Red Pepper, Strathfield

Hello again. It's been a while hasn't it? I know I've said this countless times before but I really have been busy with work, a trip to the snow, and getting sick twice over the last month. During all those busy times, one of the dishes that has got me craving for more has been Korean fried chicken. Recently, one of my friends made a visit to Sydney for his belated birthday celebrations where we all celebrated at Strathfield Sports Club's Red Pepper Bistro. 

The location was actually very hard to find with so many of us getting lost trying to find this unassuming location. While there was no signage for Red Pepper, the easy way to find the Strathfield Sports Club was the hidden small brick building next to the soccer field and tennis court if you are coming from the station. The inside venue was similar to a community hall where you grab the first avail table for yourself but don't let that deter you. There's a dozen different flavours of fried chicken to try, which was perfect for a group of twenty hungry people.

Spring onion fried chicken (H: $18.00, W: $34.00)

I was looking forward to trying the spring onion fried chicken after seeing it in countless photos. Was a bit puzzled when it showed up since it didn't look as crispy as I thought it would. There was a heavy amount of wasabi sauce coated onto the chicken skin, which was actually quite milder and sweeter than we expected. And when we were feeling guilty from all the fried chicken action, there was the bundle of spring onions clouded together on top just to make you feel a little bit better.

Snow cheese fried chicken (H: $18.00, W: $34.00)

After hearing so much about the snow cheese fried chicken from Red Pepper's little sister branch, The Sparrow Mill, I was intrigued to try this interesting combination. Despite the unusual flavour, this ended up being our favourite of the night. Not only was the chicken so damn crunchy, the cheese powder didn't overpower the juicy flavour and the tender meat. 

 Sweet and Spicy fried chicken (H: $18.00, W: $34.00)

Red Pepper wasn't kidding when they named this plate "Sweet and spicy fried chicken". It was sweet, saucy and mild at first but then it started to burn my tongue after multiple bites. The roasted garlic was also a nice touch.

Soy sauce fried chicken (H: $17.00, W: $32.00)

Forgot to take a photo of this when it arrived at our table so I only managed to snap it when we demolished half of it. It was sweet and very sticky from the rich soy sauce coating. Was also slightly spicy from what I could recall. 

The service was minimal but what matters the most was the many options of fried chicken to indulge on. This is great for large groups and easy to share and split bills especially when you over ordered like we did. If Strathfield is out of the way, the same menu is available at its little sister restaurant "The Sparrow Mill in the Town Hall/Chinatown side of the CBD. 

Red Pepper
Strathfield Sports Club
4a Lyons Street, Strathfield NSW 2135
 

Work in Progress, Sydney CBD

I do love a good pop-up but sometimes you forget about it and then it's gone. It's even harder trying to go through the entire menu before the pop up close its doors. So imagine my relief when I heard that Patrick Friesen's (Papi Chulo) pop-up restaurant at Work in Progress has extended beyond the initial duration of March into Merivale. While it's still temporary for the time being, who knows what would happen in the long term. Just look at Cafe Paci (and I STILL haven't been there!).

Pork and Prawn Wontons, strange flavour, Sichuan pepper ($12.00, 4pc) 

The cuisine served at Work in Progress has a fusion of various Asian cuisines with a modern twist with a strong emphasis on their signature Korean fried chicken (more on that later). It also operates as a noodle bar with a small selection of Modern Chinese dishes. One of these was the Pork and Prawn wontons, which was offered as a snack. It was slightly spicy thanks to the Sichuan pepper and the "strange flavour" sauce which seems to have a bit of soya sauce, spices and peanuts among its many ingredients. While the silky wontons were slippery to handle, they were plump, firm and juicy to demolish before the main dishes arrive. The only downside was that the price for $12 for 4 pieces seemed quite steep especially when you can get double the amount for cheaper at other dumpling establishments. 

