DENGON NET

本格的に冬を迎えたメルボルン。寒いこの時期は、スパイシーな食事で、体の中から温まりたい。辛い料理と言えば、四川料理、タイ料理、インド料理にメキシコ料理といろいろあるが、ここ数年でメルボルンに定着した韓国料理も外せない。市内中心のチャイナタウンに、東南アジアを中心に世界的に展開する韓国料理店Borngaが開店したと聞き、早速足を運んだ。

真新しく広々とした店内は、韓国料理に欠かせないBBQ用の排煙ダクトがずらりと並ぶ。よそのテーブルからは、肉を焼きながら会話が弾んでいる様子が伺え、おのずと期待が高まる。

「やっぱり、なんといっても焼き肉だね」と、オーナーのJustinさん。登場したのは、店の看板メニューのWoo Samgyeopと、脂がマーブル状のKkot Sal。そして、肉を包むサラダ菜をはじめとした葉物野菜、程好い辛さが癖になる大根と白菜のキムチ、甘酸っぱくさっぱりとした味わいのワカメたっぷりの水キムチ、肉に包んで食べるピリ辛ネギの千切りなど、大量の付け合せ。BBQは2人前からのオーダーで、この付け合せが必ず付いてくるそう。2人前でこんなに付けちゃって大盤振る舞いでは…と勝手に心配してしまう程のボリューム。私の心配をよそに、スタッフはテキパキ焼き肉の準備をしてくれる。Woo Samgyeopは、しゃぶしゃぶに使えそうな薄切り肉をオリジナルソースでマリネしてあり、ほんのり甘味がある。Kkot Salは、肉の旨みがしっかりと味わえるのが特徴。どちらもそのまま食べても十分おいしいが、付け合せの野菜と一緒に食べると、味や食感にバリエーションが出て楽しい。しかも、野菜がたっぷり食べられるので、ヘルシーな感じがするのもポイントが高い。個人的には、Woo Samgyeopはネギの千切りを巻いて、Kkot Salはサラダ菜などに包んで、ピリ辛のペーストをつけて食べるのが気に入った。

Kkot sal $36 and Woo samgyeop $23

続いて、韓国では祝い事に欠かせないJapchae。店によって微妙に違いのあるメニューだ。ここのは、やや細めの春雨で、甘さ控えめ、ゴマの風味が効いたあっさりタイプ。具と麺の食感の違いも良いアクセントになっている。この料理なら、辛い物が苦手な人や、子供が食べても大丈夫。

Japchae　$19

他店よりもちょっぴり厚めのHaemal pa jeonは、ネギがたっぷり。サクッとひと口食べれば、海鮮の風味が口いっぱいに広がる。具だくさんで、衣が少ないので、見た目より軽い食べ心地。冷めてもおいしく楽しめる。ビールのお供にもピッタリ。

熱々でサーブされたDolsot bibimbapは、ナムルがたっぷりのった石焼ビビンバ。パチパチいう音が心地良く、具とご飯を根気よく混ぜる。コチュジャンで、自分の好みの辛さにしていただく。ボリュームがあるので、ランチタイムにオーダーしてもいいかも。

Dolsot bibimbap $16 and Haemal pa jeon $20

韓国料理というと、肉や炭水化物が多くなりがちな気がするが、ここでは全体的に野菜がたっぷり提供されるのがうれしい。一年を通して食べたくなる料理。ごちそうさまでした。

Lots of Veges = Happy

In the depths of winter you really want something that warms you up from the inside. When you talk about spicy food though, there several options, like Sechuan, Indian, Thai and Mexican cuisines, but you shouldn't forget Korean, which has established itself in Melbourne over recent years. Thus upon hearing that Bornga had opened in Chinatown we hurried over to have a look. 

Bornga is a fusion Korean restaurant with influences mainly from South East Asia, but also other countries. The spacious, brand new interior has smoke ducts above every table, essential when serving Korean barbeque. Listening to the patter of conversation from nearby tables as they grilled their dishes, our expectations rose further. 

We asked owner Justin what he recommended.”Well,” he replied, “it has to be the Korean barbeque dishes". So we ordered the recommended Woo Samgyeop and highly-marbled Kkot Sal. Each comes with an array of sides, from the leafy vegetables that ensconce the meat, to the hot-but-not-too-hot daikon and Chinese cabbage kimchi, sweet and sour wakame-filled water kimchi, mildly-spiced sliced onions wrapped inside the meat and so on. Barbeque courses can only be ordered by two people or more, and the sides come standard, but I almost wondered if there was actually too much for two people. Irrespective, the staff got to work, quickly preparing the meat for grilling. The Woo Samgyeop was almost sliced thinly enough for shabu-shabu, and  was marinated in a subtly sweet house sauce. While the Kkot Sal focused more on the natural flavours of the beef. Just eating the meat in these two dishes by themselves was delicious, but mixing and matching it all with the sides created many fun taste and texture combinations. Plus, the fact you're eating all these vegetables makes everything feel much healthier. Personally, I most enjoyed wrapping the Woo Samgyeop around the sliced onions, while the Kkot Sal went best wrapped in leaf vegetables with some lightly spiced paste. 

Next came the indispensable Korean celebratory dish, Japchae. The fillings for this vary depending on restaurant, but here, it included thin rice vermicelli noodles and a faintly-sweet sesame flavour that was very refreshing. The difference in textures between the noodles and the rest of the ingredients gave it a nice accent, too. It's the kind of meal you can serve kids or those who don't like hot food. 

The Haemal pa jeon was slightly thicker than we've tried at other restaurants, but packed with spring onions. Taking a bite from the crispy pancake, the taste of the plentiful seafood fills your mouth. Given the abundance of filling and relatively small amount of dough, it's a lot lighter than it looks. The fact you can enjoy it even when it's cooled down is another plus. It’s perfect with beer. 

Finally, we tried the Dolsot bibimbap, which came with loads of namul (vegetables) on top. Served super-hot, the crackling sounds it made were really comforting, and we took our time mixing everything together. Seasoned to taste with gochujang, we dug in. You get a lot with this meal, so it may be perfect for lunch.   

Korean cuisine may have a reputation for being all about meat and carbs, but at Bornga, you get plenty of vegetables, which is great. It makes it the kind of place you want to visit throughout the year. Gotchisousamadeshita. 

Borngat
Level 1  178-190 Littele Bourke St. Melbourne
03 9650 8878
7 days 12-2pm, 5:15-9pm