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.

CeCi Korean Restaurant - Strathfield, NSW

Moving out is tough! You have to pack your belongings, move and transport the items across the city, clean stuff...and then clean some more stuff! I honestly thought I could pack my whole life into a suitcase and move on but clearly...I was very mistaken. My one suitcase turned into racks and racks of shirts, jackets, t-shirts and a couple of round-the-city trips to ferry my stuff from old home to new. In amongst all the uprooting of my life, I've been neglecting my diet lately (literally been surviving off of cup noodles for a week and a bit now). Without proper sustenance, my body began craving proper food and so being the ever loving partner, the Mrs took me to Strathfield and fed me a proper meal.

I've been going to CeCi's for a while now and whilst there's really nothing remarkable looking about this store, this place is a little gem hidden in the middle of Strathfield. The walls are plastered with the usual Korean soju posters as well as various in house specials (such as the flavoured soju...great for a night out). Order any items from the menu and the usual Korean side dishes are shortly brought to your table. This time, we got kimchi, cucumbers, buckwheat jelly, bean sprouts and marinaded potatoes. These little dishes are all delicious in their own right but even more so when you're starving and anticipating the meal you've ordered.

Despite going to a Korean restaurant, my first instinct was to order something that was deep fried. Which to me could only mean one thing: Donkasu (the Korean version of Japanese Tonkatsu...which I believe is a Japanese take on German schnitzel). Served with a side of rice, cabbage salad and a squizzle of bulldog Tonkatsu sauce, this dish is the perfect thing to have when you're craving a sense of belonging and home. Crunchy but not overly greasy, the meat is best served cut up into little bite sized pieces with rice.

The Mrs made the sensible choice and ordered the soft tofu hotpot. There is literally nothing more comforting than mouth-burning tofu swimming in a moorish seafood soup...the searing sensation of the heat and the spice numbs away any sense of homesickness which is ever so slightly mellowed out by eating it with the rice provided. The dish is kept consistently warm from the earthenware pot it's served in and won't be able to stop having more and more until you notice that you have nothing else but a few spoonfuls of soup left...well worth it though!

Since that meal, I've been reinvigorated in my mission to successfully transition from my old place to my new home and so far...I'd like to say it's going well. According to the Mrs, I still have a long, long way to go before I'm completely self-sufficient and responsible for myself but I've got (not a lot) of time to learn and well...least I've got Messina less than 10 minutes walk from me.