Barbecue

Kong BBQ

Smoked Brisket with Ssamjang and Kimchi Bun

★★★★☆

Spicy Pork Belly with Pickled Cucumber and Kong Crazy Horse Chilli Bun

★★★☆☆

Korean Fried Wings with Honey, Garlic and Sesame

Super sticky, super sweet

★★☆☆☆

BBQ Corn with Chilli Salt and Miso Butter

★★☆☆☆

Kong Bossam BBQ Tray – Pulled Chicken and Pork, Pork Belly and Beef Brisket, Pickled Kimchi, Walnut Ssamjang and Lettuce

★★☆☆☆

Teriyaki Roast Ora King Salmon, Wok Fried Broccoli and Tomato Roti Roll

★★★☆☆

Pulled Pork with Slaw, Kimchi and Burnt Chilli Mayo Roti Roll

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

We came on a late Sunday afternoon (to avoid the queues) and were immediately seated. The place was bright and open with the kitchen being in plain view from the dining area, and the service was very efficient. The ‘Chin Chin’ cookbooks that were neatly lined up along one of the shelves remind you that Chris Lucas (the brains behind this place) is also the brains behind other restaurants such as Chin Chin on Flinders Lane and Baby pizzeria in Richmond.

The fusion of American, Korean and Japanese flavours create a very unique menu here at Kong BBQ. So if you are a fan of Asian fusion cuisine, this place is definitely for you.

Kong BBQ

599 Church St, Richmond, VIC

(03) 94271307

https://www.kongbbq.com.au/

Hurricane’s Grill

130 Roscoe St, Bondi Beach NSW 9130 7101

Steak and Ribs Combo with chips

200g free range sirloin with half a rack of pork ribs

Pork Ribs (Half) served with a baked potato

Overall:

One of the worst steaks I’ve ever had (flavourless, tough, rubbery) and some of the best ribs I’ve ever had (tender fall off the bone meat that had been generously marinated in a delicious gluten-free secret recipe basting sauce). Be prepared for some messy eating when it comes to the ribs, but don’t let that deter you from coming here as the staff will offer you the option of having a bib (which they even tie around your neck for you). The service was quick, the atmosphere family friendly, a place certainly worth visiting for the ribs.

Nieuw Amsterdam

106-112 Hardware Street, Melbourne 9602 2111

House baked sourdough

Black kingfish ceviche

Chicken waffles

Smokey beef brisket

Rabbit meatballs

Grits fritters

Baked eggplant

Peanut butter sandwich

Pumpkin donuts

Thoughts:

House baked sourdough – tasted more like regular bread than sourdough as it did not have that mild sour taste. However this bread did have a crispy yet oily crust reminiscent to that of pan fried pizza base = Good

Black kingfish ceviche – served with daikon, dashi dressing, crunchy quinoa and finger limes. A fresh and cool combination of flavours and textures = Good

Chicken waffles – strong flavoured pate, terrine, crispy chicken skin and orange caramel = Not bad

Smokey beef brisket – juicy pieces of beef served with carrot remoulade = Good

Rabbit meatballs – dry gamey meatballs, undercooked tagliatelle, sofrito, and roast tomato sauce. Note that this dish is no longer on the menu = Bad

Grits fritters – marvelously fluffy fritters served with a variety of sweetcorn and heirloom beetroots = Good

Baked eggplant – served with grilled tofu, mushrooms and spiced yogurt = Good

Peanut butter sandwich – served with cherry ripe ice cream, peanuts, salted caramel and chocolate sauce. It’s such a shame that this dessert is no longer on the menu as it was delicious! = Good

Pumpkin donuts – crispy deep fried donuts served with Kentucky bourbon whipped cream. The donuts by themselves are quite dry so need to be eaten together with the cream = Not bad

Overall:

Great food, good service, dark and sleek atmosphere. This place is absolutely worth visiting.

Mrs Kim’s Grill

136 Koornang Road, Carnegie 9563 4424

Moo set

Oink set

Thoughts:

Moo set – 350g of marinated Galbi beef ribs, 150g of Skirt steak, tomato and avocado salsa salad = Good

Oink set – 250g of chilli pork belly, 150g of pork neck fillet, smoked salmon and onion salad = Good

Note that each set comes with butter and garlic potatoes, corn, soup of the day (which was soy bean paste soup), and rice for two.

The complimentary side dishes that are served with all meals include: homemade kimchi, pickled onion, spring onion salad, ssamjang soy bean, dipping sauce, and pepper and garlic salt.

Overall:

Really delicious and well marinated meat! In fact everything here was very tasty. My only complaint is that the meat sets need to be bigger so that there is more meat to be enjoyed! The atmosphere is casual and the staff are efficient and friendly.

