Variety is the spice of life

We fancied a culinary change and it’s been a while since we’ve had Korean food, so we visited Hankook for some ethnic delights.
On arrival, we remove our shoes to enter a private, traditional Korean-style booth. We sit on the floor at a low wooden table, that’s long enough to accommodate a group of eight or nine people.

The variety of food on offer is pretty impressive, with 42 menu items including beef, duck, ribs, chicken, soup and noodle dishes. We’re spoilt for choice and not overly familiar with Korean food so we enlist the help of our friendly waiter, Krisna, to make some recommendations.

We’re keen to try a range of Korean dishes so we order bibim myeon (mixed noodles with a spicy sauce), a seafood pancake, and dolsot bibimbap (rice with steamed vegetables).

We nibble on a selection of complimentary side dishes before our main meals arrive. The sides are octopus kimchi and pickled vegetables. The thought of eating kimchi - cold cabbage with a spicy sauce – doesn’t really appeal to us immediately, but actually our concerns are unfounded because the kimchi is delicious; it’s crunchy, savoury and strangely addictive! We also like the octopus - slivers of chewy fish, mixed with cucumber and spice.

The mains arrive within 15 minutes. The dolsot bibimbap looks and tastes delicious, it’s served in a black stone pot and the portion size is generous enough for two people to share. The fresh napa cabbage, bean sprouts, zucchini and other vegetables are smothered under a layer of thick, tomato based sauce.

Next, we sample the bibim myeo. We don’t enjoy this dish as much, probably because the dish is served cold and we feel that cold noodles are an acquired taste.

We loved the seafood pancake though. It’s light, seasoned and tastes a bit like an omelette, with an tasty combination of green onion leaves, prawns and shrimps lightly fried together… mmm yummy! We can’t help but dip our pancake in the black-bean and sesame seed sauce for more savoury taste.

We are already looking forward to our return visit to Hankook and to ordering our favourite meal - you guessed it - the seafood pancake.

What? Hankook Korean Restaurant
Where? Between Defense Road and Muroor Road, beside Spinneys
Cost: Main courses average AED 45
We say: Huge portions and a varied menu that’s sure to impress even the fussiest of eaters.
Contact: 02 642 3399

Catriona Doherty