Japchae

Pho n Thai

Pad Thai

Stir fried noodles with meat, egg, bean sprouts and crushed peanuts

★★☆☆☆

Beef Japchae

Sweet potato noodles stir fried in sesame oil with vegetables, sliced beef and soy sauce

These noodles were tough and chewy, and the sauce was exceedingly sweet.

★☆☆☆☆

Singapore Noodles

Stir fried rice vermicelli with meat, bok choy, soy sauce and curry powder

★★☆☆☆

Laksa Noodle Soup

Coconut curry noodle soup with meat and vegetables

An average laksa that was overloaded with onion.

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

Despite the name being ‘Pho and Thai’ this place actually offered a range of Asian cuisines, and was completely staffed by Koreans. Food was passable, service was average and the atmosphere laid-back with orders taken at the counter.

Pho n Thai

39-49 Lake St, Cairns, QLD

(07) 4031 6001

KF Cafe

374 Centre Rd, Bentleigh 9557 5694

Ice green tea latte

Kimchi pancake

Deep fried octopus balls

Pork with bulgogi sauce on a sizzling plate

Bibimbap

Japchae

Thoughts:

Ice green tea latte – contained more milk and less green tea powder than previous ice green tea lattes that I have had but was still very yummy = Good

Kimchi pancake – a light eggy pancake that barely had any kimchi in it = Not bad

Deep fried octopus balls – came with a generous amount of dried bonito but did not actually contain much octopus in the balls themselves = Not bad

Bulgogi pork – came with rice and miso soup. The pork was tender and bulgogi sauce had a great balance of salty and sweet = Good

Bibimbap – tender stir fry beef with a good variety of vegetables. They forgot to give us any chili pepper paste but were very apologetic when we asked for some = Good

Japchae – chewy sweet potato noodles served with sliced beef, onion, carrot, zucchini, eggplant, enoki mushrooms, chives and Korean soy sauce = Not bad

Overall:

A tiny little restaurant that serves a mixture of Korean and Japanese food. The service is fast and friendly, while the decor is simple and a little bit strange (think little green footprints on the wall). My only gripe with this place is the portions of the food: too small!

Hodori Korean Garden

1344 Centre Rd, Clayton 9562 7849

Spicy rice cakes

Kimchi pancake

Spicy kimchi hotpot with tofu and tuna

Mild beef stock soup with rice cakes and dumplings

Japchae

Teriyaki chicken sizzling plate

Dolsot bibimbap

Side dishes

Thoughts:

Spicy rice cakes – soft chewy rice cakes covered in a moderately chilli sauce = Not bad

Kimchi pancake – mildly spicy pancake that tasted almost pizza-like with the amount of capsicum that came on it = Not bad

Kimchi hotpot – regular kimchi soup that came with a decent amount of (canned) tuna = Not bad

Rice cake and dumpling soup – great for those who don’t like spicy soups, comes with a total of 3 dumplings (that contain indistinguishable meat) = Not bad

Japchae – a highly sweet dish that consists of chewy potato noodles, beef, capsicum, baby corn, onion, cloud ear fungus, spring onion and sesame seeds = Not bad

Teriyaki chicken – the excessively sweet teriyaki sauce is overwhelming = Not bad

Dolsot bibimbap – tasty combination of beef, egg, beansprouts, carrots, spring onions, onion, and dried seaweed = Good

Side dishes – pickled bean sprouts, kimchi, fish cakes, candied potato, chicken mayo salad and seasoned broccoli = Good

Overall:

Typical Korean fare at a place that has fast service, decent servings and is good value for money. The main dining area is upstairs, although they do have some traditional floor seating tables downstairs. Now each table upstairs has a service bell which you press whenever you require a waiter’s attention. However this only works when the waiters are not busy so you may need to press it at regular intervals to remind them that you still waiting to be served. Note that this is a cash only place.