04 September 2011

Asagao ~ Korean / Japanese - Market City Food Court

The magical, mysterious wonders of bibimbap at Asagao in Market City Food Court.







We weren't all that excited by the prospect of Asagao, it's Korean-Japanese, and Korean-Japanese joints are usually ho-hum.

But then we noticed a whole bunch of Korean staples on the menu, including our favourite: bibimbap. Bibimbap is the Korean equivalent of meat and three veg: a bowl of rice with small portions of beef, fresh and pickled veggies, with a fried egg on top. Add chili sauce to taste. It is one of those dishes that is far more than the sum of it's parts. After a a bowl of bibimbap we feel refreshed and re-energised, it's one of the rare foods that makes us feel healthier than when we started. It's the exact opposite of McDonalds.

We tried a few dishes here but it's the bibimbap we'll be returning for, as well as the super nice boss lady and staff. We even got a thankyou wave and smile from them after finishing our first feed here, such lovely folks.



Seoul bibimbap - $10.50. Fan-freaking-tastic.



Pork dosirak - $12.90. A substantial serve of stir fried pork, veggies and omelette. Yum. The veggies were amazingly sweet, and the little salad with mayo had bits of fish extender and corn. I always wonder what fish seafood extender comes from, and like to imagine the little sticks swimming in the sea.



Seoul Ramen - $9.50. Instant noodles with veggies and fried wontons in a spicy soup. Wikipedia tells us Korean ramen is generally made with instant noodles, something we've always wondered about.



Agedashi tofu - $2 for one piece.



Green tea noodle & terriyaki salmon - $12.90. This is about as fancy as it gets in the food courts. We thought we were going for a light and healthy option, but were surprised to find a layer of cheese sauce under the grilled salmon. This is more like a Japanese spaghetti dish, it's fun and oddly delicious.



Lunch dissection. The flying fish roe mingles in with the cheese sauce, it's so wrong but so good.



Asagao menu.



Asagao menu.



Asagao menu.

Asagao is at Market City Food Court - 9-13 Hay Street, Haymarket - above Paddy's Markets.


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4 comments:

  1. I've never tried bibimbap but whenever I see it I always think, man I want a Big Mac (kidding kidding)! It looks so fresh & healthy.

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  2. Wow, this place looks great - I love bibimbap. It's great to have a guide to all of these little places. It's definitely on my list now.

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  3. I am such a muddle head. Went to market city to try the bibimbap but ended up buying congee from Super Chef instead! The congee was good....but back to the bibimbap....I love it. Need to try the one from here this week. It's interesting thet it's not served on the stone bowl which continues to heat the rice and cook the raw egg. So what you get is nice crisy rice with egg bits at the bottom. Yum! Will find out from my Korean friend if there is any stall that does that here.

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  4. I think they do the hot version as well, as does the one in the Sussex Centre, we just prefer the regular bowl version :-) Would love to hear if your Korean friend has a fave in the city area :-)

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Thanks for your comment joy - please keep your musings happy - if you want to complain about a restaurant please do it on a restaurant review site (or your own blog) - we're all about celebrating cultural diversity and the great eats that come along with it :-)

Our ethics: We pay for all our own meals and travel (though sometimes Mum shouts us).