Howard 9 March 2009 Dinner, Korean, Sydney, West 11 Comments  Print This Post  Email This Post

A good sign when it’s packed with Koreans

This is actually our third time to Se Joung, we do love it so much. Our first two trips actually had more people and more dishes, but unfortunately I didn’t have my camera with me. On this occasion I did have my camera, but it was only Linda and I and we only ordered a few dishes. Epic fail.

Anyway, Se Joung is quite a popular Korean restaurant in Campsie. It is quite hard to spot, tucked away in an awkward position near Woolies. Everytime we come here, it is usually packed with Korean’s of all demographics. You will find families, couples and rowdy young groups enjoying their food over a few drinks. 

Banchan (side dishes)

Soon after we sit down on the floor (we chose to sit on cushions cross legged), we are offered complimentary side dishes. I love these for two reasons ; 1. They are free and 2. There are unlimited refills. What makes it even better is everytime I come here, they tend to mix up the variety of side dishes on offer which is great.

Seaweed

This is some sort of marinated seaweed. I wasn’t a big fan of this one, lacked a bit of flavour but the texture was great. 

Kimchi

If you could fail a breath test due to anything with a pungent smell, it would be because of eating kim chi. The kim chi at Se Joung is wonderfully seasoned and crunchy. It goes particullaly well with the bbq/grilled meats.

Potato

Boiled potato is marinated in a soy type sauce. 

Kongnamul (Beansprouts)

These beanspouts havbe a nice crunchy texture and have a dash of sesame oil for flavour

Mains

Pajeon Seafood and shallot pancake ($12)

One of my favourite dishes at Se Joung. For $12, this is excellent value as the sheer size of it is quite impressive. The pancake is always crunchy on the outside and delicately soft yet chewy on the inside. The seafood portions are not as generous as they use to be, but it doesn’t stop us from finshing this dish in a flash. On a side note, it’s good to see that price has only been increased by $1 since grabyourfork’s visit in  2004. 

Bi bim bap

Bi bim bap is usually something I have for lunch, but Linda hasn’t tried it before so we decided to give it a go. There are various versions of bi bim bap, but we opt for the hot version cooked in a stonepot. Once the waitress puts it on your table, make sure to mix it thoroughly and let it cook for a few minutes. Also make sure when you get to end, scoop up the crunchy rice bits at the bottom as they taste so good. Come to think of it, I think I have a soft spot for burn bits as I always go for the burnt bits at the bottom of the wok when cooking fried rice and noodles as well.

I’ll try my best to remember the ingredients ; egg, lettuce, beef mince, spinach, beansprouts and mushroom.

You can’t go wrong with bi bim bap and Se Joung’s version doesn’t disappoint. Make sure you drown your rice in the special chilli sauce they give you as well, it takes the dish to another level of copious amounts of joy.

Marinated beef

Spicy marinated chicken

All the meat at Se Joung is perfectly marinated and consistently tender. The beef and chicken is no exception, the flavours are delicious and spicy. Usually, the waitress happily cooks your meat for you. However if the restaurant is packed it’s best to cook it yourself to avoid overcooking the meat, especially beef. 

Se Joung is one of my favourite Korean restaurants. It’s a good place to kick back and relax, the food is authentic and has a nice homely feel to it. I think it must be due to the cushion seating. However there was only one downfall to our visit which didn’t happen previously. We were given our bill before we even finished eating which is something I frown upon. I kind of understand if the restaurant is about to close, but it was a Friday night at around 9.30pm and the restaurant is advertised to close at 11pm. I’m not sure who’s idea it was, but it looks like not much has changed since grabyourfork visited in 2004 where she saw people being turned away even though they still had 1 1/2 hours before close time. Despite this minor blemish, I’ll still come back to Se Joung because of the food.

Se Joung

68-72 Evaline Street
Campsie NSW 2194
Phone (02) 9718 4039

 Dessert (detour to Woolies)

500 ml for $6.99

Having stuffed ourselves to the brim, we still had room for dessert. When it comes to ice cream I usually look no further than the Homer Hudson range. My favourite is cookies & cream but I heard the choc fudge isn’t too shabby either. I am so glad that Homer Hudson has made a comeback into the Australia market because apparently it was discontinued at some stage, only for it to be re-introduced sometime in the early 2000′s.

What makes Homer Hudson so good ? It’s thick, creamy, chunky and full of flavour. They don’t skimp on anything here, it really does taste like a ‘premium’ ice cream. Mind you, it isn’t exactly cheap. Be prepared to pay $7 for 500ml, but it’s worth it. If I could compare it to something else, it would be perhaps Häagen-Dazs.

It really does taste like they threw in a cookies and cream cake into the tub

Homer Hudson ice cream is stocked in Coles, Woolies, Caltex Servo’s and Domino’s Pizza.