Shallot Pancake ($6.00)

While the shallot pancake was half the price of the dumplings, it was actually much more filling so the value for money in this dish was pretty damn good. You can easily get full on this dish if you order it for yourself. While it was nice to dig into the crispy thin layers of pastry, it was too salty than how I preferred. 

Curried Wagyu Brisket Lo Mien ($16.00)

Initially a limited time only dish, the Curried wagyu brisket lo mien noodles was upgraded to permanent menu status due to popular demand especially in the foodie scene (sadly the snow crab tobiko lo mien noodles had to be removed as well. Why not keep both? :p). Gotta say that I'm really glad that this dish is now on the menu. The egg noodles were a tad thicker, which was how I liked my egg noodles even though it's harder to find compared to the thinner variation. Plus the wagyu beef was amazingly soft, tender and the broth was rich, creamy and flavoursome. Would definitely order this again.

Sichuan Duck and Tofu Lo Mein ($16.00)

Speaking of thin noodles, this popular variation can be found on the other noodle bar dishes in this limited menu. It was quite spicy but still bearable enough especially if you want a bit of heat from this crazy weather lately (urghhh). Generous serving size too.

Combo #88 - Half n Half Fried Chicken: ginger nuoc cham, and chilli with peanuts ($18.00)

And now for that crispy fried chicken! At 8 pieces, this was surprisingly easy to devour if you are super hungry and this was the only dish you order for yourself on the night. It also came with a side dish of pickled daikon and kim chi, which ended up being handy once you need more than just fried chicken in your mouth. The chilli chicken with peanuts was sticky, sweet and slightly spicy, though it was easier to manage and also milder than the one I had at NaruOne. While the ginger nuoc cham fried chicken looked insatiably crispy, there wasn't too much of that earth shattering crunch that I was hoping to expect in the batter after looking at countless photos. Despite that, the chicken was well cooked, juicy and still crispy enough to devour the entire plate.

This is a restaurant that I would often find myself after work, whether it's for the food or a drink from their extensive cocktails and wine menu. Since it is a Merivale venture, it's no surprise that the prices were on the more expensive side. With its limited range of food options on the menu, it's an ideal place to get a large group of friends or colleagues together to share and try the entire menu in one sitting. 

Work in Progress
50 King Street, Sydney NSW 2000
(02) 9240 3000
http://merivale.com.au/wipbar
Mon-Fri: 12:00pm - 3:00pm, 6:00pm - 10:00pm (Bar: 12:00pm - late)

Ko and Co, Surry Hills

Korean and Mexican? It may sound weird for some of you but Korean Mexican fusion cuisine has been happening in the States for a few years by now. There are now countless street food trucks such as the famous Kogi BBQ, Chi'Lantro BBQ and many more serving Korean Mexican cuisine including bulgogi burritos, Korean tacos and kimchi quesadillas. It was no surprise that this fusion craze has finally reached to Australian shores in the form of Ko and Co.

Located on Hunt Street nearby Longrain, Ko and Co was actually hard to find if you are looking around at night. That's until you can see the not-very-obvious Ko&Co sign on the window with people sitting inside chatting to their mates. It's actually a very small restaurant/bar with minimal seating and decor apart from a few wall paintings. Can imagine how busy this may get on weekends. I should also apologise in advance for the really terrible photos especially with the dim lighting and my phone camera battery dying.

Complimentary corn chips

While CC was impartial to these, I thought these corn chips were great as nibbles before waiting for the food to arrive. Quite addictive for me especially with the crunch.

Korean Fried Chicken Sliders ($10.00 for 2) 

You can get a choice of four different fillings for the slider which included spicy pork, beef short ribs, Korean fried chicken and spicy tofu. These same choices also apply to selecting your filling for tacos or burritos. The sliders also came with a brioche bun, cabbage slaw and kimchi mayo. Although we were satisfied by the crunch from the crispy fried chicken, the bun tasted a bit dry and as soft as we hoped. Though we did admire its golden, shiny appearance. 

