. Fried chicken of the korean variety...with abundant cheese powder. But can you really blame me? I mean, it's so succulent and crispy that you just can't resist eating it again and again. The only reason I've managed to keep my waistline relatively in check is that KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) wasn't exactly the most accessible item...until now.

It seems as though in the short time I've been staying away from Hurstville, it's evolved to encompass so many more cuisines than I last remember it having. One of the new additions is Chicken Maru, Hurstville's first Korean Fried Chicken establishment (which we believe is also a chain in Korea as indicated by the packaging they provide for takeaway). When I first learned of this place, I legitimately had a moment of internal conflict. My heart said no but my stomach said "gimme gimme gimme". Alas I was able to stave off my appetite until last night when the family wanted to go give it a try. From that moment on, I realised that I was doomed.

If you know Hurstville, you'll know that parking is an absolute nightmare. Luckily, if you're willing to pay for it (and keep it to an hour) you can park up at the train station for $2...or just go shopping for groceries and validate your ticket. You really wouldn't normally expect a place to be packed on a Sunday night but it was. Tables of friends, students, families all devouring piece after piece of delicious fried chicken. The smell wafting through from the kitchen was maddeningly irresistible, like an olfactory siren song.

You do get your usual banchan (korean side dishes) to which in my opinion was ever so slightly disappointing in flavour but obviously, not a major detriment as you don't really come here for legitimate Korean food. That said, we still found it obligatory to order a seafood pancake and soft tofu hotpot for comparison. In my humble opinion, the seafood pancake was only satisfactory as it was definitely not the worst I've had but far from the best. The outside rim was rather crisp but it got a little doughy in the middle which might float some boats but I personally have a preference for crispy all the way through.

I was definitely more impressed with the soft tofu hot pot though as the soup was tummy warming and had a decent amount of heat to get the tastebuds racing. Packed with soft tofu and delicious vegetables, the soup really made me happy to be dining at Chicken Maru that night as I had just woken up from a nap and needed a bit of a pick me up on a slightly colder night. I also really appreciated the fact that there were clams and bits of cuttlefish to go with the soup.

As the kitchen was supremely busy with the amount of orders it had to cook, the last items to arrive on our table were our orders of fried chicken. No issue though as this was primarily why we decided to visit and we were all rather excited to dig in. For those of you who share my love of Kentucky Fried Chicken Hot & Spicy flavour (and get equally distraught every time they take it away) I say to you, fear no longer! We now have a suitable and permanent replacement in the Chicken Maru original flavour! I really didn't expect it to be spicy but it was...and it was so much more delicious for it. The crunchy, batter covered exterior housed the most moist and succulent flesh and as you continued to devour your piece of fried chicken, the appetising heat builds up to a crescendo of gustatory elation. Worth. Every. Bite.

Our second order of chicken came shortly after and although it did give me an equivalent amount of joy, I also found my mouth a bit burnt out from all fried chicken. Mind you it was delicious to have cheese powder dusted on top of the chicken but alas, it didn't mask the fact that it was still the same kind of chicken we had just previously had. I believe that if we didn't order the original chicken and instead had opted for a saucy kind, I would have enjoyed the snow cheese chicken MUCH much more. For this, I have to regrettably admit that I didn't do the snow cheese chicken justice but I know better for next time. Lesson learnt: half sauce & half Cheese makes for a happy dining experience.

On the one hand, I'm really glad to see the area that I grew up in develop into such a thriving foodie hub but on the other, I'm also filled with sadness as I've only just discovered this place just as I'm imminently about to pack up and move to another area of Sydney. Hopefully, the Mrs and I will be able to enjoy coming here with our friends and family whenever we do come and visit. I know for a fact that if I'm ever craving snow cheese chicken, this is the first place I'll be hitting up.