Arisoo

Back to restaurant reviews
285a Victoria Street, Abbotsford, 9943 5615

My score: 3/5

When you think Korean food, do you think Spam? Well, you would if you were eating budae jjigae, or army base stew. This soupy hotpot was a dish born of necessity after the Korean War, when locals used food from American army stores to supplement their own scant resources. Korean cuisine is excellent at adopting, adapting and creating anew – indeed, an exuberant approach to fusion makes Korean menus among the world’s most entertaining. So, for army base stew, ham in a can, sausages and corned beef are added to a slow-cooked beef broth that is Arisoo owner Harry Park’s pride, joy and neverending round-the-clock project. Koreans were simmering bone broth long before contemporary health gurus started banging on about it; they were also onto fermenting way before modern science realised bacteria can be brilliant. Indeed fermented cabbage (kimchi) is added to this broth along with fresh cabbage, onions and chilli. It’s then boosted with your choice of fresh meats or dumplings, which all adds up to a spicy potluck treasure.

Cheap, friendly Arisoo has been open nearly a year, and Harry Park is proud to showcase the dishes of his mother Yukyeong and mother-in-law Wonhee, who used to run restaurants in Korea and New Zealand respectively. There’s a warm family feel to the restaurant and the service is winningly attentive.

There were no dud dishes: the fried chicken was crisp and moist in all right places, the tteokbokki (rice noodle cake) was properly sticky and chewy, and the grilled pork belly was sweet and slightly caramelised. Arisoo doesn’t offer DIY barbecue; instead dishes are grilled in the kitchen and served on hot plates so there’s still a theatrical sizzle. To drink, I recommend the hardcore Korean version of shandy, a blend of beer and soju (a distilled spirit), with proportions measured in special mixer cups that tell you if you’re going to end up happy or catatonic.

More Korean:

Miss Korea, 845 Burke Road, Camberwell, 9882 4999
New on the ’cue, this barbecue, bar and grill has stone-grill sizzlers, a good range of bulgogi (sliced meat) dishes and plenty of fusion fare.

Frying Colours, 520 Macauley Road, Kensington, 9939 9679
Traditional flavours rule at this new-style corner Korean diner. Start (if you dare) with a ‘mouth burning chicken skewer’ then follow up with crunchy fried chicken, grilled meats, burgers and soups.

Chick-in, G23 (in laneway), 620 Collins Street, Melbourne, 9973 6244
Down the alley behind ace lunchspot Purple Peanuts is this divey den for drinks, snacks (kimchi fries!) and Korean soups, including a traditional cure-all chicken version.

First published in The Age, October 19, 2014.