I have something to confess : I’m a convert! Let me explain. I use to think that my favourite cuisine is Japanese food. Don’t get me wrong. I still love my sashimi and sushi. But of late, I’ve realised that I would actually rather have korean when given the choice! Just something about hot plates and hot pots that I am craving for all the time. (: And I have to admit, we’ve been a bit korean crazy lately. haha
We chanced up this small little restaurant when we were furnishing our new place and needed to get some materials. Traveling up and down to Bunnings Warehouse at Clayton and saw this restaurant, at the corner opposite Clayton train station, was still buzzing with patrons at 9pm on a weekday night! So we both decided it was a place we have to check this place out.
Of course, we decided to pop up on a Friday night at 7pm. PEAK HOUR ALERT! And waited, willingly and excitedly, for half an hour to get our seats. Standing at the doors was pure torture, only because we had to withstand the cold winds that was coming through the doors whenever customers were going in and out, and also smell the aromas from the food in front of us (and salivating non-stop because of it!). The restaurant was really cosy and everyone working there were koreans. We were excited, cause we knew we were going to get some authentic korean food.
Kang Na Roo
Address : 309-315 Clayton Road, Clayton Vic 3168
Tel : 03 95432842
I dunno about you, but I absolutely adore the small dishes that come just before the food comes. The top of my favourite list is the caramelised sweet potato! I could just have that all night, although my waist wouldn’t be too pleased about that. haha
We flipped through the menu and this hot pot dish caught our attention : Gamja Tang. It’s mild pork bone marrow stew with vegetables and potatoes. It was just the right amount of spice that we needed to warm our tummies up for the start of winter. The Mr was just happily slurping on the marrow and we finished everything in that pot.
What was special about this particular hotpot is that you could order a serve of special rice with vegetables that will come after you have finished 95% of the soup in the pot. Then one of the wait staff came to mix the rice into the hotpot and fry it on the spot! The Mr and I were just smiling non-stop cause we were so amused!
It looked simple but it tasted A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! With the flavours of the stew, it was a home run for us!
This, dear readers, was no ordinary fried chicken. It’s drizzled with a sweet chilli sauce that intrigues us. It’s almost like malt – it’s super duper thick and sticky but not overly sweet when you taste it! We just couldn’t stop eating it even though our stomachs were starting to feel stuffed! The addition of peanuts and pine nuts just adds a bite to the dish. Just describing it now is making me hungry even though I just had dinner. haha
We could not be happier when we were done with our meal that night. Both the Mr and I had the widest smiles and the happiest bellies (: Definitely a place we will visit regularly from now, seeing that it’s about 5 mins drive away from our new place! (: And do know that you could call and book a table in advance so you won’t have to wait too long for a table!
So are you a japanese or korean food lover? Or are you a convert like me? Would love to know!
Food Made With Love 
food from home [singapore] is definitely the best for me =)
nice to see your enthusiasm for korean/jap food though! haha
haha I know what you mean. I miss the food from home too! Especially the ones from the hawker centres! yums!
Hahaha how funny that it used to be so close to my old place! I used to think it was called Kangaroo lol. The food looks very authentic! I love all the side dishes too especially the kimchi and the anchovies.
haha ya! You’ve never been? Funny thing I also thought it was Kangaroo at first just that they spaced it out. But I read it closely and it’s not! haha THe food is authentic! You should give this place a try, i’m sure you’ll like it! hehe
Yummy!! Looks soooo good!
hehe thanks! (: It is really super yum! hehe are you a fan of Korean food too? hehe
I am! In fact I love all Asian foods. I haven’t eaten a whole lot of korean, just a bit. I love Japanese and Vietnamese too!
hee I’m with you! (: I love all three as well but I think Korean tops my list for now! hehe
LOL I remember having this conversation with you the other day 🙂 I use to like Japanese food more but now…it’s definitely “KOREAN” I remember going to Korea with Mr Bao last year and that was all we had for 5 days straight! LOL korean food breakfast, lunch and dinner ~ It’s just annoying that there’s no good Korean restaurants around where I love or work…i remember when I went to uni I use to go to Carnegie for their authentic and yummy korean food 😀 I might have drag Mr Bao to Kang Na Roo to try it ~
Yes we were! 🙂 I use to go to Carnegie too! Was it 7&7 u went to? It’s good! But Kang Na Roo is closer to us now! You should really try it with Mr Bao!
We had a dinner party in Kang Na Roo, Clayton. The old lady (we believe she is the owner) was rude with bad attitudes. We had already taken her advice to order some dishes double. However, we wanted one serve for one dish. Shewas not happy and forced us to double up our orders. We told her we just wanted one serve and ordered one more dish to make her happy. She agreed with us. She repeated the order quickly in Korean. We had no clue what she had said. Later, two serves of the dish arrived. We talked among ourselves and wondered why two serves had been arrived. By the way, we knew we would accept the dishes. The old lady reacted and scolded us. We had no idea why she behaved badly. When the BBQ arrived, we realised all the other customers got the services, but we had to cook a large plate of meats ourselves. Some of us did want the service. We did not ask for the service, therefore, we were not scolded. At the end, the bill arrived but the handwritten Korean words did not help us check the bill. We paid the bill with generous tips and left.
I’m so sorry you had a bad experience there! We are regulars there and never really had bad service before. Hopefully it was a one off thing!