Darac Grill & Bar

Another day, another Korean restaurant. I think I need to branch out a little more, but for now, here's a recap of an awesome visit to the new-ish Darac Grill & Bar. Seeing as the menu is peppered with Japanese dishes, it's not quite a 'true' Korean restaurant, but I'm not that fussy (plus I generally like Japanese food more). Located on a section of A'Beckett street that I wasn't even aware had restaurants, upon settling into the cosy little restaurant, I mentally chided myself for not finding out about this charming place earlier.

They have a good selection of food and our very friendly waiter was quite helpful in advising us, even though we eventually decided on a few dishes to share. For our entree - Takoyaki Salad.

[caption id="attachment_590" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Takoyaki Salad "][/caption]

I can't say that I tasted much octopus, or that the dish was as burning hot as I've come to expect but it was sufficiently takoyaki-ish and tasty that I didn't really care, especially as I was ordering a Japanese dish from a Korean restaurant. We knew things were going to get better when the waitress brought out a portable gas stove. After a few minutes, she came back with a bowl filled to the brim with soup and various meats, vegetables, beans, rice noodles, pasta and cheese.

[caption id="attachment_591" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Mixed Stew "][/caption]

Waiting for the massive pot of food to cook was tormenting, but the end product was worth the wait.

Mixed Stew (Ready to Eat!)

After tucking into the stew for a bit, it was temporarily forgotten as the Sashimi set was brought to the table. The menu had mentioned grilled sashimi, which confused us as sashimi is almost always served raw, but everything made sense when the waitress brought out a blowtorch. Yep, a blowtorch. Succulent pieces of fresh salmon and eel, with just the tiniest bit of them cooked to bring out flavour resulted leaving us diners very happy indeed. A pretty amazing dish for both the taste and the theatrics involved.

Sashimi Set

The last dish to come out were the Kimchi pancakes, even though they were probably better suited as an entrée dish. No matter though, the presentation was unique and the pancakes full of flavour. Perhaps not quite spicy enough for my tastes, but I couldn't find any faults with it otherwise.

Kimchi Pancake

Darac is definitely a little gem hidden away in the new Little Korea section of the city. Well worth a visit for the food (and the friendly service).

Darac Grill & Bar
51 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
Lunch: Mon-Fri, Dinner: Mon-Sat 6pm-late