Lidcombe has a bewildering array of Korean restaurants located in a relatively small, double-sided shopping strip on the south side of the station. With convenient angle parking as well as a multi-storey car park, it’s easy to snaffle a space and take a wander past restaurants separated by grocers stacked with plastic tubs of banchan until a particularly enticing aroma lures you in.
Joh-Eun-Nal roughly translates to ‘good day’ in English. I hadn’t particularly had one, but after a short wait for a table, downing bowls of makgeolli ($13) with Kloud beer chasers ($7), helped to return my day to a better path. Banchan—complimentary Korean side dishes—landed almost immediately, and the kimchi here was the standout. It inspired us down a kimchi-centric menu, kicking off with a generous bowl of fried egg-topped kimchi fried rice ($23) and ending with a huge, well-executed kimchi pancake ($20).
Seasoned Korean fried chicken ($17/half) was red and sticky, but not quite spicy enough for my liking. I had a similar problem with spicy stir-fried pork ($17) served as a meal-for-one with nicely dressed salad and a mound of white rice. I did however enjoy it more over the remaining kimchi fried rice for lunch the next day: takeaway containers were happily supplied.