Quesadillas with kimchi and three cheese filling ($10.00)

CC was looking forward to the quesadillas the most from the moment we had our eyes on the menu. Unfortunately, we were let down when we found that there wasn't as much cheese as we expected - even though the menu said there will be three cheeses in the filling. In fact we thought that the kimchi was the stronger flavour in this dish, which is good if you prefer kimchi over cheese.   

Beef Short Rib Taco ($6.00)

Spicy Pork Belly Taco ($6.00)

Thankfully the tacos were the heroes of the night. Each taco came with slaw, kimchi and a dollop of sauce (possibly sirarcha sauce?). The beef short rib taco was fairly tender on the inside with a crispy outer texture while the spicy pork belly taco wasn't as spicy at first but then it slowly hits you as make more bites into this meal. Both were very delicious and filling. Will definitely order this again next time.   

Watermelon Soju ($9.00)

After seeing a number of customers ordering it at the bar, I was convinced enough to give the watermelon soju a go. While soju usually conjures up images of really strong liquor that gives a burning sensation to your mouth, this version was actually mild, sweet and fruity which is good for those who aren't too familiar with this beverage.

Although there were a couple of dishes that we may be hesitant on trying again, there were still other dishes on its limited menu that will keep me coming back such as the burritos, tacos, the fried chicken and the dessert tortilla. The service was friendly and helpful with us that night and the prices were pretty cheap. It's a great place to chill with your friends or colleagues over a few drinks after work or on the weekend. 

Ko and Co

6 Hunt Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010

0428 944 741

https://www.facebook.com/koandcosydney

Mon: 6:00pm - 10:00pm

Tue-Thurs: 12:00pm - 3:00pm, 6:00pm - 10:00pm

Fri: 12:00pm - 3:00pm, 5:00pm - midnight

Sat: 6:00pm - midnight

NaruOne, Sydney CBD

After hearing praises from fellow food bloggers and an award for Best Fried Chicken in Sydney thanks to the Sydney Food Blogger Awards; Naruone has been on my food radar for many many months. While I have been mentioning this restaurant to my friends for our outings, it was also harder when you see the not-so-awesome Urbanspoon rating currently at 58%. How can you convince someone that the fried chicken is so freaking good according to so many food bloggers when its own rating is quite poor? 

Finally, V wanted to do a catch up dinner and I casually brought up Korean fried chicken to him. After mentioning how freaking awesome the fried chicken really is at Naruone (including send a few pictures hehe), it was enough to convince him to choose this as our catch up dinner. 

Originally it was hard for us to find the restaurant since it was actually located underground in the same space as the old Blockbuster video store (those were the daaaaayyssss!). Like all Korean restaurants, we were given complimentary pickled radishes for starters. Personally I found these treats to be quite addictive and necessary once the flavours overpower your taste buds especially with the spicy ones. 

Pickled radishes

Even though we were here for the fried chicken the decision was which fried chicken to stick with. It was good to see that they do the half and half option with two flavours of your choice so we stuck with the usual faves of original and sweet and spicy. Was it worth the hype? Oh yes it was. We all loved the original flavour which had that amazing crispy and crunchy coating. We were surprised that despite its crunchiness, it wasn't even greasy. Yet the chicken remained incredibly tender and juicy. While we gobbled up all the original flavour pieces, my friends and I struggled to finish the sweet and spicy chicken. It wasn't as crunchy but the batter was thick, sweet and sticky. It does have that spicy punch which wasn't too overwhelming at first until we had a few more of those pieces. Eventually the messy, sweet and sticky batter and the strong flavours were too much to handle so we didn't end up finishing it. 

Half and Half Fried Chicken: Original and Sweet and Spicy ($33.00)

Speaking of spiciness, we also ordered the rice cakes stir fried in chilli sauce. The serving size was good for one person to have but the spiciness was much stronger here. Ended up drinking so much water due to the amount of chilli. I really enjoyed the texture of the rice cakes which weren't too soft or too hard. The veggies were also useful when you need something to counterbalance the copious amounts of fried chicken.

