Jonga Jip Review

Once upon a time (think 2010, which I suppose classifies as a really long time ago), there were 3 hungry ladies (? a bit debatable on this point) who scoured Sydney far and wide in search of where they would next eat. At the time that was unheard of, people gave them strange looks when they whipped out their phones and digital cameras respectively but they knew that they were onto something. Fast forward 5 years and this is probably my 4th visit to Jonga Jip. If you're new to Korean food (you're missing out on so much), this is probably a really good place to become cultured (that and Korean Fried Chicken).

One of the great things about eating Korean is the amount of banchan or complimentary side dishes that you get with your meal. At times they can be a meal in their own right.

Above: the problem when you have too many plates of food and not enough space on the table, or in other words, the usual Jonga Jip experience. And as one of those people that shamelessly orders the same thing every time, my go to Jonga Jip essentials are as follows:

Front: Pan-fried Marinated Beef/ Bulgogi Chulpan $15

Back: Green Onion Seafood Pancake $20

You'll find that even though you could have the KBBQ experience here, a lot of diners opt not to. I mean with a minimum order of 2 meat dishes in order to use the charcoal, you're missing out on so many other options on the menu. My go to meet dish the marinated beef which goes amazingly well with onions, honestly you will not regret ordering this but for the small portion size. Note that this is a sweet sauce. 

What they lack in size for the beef, they overcompensated with regards to the seafood pancake. Finding space for this on your table and finishing it is a task within itself. 

Stir-fried Potato noodles which comes in two sizes, Medium- $25 or Large-$35

We ordered the large servings and despite having to go with the takeaway box option at the end of the meal, there were regrets in ordering this. Perhaps next time I shouldn't be so ambitious and order the medium instead. If you've never had these noodles before they're a bit firm with a bit of elasticity to them and are kind of like glass noodles. 

Spicy bone soup- $13

If a Korean restaurant has the word 'spicy' in it then BEWARE because spicy means spicy. Lesson learned. In saying that, you know how you have spicy food that makes you want to run to grab milk/yoghurt/whatever works best for you, but at the same time tastes amazing? Well, this is one of them, something ridiculously spicy that you can't stop eating. Ahh that dilemma.