Céci Korean Restaurant, Strathfield
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Following on from this last post here, when Jasmine came to join our catch up date we decided to eat somewhere else. While us two are always up for KBBQ it might've been a bit heavy considering I just had brunch with Annemary and Fiona. So we settled on some classic Korean food. I was full but having a dessert type dish for brunch definitely made me crave some actual savoury food.
We walked around The Boulevarde before deciding to try out Céci. I've never been in here before but it looked popular and the bright and clean picture menu out the front was very eye catching!
Inside, we are seated right on a table by the counter. What you can't miss about Céci is how absolutely small and cramped the place is. It is so squishy as you squeeze past the tables that have been set out to accompany the popularity of this place. Even in our small corner table, there was another table pushed next to ours.
The interiors are nonetheless clean and bright. There's a TV playing on one wall and lots of menu pictures and product advertisement posters on the others.
The menu has such a large variety of delicious Korean foods (with PICTURES) that we are overwhelmed and suddenly I want to order EVERY THING. Our original plan was to get some chicken to nibble on but somehow we ended up ordering a bit more than that!
Side Dishes (Complementary)
We get the side dishes of sweet potatoes, kimchi (good stuff), acorn jelly, bean sprouts (really watery, overblanched, needs a pinch of salt and more sesame oil) and seaweed.
Pork, Veggie and Soft Tofu Soup $13
Bubbling hot! This hit the spot and made me feel all warm inside. I loved the generous amount of boiled pork slices and soft tofu in this soup. The soup had a very ramen-like taste and maybe the base was anchovy broth. It only was a little bit spicy. There was an egg in this and I suspect it sunk towards the bottom and cooked itself in the broth because I confused it for a piece of tofu hahaha
It wasn't until ANOTHER bubbling hot soup came out that Jasmine and I realised we had kind of ordered pretty much the same thing!!!!
Right: Pork, Kimchi and Soft Tofu Soup $13
Although pretty much the same, it has its subtle differences. First the soft tofu in this soup was the cubed kind while the tofu in my soup was the broken up silken Korean (cylinder) kind. Then the other difference comes in the soup which we were all furiously switching between trying to determine. Because of the extra kimchi in this soup, we think the broth is more acidic and salty. Although in the end, both were so warm and delicious! Not the best in hindsight but very comforting.
Then came the next 'error' in judgement we made... we ordered half and half Korean fried chicken (original and spicy). It wasn't an option on the menu but the cheery owner serving us was like "We can do anything, we will accomodate for you!" So cute.
Deep Fried Chicken, Half Spicy/Half Original $28
Why an 'error'? So much for just a small bite! This is a feast! We did not expect the chicken to be to BIG and such a generous amount. This this really what a whole serving of chicken looks like? Wow, love it hehehe
Deep Fried Original - Half Chicken
Every piece was so big and meaty! The batter is good in that it holds up and retains a nice crunch - but overall for some strange season, the chicken wasn't tasty at all. It fact it was quite bland, dry and something else that I just can't put my finger on was missing. We've all definitely had better Korean fried chicken elsewhere and it's such a shame that this doesn't live up to it.
Deep Fried with Spicy Sauce - Half Chicken
This is much better than the original fried chicken because of the yummy sweet and spicy sauce. But unfortunately on the inside it was still a bit bland and dry.
Overall just because we were disappointed by the fried chicken, doesn't mean we didn't enjoy our time here. The soups were great and the service was so attentive and friendly! Also this place was so busy and popular so there must be other dishes here that are preferred by the locals and so on. On the way out we see quite some tables with the "teppanyaki" plate on their table (a large rectangular pan where you cook your own assortment of veggies and meats). It looks really fun to try for next time!
TL;DR:
Price: A bit pricy but for a group, quite good
Quality: Not most tasty
Service: Attentive and very friendly!
Ambience: Popular small restaurant
Céci Korean Restaurant
37 The Boulevarde,
Strathfield NSW 2135
Open 7 days a week
10AM - 12AM
1 comments
Great! I must go their and if you are finding best korean restaurant in glen waverley then must go Krispy Chook restaurant.
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