Rice cakes stir fried in chilli sauce ($12.00)

As expected with Korean restaurants (and most Asian restaurants actually), the service was fast but not very friendly. In fact the waiter was quite impatient when we were deciding which two flavours of chicken to order. There was also a few language barrier moments such as V ordering a can of coke which led to us pointing to the menu, nodding and shaking our heads. 

We will still return to try the fried chicken with spring onion as well as the boneless fried chicken since V and AC really enjoyed the original flavour. I would recommend coming to Naruone with a group in order to try the dishes because the servings were more than generous. Thankfully they do takeaway so you can enjoy the massive amount of fried chicken at your own pace. Best fried chicken in Sydney? In my opinion I still love the fried chicken at Hartsyard and the fried chicken at Mary's but I would say that it does take the spot for the best Korean fried chicken in Sydney thanks to its delightfully crunchy batter that I have yet to experience at other Korean restaurants. Finger-licking, crunchy and crispy goodness!

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Naruone Korean Restaurant

Lower Ground, 375 Pitt Street Sydney

(02) 9261 2680

Tues-Sat: 11:00am - 3:00am

Sun-Mon: 11:00am - 10:00pm

Arisun, Chinatown - Haymarket

Arisun is one of those restaurants where you should have been there by now. At least according to pretty much everyone on my Facebook. I probably have at some point during uni but nowadays it has been a blur. After hearing raves from everyone about Arisun's fried chicken, I gotta check it out soon. One Friday night, we were supposed to have dinner at Chefs Gallery but it was already too full for 5 hungry diners so we headed to Arisun since it was closer to where we were planning to go for karaoke afterwards.  

Complimentary Kim Chi

This restaurant has your usual Korean favourites including your complimentary kim chi and other starters, hot pot, seafood pancake, Korean BBQ and various noodle and rice dishes. We started with the usual complimentary Korean starters including the good ol' fashioned kim chi which wasn't overbearingly spicy that it usually is so I was able to try more pieces than the usual. The guys asked for rice to accompany with some of our dishes and the waiter delivered a huge bowl of rice for everyone to share.

Bowl of rice ($2.00)

The guys were craving for some Korean BBQ beef so we decided to try this as well. It was delivered to us on a hot plate in a similar way to the hot plates I've seen at Chinese take away shops around Haymarket. The waiter poured the beef, onion and other sorts of veggies onto the hot plate where it sizzled intensely. Bits of the hot oil were flying everywhere while we watch the food getting cooked. The beef was lighter, less stodgy and more succulent than the beef I usually get from those Chinese take away shops. I was almost eager to have more than I needed but we have more dishes coming up.

Korean BBQ Beef ($24.00)

One of my favourites that I notice at Korean restaurants was the black bean noodles - also known as Jajangmyeon. It wasn't the prettiest looking dish and it does require some effort with stirring the noodles and the thick, rich sauce together. Despite that, it was still delicious since it was something I have not tried as often. And I enjoyed slurping up these slippery, savoury and slightly sweet noodles. While this meal costs $11, the serving is generous that you can have the whole bowl for yourself at a small price.

Black bean noodles ($11.00)

The guys ordered their share of the black bean noodles but with seafood instead of meat. Also the noodles were already stirred thoroughly before the seafood and veggies were added. Enjoyed this version as it adds variety to the meal rather than just noodles and black bean sauce plus it wasn't as thick and rich as the former. Again, the price is very affordable considering the size of the plate.

Seafood black bean noodles on plate ($13.00)

One of the guys was planning to have this dish all for himself but when we saw it, everyone was so eager to have a piece to the point where I could not get a shot of the full seafood pancake. It was much thinner and a bit less crispy (but not soggy!) than most other seafood pancakes that I've tried but I'm glad it was a lot lighter as we were already starting to get full. The batter did not overpower the pancake so I found this pancake to have a balanced amount of flavours from different ingredients. We finished this off so quickly before we knew it and the guys were still keen for seconds but we still have to wait for the fried chicken.

