268 Victoria St
North Melbourne, VIC 3051
North Melbourne, VIC 3051
Nothing tastes as good as a meal well earned. Not that I
toil for my grain or anything, but now that I’ve started full time work, it
feels fantastic to end the day with
dinner date. Shame the restaurant I had in mind was closed for the
Christmas-New Year’s period, but like any food blogger, I had a backup plan.
Just down the road was Hallah,
one of the few Korean restaurants in the CBD I’ve yet to visit.
Smaller than Wooga, but
definitely not as small as Donwoori, Hallah is your standard mid-range
Korean restaurant, the diners split between grilling meat on a charcoal BBQ,
and ordering dishes off the menu to share.
 |
| Banchan |
Whilst waiting for our food, we
were served the two banchan staples – pieces of kimchi that were sour and
spicy, just the way I like it, and a plate of blanched sprouts.
 |
| Popcorn Chicken ($11) |
I’ve heard ravings of the KFC –
that’s Korean, not the colonel! – at Hallah, but it’s not like we were going to
eat a whole chicken between the two of us. Instead we ordered the Popcorn Chicken ($11), a plate
of addictive fried chicken nubbins with a salt and pepper coating. The pieces
of chicken were delectably tender, and were a delicious appetiser dunked in
mustard mayo.
 |
| Kimchi Pancake ($13) |
Despite not liking kimchi at all,
Chris has found an unlikely fondness of Kimchi
Pancake ($13). Unfortunately this one didn’t gel with me. Whilst the
pancake was golden crisp, it left a greasy film in the mouth from the get-go,
and the pieces of kimchi studded in the pastry didn’t have half the punch of what
was served on the side. I ate a couple pieces and left the rest to Chris, who
liked it well enough.
 |
| Beef Potato Noodles ($13) |
I enjoyed the Beef Potato Noodles ($13) a whole lot more, the bouncy
noodles tossed with crisp veggies and tender, sweet pieces of beef. The whole
dish with its myriad of colours tasted fresh and healthy, and most importantly,
not overly saccharine.
The best thing I can probably say
about Hallah is that I didn’t not like it, but don’t let me put you off. It’s
not too different from its Korean neighbours, and the food, though not overly
special, was enjoyable at the very least.
It just doesn’t leave me any particular reason to want to go back.
Rating: 12/20 – hallah at me!
This rating reflects my personal experience at the time of visit.
No comments:
Post a Comment