Jason King
AmyHuangMirinei Korean and Japanese Restaurant
June 10th 2006 04:07
143 Oxford St. Bondi Junction - 9388 9675
I didn’t realize how much of Japanese-Korean centre Bondi Junction is. Wow. I mean, without even including the Westfield shopping centre and food court - just on Oxford Street and the couple of streets around it - there are 4 Japanese-Korean stores, and 8 restaurants.
I never noticed until I stumbled upon a good one. Mirinei. I initially thought “gosh, to find a place like this in Bondi Junction is pretty amazing”; that was until I had a closer look around and discovered it didn’t seem like chance at all. But who cares! All the better for those of us eating.
I definitely recommend you try Mirinei before delving into the others. That is, predominantly for the Korean side of things (for the Japanese, start your journey at Ichi-ban Boshi) Mirinei is a relatively new restaurant (which seems to be struggling from lack of exposure, so let’s help it out, we want it to stay!), doing the Japanese-Korean deal, but you’re really here for the Korean food. The pictures on the outside will start you in the right direction - it’s what got me inside in the first place.
Look for the unusual sounding, the more intriguing items, instead of the typical fare. Spicy kimchi noodles, for example, are a fresh mix of pickles and vegetables with a bit of meat served through noodles. A bit of chilli sauce and you’re on your way. The bibimbab is different vegetables again with some minced meat served over rice with a just fried egg - similar to the variation which comes on a hot plate where you mix in the raw egg yolk to scramble it at the table. With some chilli sauce both are great wholesome meals, but also come with a fascinating array of pickles and accompaniments; kimchi; sauteed sesame spinach and Korean greens; seaweed; tofu; carrot; bean sprouts; and so on.
The marinated beef BBQ (bulgogi) is a perfect meal in itself; a generous portion of tasty sesame-barbequed meat comes on shaved cabbage with all the pickle sides and rice. The meat is diced, and does contain come fat and gristle which seems to be the tradition. But so what. If that’s worrying try the BBQ pork, it seemed leaner (what I could gather from the table beside us).
It doesn’t really stop there. The kimchi soup looks fantastic, for a start, and there are lots of other dishes to proceed with. But sadly, less than when I first visited; it seems the menu is being shrunk - crossed off item by item, my guess because of lack of customers and publicity. It’s a crying shame. Usually an empty restaurant is a bad sign, but this is one instance where even if it's empty when you walk in, you should stay. The food is solid, interesting and tasty, and Mirinei is the type of restaurant we want to keep around in Sydney.
I didn’t realize how much of Japanese-Korean centre Bondi Junction is. Wow. I mean, without even including the Westfield shopping centre and food court - just on Oxford Street and the couple of streets around it - there are 4 Japanese-Korean stores, and 8 restaurants.
I never noticed until I stumbled upon a good one. Mirinei. I initially thought “gosh, to find a place like this in Bondi Junction is pretty amazing”; that was until I had a closer look around and discovered it didn’t seem like chance at all. But who cares! All the better for those of us eating.
Look for the unusual sounding, the more intriguing items, instead of the typical fare. Spicy kimchi noodles, for example, are a fresh mix of pickles and vegetables with a bit of meat served through noodles. A bit of chilli sauce and you’re on your way. The bibimbab is different vegetables again with some minced meat served over rice with a just fried egg - similar to the variation which comes on a hot plate where you mix in the raw egg yolk to scramble it at the table. With some chilli sauce both are great wholesome meals, but also come with a fascinating array of pickles and accompaniments; kimchi; sauteed sesame spinach and Korean greens; seaweed; tofu; carrot; bean sprouts; and so on.
It doesn’t really stop there. The kimchi soup looks fantastic, for a start, and there are lots of other dishes to proceed with. But sadly, less than when I first visited; it seems the menu is being shrunk - crossed off item by item, my guess because of lack of customers and publicity. It’s a crying shame. Usually an empty restaurant is a bad sign, but this is one instance where even if it's empty when you walk in, you should stay. The food is solid, interesting and tasty, and Mirinei is the type of restaurant we want to keep around in Sydney.
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