              

 Seafood pancake ($13.00) 

And finally it shows up! Here at Arisun, you have the choice of the Original Fried Chicken, Soy, and Sweet and Spicy. Regardless of your choice, the price is $30 where you get an epic load of chicken pieces that I would recommend to share with 4 or more especially if you order heaps of dishes like us. Otherwise, if there is one thing you have to order at Arisun, it has to be this and even then, I would still recommend to bring at least 2 hungry friends to finish off the chicken.

Was it worth the hype? My verdict: it was some damn goooood chicken! Crunchiness was everywhere on these juicy and lightly seasoned chicken pieces. It was delivered in small golden brown chunks but it was enough for us to fill up without getting too bloated. What makes this even better was that it wasn't oily at all despite being fried and incredibly crispy and most of them were boneless pieces so we didn't have to worry about picking too many out. It wasn't the best fried chicken I've ever had (sorry but my heart still goes for Hartsyard's fried chicken) but it's up there for best Korean fried chicken with its succulent batter which got us addicted and compelled to finish every single one of them.

Original Fried Chicken ($30.00)

As it has an outdoor seating area, the atmosphere was very social and enjoyable (we were probably the loudest group that night!) and the staff were generally attentive. Plus the prices were reasonable since we shared all of the dishes. If you are keen for purely Korean cuisine, I'd give this place a go as they do a tremendous job with it. Will come back soon particularly during the colder months as I've heard that Arisun does a mean hot pot. I can understand the appeal for Arisun and their crispy Korean fried chicken and wouldn't mind trying out the other flavours of chicken soon as well as having a shot of soju or two if we're planning to have a crazy night out.

Thought this was real...

Arisun
1 Dixon Street, Sydney NSW 2000
(02) 9264 1588

Stra Pocha, Strathfield

Situated on the much, much less busy side of Strathfield, Stra-Pocha has been a popular Korean dining spot for the locals and young uni students when you feel like some fried chicken, Korean BBQ or hot pot. It is also far away from all the insane froyo action (which has now taken over the whole of Sydney by storm). I often have trouble trying to go from one side to the another without going into the station until CC showed me a passageway that leads to the other side nearby the station. Yup after all these years, I still don't know my way around Strathfield.

Complimentary condiments (incl. kim chi)

While there are several individual sized dishes, there are many meals that are aimed to share with a larger group instead of just one or two mates. We went with one of the popular choices on the menu which is the fried chicken with melted cheese on a paella dish-sized hot plate. IT WAS MASSIVE! The melted cheese wasn't as stringy as I hoped but I think we left it a bit too late to mix it around the chicken so the cheese probably dried itself out...oops. It certainly has a strong cheese scent. The meat of the chicken seemed to taste a bit dry but the batter retained its crispiness.

Fried chicken with melted cheese

And to top it all off, the waiter gave us a complimentary serving of more fried chicken! LOL! As if the ones we already had weren't filling enough.

Fried chicken

If I knew how big this will be, I probably wouldn't have ordered the seafood pancake - my usual Korean food favourite. It's much thicker than the ones I get at other restaurants. It appears to be stuffed like a stuffed pizza with bundles of seafood pieces sandwiched between the pancake batter.

Seafood Pancake

We both struggled and ended up getting take away at the end. The service was average but it's what we would usually expect at a Korean restaurant. We will come back to try the hot pot as I've heard that it's top notch at Stra Pocha. Will go easy on the food next time for sure or bring even more people to share the heavy dishes. A recommended place to go if you are keen on going to Strathfield just for Korean food since the menu does have a decent range of dishes that we are keen to try next time.

Stra Pocha

19-21 Everton Road, Strathfield NSW 2135

(02) 9745 5959