Eat Out - Hallah (Korean)

Day 214

It's really cold today. It feels like winter although this is the start of autumn. The weather here is really crazy. Summer has passed and it was nothing like what others have said, except for a couple of days when the temperature soared above 35 degrees. Most of the time, it felt like SG's weather. Lately the temperature has been dropping and it's getting colder. It's time to start shopping for some warm clothing.

Met Junlin, Ying Ying (his wife), Jasmine and Mr Tan in the city after their weekly Friday drinks. I was browsing the website of Melbourne Food & Wine Festival (MFWF) and chanced upon this Korean restaurant. Read some favourable reviews on Urbanspoon and off we went!

I called to reserve a table for 3 initially but had to change it to 5 when Junlin and Ying Ying decided to join us. They didn't give us a bigger table, but instead used a table meant for 4 to squeeze the 5 of us. There was obviously not enough waiters on the ground floor (upstairs are for BBQ menu) but the waiter who was serving us tried his best and did it with a smile. *thumbs up*

We started with a bottle of Bokbunjajoo Korean Raspberry Wine ($22). It looked nothing like the typical wine bottle, it looked more like a 500ml of Korean fruit juice. The helpful waiter told us that the bottle is small because this wine is taken more like a shot. Interesting, so we ordered 1 to try. It was really smooth and has a nice fruity taste. Nice.

First up was the Jab-Chae ($11.50), sweet potato noodles or what we called, "tang hoon", with vegies and mushrooms. It was pan fried with sesame oil and black pepper. This is my favourite dish of the night. Super delicious! The noodles were springy and so yummy that I went for second and third servings!

Next was Dolsot Bibim-Bap ($15), rice, beef and vegs in hot stone pot. Many reviewers had commented that is is good so I ordered it even though Jasmine and I don't take beef. But it was a good move because while the other 3 ate the Bibim-Bap, the 2 of us polished off the Jab-chae. Mr Tan said that it was average but everything he eats is average. The nice waiter even came and helped us to mix the rice. *thumbs up*

Then our seafood and spring onion pancake($12) arrived. This is also another winner for the night. Mr Tan actually said that it's good! It was crunchy on the outside but tender and moist on the inside. Yum, yum, yum. Really good pancake. Will keep a lookout for Korean Pancake Mix when I visit Asian Grocer tomorrow. I want to eat this again!

All of us were cold and were eager to have some hot soup. We ordered the Seafood Hotpot ($38) and although the soup was nice and hot, the ingredients were a disappointment. First, there was no tofu in the soup. Second, the mussels and pipis were all uncooked or not fresh as NONE of them opened their shells. Mr Tan tried to ply open a mussel and the inside looked rather disgusting. I don't know how to describe it but we decided to leave all the unopened ones alone after that. Third, there wasn't any trace of any mushrooms in it although it's stated in the menu that it's called mixed seafood with vegetables and mushrooms. We won't be ordering it again.

Junlin suggested having some spicy food and we ordered the dish the 3 chillies beside it. Dragon Chicken ($15). It is SUPER SUPER SPICY. Upon taking the first bite, I asked for water immediately. It was so spicy that we only managed to eat half of it. None of us could take it anymore. This was the only dish of the night that we didn't finish.

Last to arrive was their famous fried chicken. We ordered a half serve ($17.50) and there was about 10 pieces of deep fried crispy chicken. You could order the fried chicken to be original, marinated or soy. We went with original and it was served with 2 dipping sauces. Not sure what the sauces were but one of them was rather nice as it was mayo. :) Perhaps my expectations were too high but I didn't find the fried chicken exceptional. No doubt it was crispy and tender, but there wasn't much flavour to it, not salty, not spicy, but bland. (only remembered to take a pic midway thru the dish)

I had a good time at Hallah and I would return for its Jab-chae and pancake. Although not all the dishes were good, the dining experience was pleasant. The waiter had initiative and served us with a smile, did I say that he was rather cute too? ;)