When you think of Korean food, what immediately comes to mind? Most likely it'll be something along the lines of Korean BBQ, Kimchi, Korean Fried Chicken, and maybe some stews. There's another category called Pocha, also known as street/market comfort food. Think of it as kind of like an izakaya or zi char with an array of dishes.
In the burgeoning Korean suburb of Lidcombe, there are several popping up and I stopped by Duroowa Pocha after seeing some photos online. The menu is quite large and can be intimidating for those unfamiliar, but if you have an adventurous spirit you'll quite enjoy it. It's 'anju' food, designed for drinking but you can enjoy it without.
It's a cosy vibe inside and what caught my eye is their steamed meats and Korean beef tartare.
We ordered:
$53 - Steamed beef short plate
$54 - Steamed beef brisket
$38 - Sweet and spicy fried chicken
$46 - Korean army hot pot
$25 - Korean beef tartare and baby octopus
The steamed beef comes with a sesame/wasabi dipping sauce that you'd be familiar with in Korean BBQ. Of the two ordered, the short plate is my pick as it has just a touch more flavour. I do wish they had a marinated meat version which would make this dish an outright winner.
The fried chicken here is very very good, extremely large portions and great batter and sauce. Just might be my dish of the night.
Korean army stew is a dish invented after the Korean war with surplus items as food was scarce; the one here is just alright. It needs a richer broth and more spam.
Korean tartare is marinated and flavoured with soy, sesame oil, salt, sugar, and egg yolk acting as a sauce. It has a ton of flavour and I would happily order this again with the octopus which had its own marinade.
All in all, very tasty food that I would happily come back for in a group setting, service was quite nice as well.