Seoul Orizin
It’s fried chicken again – done ten different ways... By Freya Herring
Korean food tastes so good because of all that fermentation – the sure-fire way to get umami into every element of a dish. And they have a real way with fried chicken. For both reasons we were pretty excited when the new Korean joint Seoul Orizin recently popped up in Chinatown.
Let’s start with the fried chicken. No soggy bottoms here: the coating is crisp and ultracrunchy, and makes a satisfying shattering sound when you bite into it. Greasiness is not an issue, and the whole thing is seasoned all the way through, so it’s flavour central with each bite. Nearly a dozen variations are available, including one with soy and garlic and another one covered in cheese “snow”. But we recommend sticking with the traditional plain option. Why gild the battered lily?
Sadly, one cannot live on fried chicken alone. Give your arteries a break with the japchae: glass noodles tossed with zucchini, carrots and mushrooms. They’re simply dressed in soy, with a good kick of sesame oil for nuttiness, and the noodles are nicely chewy. The spicy pork bibimbap comes in hot stone pots (known as dolsot), and the egg yolk is raw – as it should be. As you toss the veggies and bits of pork, the heat from the stone cooks the yolk. Easy.
The topokki (cylindrical Korean rice cakes) are tasty and fun to eat – bendy, chewy and coated in a fermenty, chilli-hot sauce. Comfort food comes in the form of Korea’s beloved jajangmyeon bowl. It’s ugly as sin: a big pile of noodles covered in a thick black-bean sauce. Don’t be put off. Once you mix it together, it’s a carb fest that celebrates the savoury depth of beans.
The service here needs work – it takes a really long time to get our menus and have our order taken, and nearly every effort to gain any of the waitresses’ attention turns out to be in vain. But persevere. The rewards are worth their weight in golden-coated chicken.
Seoul Orizin 203-209 Thomas St, Haymarket 2000. 02 8541 7531. Daily 11am-11pm.