Oriental Spoon Story 2 – The Overview…
Food: Premium Beef Set, steamed egg, Japchae (Wok fried potato noodles with mushroom), Korean corn tea, kiwi lemonade and pink lemonade (both made in house)
The details…
Unlike the cosy noodle bars surrounding it, Oriental Spoon opens out into a huge expansive funky restaurant. Beautifully decked out with a copper and steel toned industrial theme and muted pastel artwork you kind of feel a little as though you’ve gone through the rabbit hole into a Collingwood brewery. It’s stunning, and worlds away from busy Elizabeth Street and its typically bustling and noisy eateries.
It’s a fairly long standing venue, having been there for 5 years (offering Korean BBQ for 3) while their first venue has been around for over 15 years. Downstairs you can enjoy typical noodle bar eats while the menu upstairs is largely traditional Korean dishes, with the highlight of course being the BBQ. We tried the Premium Beef Set, the steamed egg and the Japchae (Wok fried potato noodles with mushroom). We also tried the Korean corn tea, kiwi lemonade and pink lemonade (both made in house).
One of my fave things about Korean bbq is all the sides that you get to enjoy and Oriental Spoon didn’t disappoint in this regard, with larger than average serves of a range of dishes including cabbage, onion and a delicious kimchi. We also added a couple of extra sides to the ones provided in our set. The salted egg was really nice; a traditional Korean dish, it was like a lightly whipped scrambled egg, with a gentle salty flavour and it was a good contrast to our meat-heavy bbq too.
The Jamchi was delicious, and a huge serving. The thin potato noodles were coated in a rich bulgogi sauce, providing a pleasant combination of sweet and salty, umami flavour. Mixed with mushrooms (we chose the veggie option), spring onion and capsicum, it had plenty of flavour.
We then moved on to the main event – the BBQ. It was a proper BBQ, cooked over hot coals – and I always feel that you must have a lot of love for Korean food to set up a BBQ restaurant. As well as the serious health and safety factor if someone manages to burn themselves, the staff run around tirelessly, cooking meat and changing grills on top of their general serving duties and all those extra sides they include with each BBQ set. It’s not easy but the staff at Oriental Spoon are definitely pros.
We tried the Wagyu Premium set. I was a little concerned that all of the meat would be very similar, so I was impressed with the distinct difference of each type, and the fact that the cooking speed was thoughtful and varied to ensure we had time to finish most of each without being overwhelmed.
All of the meat was excellent quality, and we enjoyed each course. The thin skirt was my favourite – it just melted in your mouth. The high marbled was cut a little chunkier and had a really juicy meaty flavour. The scotch fillet was a little more mild tasting, and finally we ended with the chewy, thin ox tongue. There was so much food for 2 people, and we thought it was a really generous BBQ offering.
We washed everything down with a flask of their traditional corn tea – which had a rich sweetness and was very moreish. We also tried the kiwi lemonade and pink lemonade, which amazingly they have time to make in house around all the BBQ-ing. The pink lemonade is a more traditional lemonade drink, with a sweet-sour mix, while the kiwi is more unique with a lighter flavour. We loved getting the chance to try some different dishes at Oriental Spoon, enjoyed their professional, friendly service and adored their spacious, industrial decor. It’s the epitome of a hidden gem, and definitely somewhere you need to stop and try next time you’re on Elizabeth.
Everything else…
Website: http://www.orientalspoon.melbourne/
Address: 291 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne CBD
Opening Times:
| Mon | 12noon – 3pm, 5:30pm – 10pm |
| Tue | 12noon – 3pm, 5:30pm – 10pm |
| Wed | 12noon – 3pm, 5:30pm – 10pm |
| Thu | 12noon – 3pm, 5:30pm – 10pm |
| Fri | 12noon – 3pm, 5:30pm – 10pm |
| Sat | 12noon – 10pm |
| Sun | 12noon – 9:30pm |
Parking: There’s plenty of paid parking near to Elizabeth Street.
Getting here on PT: Trams run along Elizabeth Street so it’s a really easy reach on PT. Alight at Melbourne Central. It’s also an easy reach from Melbourne Central train station or buses running along Lonsdale Street too.
Disclaimer: We dined as guests of Oriental Spoon Story 2, Melbourne. Reviews are honest and based on our own personal experiences. We cannot guarantee things at a cafe won’t change including, but not limited to, menu items and opening hours, so please confirm any details with the venue before visiting.