AUTHENTIC KOREAN CUISINE
KALBI 396a Elizabeth St, North Hobart Open Tuesday to Saturday, 11.30am–2.30pm; Sunday, 5–9pm; closed Monday. BYO. 6236 9725
Have you been to Kalbi yet?” a friend asks as our paths cross in Hobart. A frequent visitor to Asia as part of her job attracting international students to our island outpost, she assures me the Korean fare on offer is not only very good but pretty authentic.
It is at her urging we decide to try some Seoul food on a steamy Wednesday evening. Given the small size of the venue and its apparent popularity, I call ahead to book a table for our party of three.
One of us – who has, unlike me, spent time in South Korea – has already enjoyed a few lunchtime sessions at Kalbi.
It occupies a site on the corner of Elizabeth and Newdegate streets that I best remember as a souvlaki bar and potato cake purveyor attached to the North Hobart grocer.
By the time we arrive at 7pm, the tiny joint is jumping. Asian-language newspapers line the walls in a simple yet effective interior makeover, and there is a direct line of sight to the kitchen as it pumps out plate after plate of food. Swiftly seated, we place an order within 10 minutes.
By accident rather than design, we take the vegan route for starters, ordering the fried rice cakes, crispy tofu, and the pajeon, aka the green onion Korean pancake. The rice cakes – more noodle than cake shaped – have the consistency of gnocchi. Lightly coated in a tangy and sticky sauce, they are sprinkled with white and black sesame seeds. Perfect to share, the vegetable pancake is generous in proportion and comes with a soy dipping sauce. It’s also available with seafood, I note for my inevitable second visit. But my favourite starter is the tofu, crisp on the outside and silky on the inside, and topped with a spring onion salad, a creamy sesame dressing and crispy shallots.
As we take a short breather, it becomes apparent we have unwittingly walked in on a birthday banquet for a local medico and his friends. The 20-member party takes up at least half of the venue. As Hobart would have it, the MC is my GP, and the whole restaurant joins in a rousing rendition of happy birthday for Dr Dave.
The feel-good moment is still lingering as the main attraction arrives – ssam (lettuce wraps) with Korean barbecue kalbi beef short ribs and garlic-marinated pork belly. Both are served on bamboo boards topped with castiron sizzle plates and brightly coloured plastic baskets filled with cos lettuce leaves. These lettuce cups are used as wraps for the meat and accompanying kimchi, black beans and fermented chilli and bean paste. The crunch of the lettuce, the richness of the meat, the sweet-sourness of the kimchi and the spicy paste make a happy marriage in the mouth.
While two serves of ssam could easily have fed we three, there is one dish yet to come and it proves to be the standout of the night. For me at least, the Korean-style fried chicken – chicken morsels twice fried and served in a sweet and spicy sauce – is love at first bite. Topped with shredded spring onions and crushed peanuts, and spiked with cubes of brilliantly white pickled daikon, it’s poultry perfection on a plate.
I like it so much, I pile the leftover portion into a takeaway container to devour at my desk the next day. Even cold, it’s delicious. Have you been to Kalbi yet? It’s a simple question I’m very glad my friend thought to ask.