I was chastised the other day for not visiting Korean restaurants very often. I do like Korean food. I like it very much but to get the best out of a Korean restaurant you need to have a group of people. I put the matter to another friend and she said, “well we’ll go anyway and just pretend there are lots of us.”
Korea Garden has been at this address for a good many years. How many I couldn’t say but I’m pretty sure I first ate here around 20 years ago. The entrance is a single doorway and a flight of stairs to the restaurant which is on the 1st floor. If you go for lunch it is advisable to book or go early.
We got there at 12.30, any later it would have been full. I was eager for some classic Korean barbecue and went for spicy marinated pork ($100). This, of course, comes with its own range of kimchi and assorted vegetables.
My comapanion was keen to identify a stew that she had tried before and and had enjoyed very much. She knew it had included tofu but it had been part of a much larger meal before and now she couldn’t be certain what else had been in it. In the end she settled on Pollack stew with tofu and vegetables ($100).
To complement them we also ordered Kimchi fried rice in a stone pot ($100) and a spring onion pancake ($90).
As is often the case at luchtimes the dishes all arrived in quick succession. The barbecue was lit and the first pieces of pork were beginning to sizzle while the waiter was serving the kimchi fried rice. Both the rice and the pollack stew were huge and would probably have been enough for four people.
The rice was excellent and I mad short work of mine. My companion was less enthusiastic about the stew, it wasn’t right one after all. I thought it was quite pleasant. It also had mushrooms, prawns and mussells in it. I didn’t remember seeing prawns or mussells on the menu. This didn’t worry me unduly but I do know people who are allergic to shellfish and would probably like to know about such things in advance.
The spring onion pancake and the spicy pork both live up to expectations and we settled in for a long, leisurely lunch
View Larger Map |
|---|
Balancing convivial conversation with cooking and still managing to eat some of what is already there can be quite a challenge. Consequently some of the meat got a little burnt towards the end and we had to call for help to find the off switch.
1/F Blissful Building
247 Des Voeux Road
Sheung Wan
Tel 2542 2339