Hudadak

Carinish Rd, Clayton (near the corner of Clayton Rd) 9543 4276

Steamed dumplings

Seafood and kimchi pancake

Spicy corn noodles

Half fried chicken/Half ganjang chicken

Thoughts:

Steamed dumplings – healthy tasting mince and vegetable filled dumplings served with soy sauce = Not bad

Seafood and kimchi pancake – not enough seafood, not enough kimchi = Not bad

Spicy corn noodles – chewy corn noodles with vegetables (carrot, cucumber, cabbage, bean sprouts, seaweed), sliced apples, and half an egg, served cold with a spicy sauce = Not bad

Half fried chicken/Half ganjang chicken – the fried chicken is original Korean style fried chicken, while the ganjang is soy and garlic sauce fried chicken. Both were delightfully crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with the ganjang chicken having a delicious sweet flavour to it = Excellent

Overall:

This small casual place has the usual Korean menu (eg. sizzling BBQs, clay pot soups) but the stand out item for me was definitely their fantastic fried chicken!

Joe’s Bar and Dining Hall

64-66 Acland St, St Kilda 9525 3755

Greenvale Farm Pork Sliders

Bucket of JFC

Harissa chicken salad

Romsey range beef burger

Sausage sizzle kransky

Mac ‘N’ Cheese

Thoughts:

Greendale Farm Pork Sliders – pork, pickled cabbage, BBQ sauce and apple puree. The hint of sweetness from the apple puree completed the taste of these yummy sliders = Good

JFC – four huge pieces of crispy (boneless!) chicken served with chipotle mayo = Excellent

Harissa chicken salad – tender harissa chicken, beetroot, goats cheese, rocket, pepita seeds and quinoa. I normally don’t order salads but I’m so glad that we did because it was surprisingly fantastic! = Excellent

Romsey range beef burger – deliciously juicy Romsey range beef, lettuce, cheese, red onion, pickles, mustard mayo and tomato sauce. A tasty no frills basic beef burger = Good

Sausage sizzle kransky – salty kransky served with cider onions, vermont cabot cheese, bourbon mustard and cabbage = Not bad

Mac ‘N’ Cheese – macaroni pasta with vermot cabot cheese and a sage and garlic crust = Good

Overall:

It’s a shame that this place always seems to be quiet whenever I pass by because the food here is something worth talking about. Not to mention that you get also get complimentary chipotle popcorn! The staff here are great however service from the kitchen can be a bit slow. The atmosphere is average but if you go on a friday or saturday night, there is a house DJ (who is awkwardly placed on the far side of the room near the toilets) that plays from 9pm till late.

Big Boy BBQ (Caulfield)

764 Glenhuntly Road, Caulfield South 9523 7410

The New Yorker

Big Boy Smoked BBQ Meat Platter

Sides

Peanut butter cream pie with chocolate ganache

Condensed milk and banana ice cream

Thoughts:

The New Yorker – layers of salty herb infused beef pastrami, melted swiss cheese, mustard and pickles on toasted rye bread = Good

Big Boy Smoked BBQ Meat Platter – beef brisket, pulled pork scotch fillet, pulled lamb shoulder, beef pastrami, ½ rack of pork ribs, ½ rack of lamb ribs and chicken wings. So this menu option comes with 3 jumbo sides but for some reason we got 5 sides (not that I’m complaining). The sides we got were crunchy chips, onion strings, coleslaw, potato salad and corn bread. Now the menu said that this platter could feed between 1-6 people. Imagine one person eating all of this by themselves. Yikes!

So all the meat at this place is slow cooked and as a result has a salty smoky flavour. Apart from the pulled pork scotch fillet (which was quite spicy compared to the rest of the meat), everything tasted very similar after a little while once it was covered in the sweet BBQ sauce. As for the sides, the crunchy chips were extremely crunchy (in a delightful way), the onion strings were mostly just deep fried batter, the coleslaw was fairly average, the creamy potato salad had a nice tanginess to it due to the pickles and the corn bread was quite sweet (which I suppose is normal for cornbread) = Not bad

Peanut butter cream pie with chocolate ganache – deliciously creamy with a great balance of peanut butter and chocolate ganache = Good

Condensed milk and banana ice cream – came prepackaged in a little container and tasted like condensed milk mixed with banana Nesquik (ie. had a very artificial taste to it) = Not bad

Overall:

The place to go to if you want to have a break from eating vegetables and instead indulge yourself in a lot of meat. Although the food here is not exactly amazing, the concept of having slow cooked food that is served fast is different and interesting. (Their meat is smoked at low temperatures for up to 16 hours, hence the food isn’t hot but warm when it is served). The staff here are young and friendly and the atmosphere is very casual.