Hankook

Pork bulgogi is served with ttokbokki (rice cakes) and ‘purple’ rice. Photo: Pat Scala

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28 Nelson Street, Balaclava, 9943 2727

My score: 3.5/5

Opposite the Balaclava supermarket carpark where trolleys roam free, reverse parking is a talent unknown and unlucky down-and-outs busk badly for small change, a bright and optimistic little business has been quietly transforming. Hankook has been running as a cafe all year, smashing avocado, poaching eggs and frothing milk with assiduous care, but its Korean owners have been brewing something backstage.

Jacob Kim and his chef wife Anna Kang have just started opening for dinners too, sharing Korean food from their homeland, and serving it with beaming smiles and bursting pride. It’s a winner: simple, homestyle dishes with nice little flourishes at keen prices in a simple setting.

Brunch is a mostly Euro affair but there are a couple of Korean dishes – check out the spiced, sliced beef sandwiched between burger buns. Dinner is the complete K-munch. Kimmari are an unmissable starter. They’re like spring rolls but the casing is battered seaweed rather than pastry. These crunchy cylinders are stuffed with jap chae, translucent noodles made from sweet potato starch and usually served as the base of a stir fry. A rather fancy coleslaw, tossed with a frisky kiwi and pineapple dressing, is served alongside.

Korean-American mash-ups are a major strand of modern Korean food, which explains the fries doused with kimchi pickles and slathered with melted cheese. They’re hangover-busting Seoul food; think of them as the Korean version of the halal snack pack.

Golden-fringed seafood pancakes, threaded with cabbage and sweet with prawns, and the bulgogi (sizzling plates) are more traditional. There’s meat-free mushroom bulgogi and super tasty pork, thin-sliced, spicy and tender, served with crisp greens and springy tteokbokki (rice cakes). They’re served with a bowl of black and white rice which turns a kooky purple when mixed. My drink of choice is the makgeolli, a fermented rice beer that’s served in a teapot for pouring into little drinking bowls. It’s cool and refreshingly sour.

There are charming flourishes. Soy sauce is infused with fruit and spices, giving it citrus lift and pulling back on the salt. They make their own kimchi, the signature Korean pickles that are good for gut health. And the crew works extremely hard to ensure everyone has a good time. Hankook (it’s Korean for ‘Korea’ and also Jacob’s father’s name) is in a funny little double-fronted house which used to be La Cafe, and prior to that a medical centre. There’s seating on the veranda and in a candlelit rear courtyard. It’s not flash but it’s made circling the Balaclava carpark a more promising and tasty proposition.

See their website.

More Korean:

The More The Better, 305 Glen Huntly Road, Elsternwick, 9043 3204.
Korean-American fusion is a focus here, meaning you get dishes like beef burgers with kimchi coleslaw or Korean pulled pork wrapped in a tortilla. If that doesn’t appeal, you can stay traditional with sizzling grills and noodle dishes.

Woo Ga, 270 Victoria Street, North Melbourne, 9328 1221.
The deal here is classic Korean barbecue, complete with smoky clothes the next day. Good value set menus make it a fun place to feast with a group.

Geonbae, 4 Kananook Creek Boulevard, Frankston, 9783 9067.
New in Frankston and eager to please, this smart restaurant and bar has at-table barbecues and a sub-$20 lunch menu.

Gami Chicken and Beer, 990 Whitehorse Road, Box Hill, 9898 9478.
The Gami fried chicken empire extends to nine outlets, including one in Perth. As well as boneless or on-the-bone selections, there’s a vegetarian fried ‘chicken’ made with soy. I can never resist the tteokbokki rice cakes with chilli sauce either.

First published in The Age, 30th October 2016