Seoul Soul Plus

315 High Street
Northcote, VIC 3070
http://www.seoulsoulgroup.com/#organic-korean-cuisine

There’s nothing quite like Melbourne weather. Whenever I travel overseas (or even to another city), I’m baffled at how the weather stays almost the same day to day. I had originally planned to drive down to Brunswick for some Italian, but when the weather did a 180 in the span of 2 hours, the trip suddenly seemed a lot less appealing. And that’s the story of how we ended up at Seoul Soul Plus.

Seoul Soul is a cool little place set amongst the more generic cafes and restaurants in Northcote. For anyone who has been to the original, this place will be instantly recognisable. The long, narrow restaurant is furnished with two long tables that are a cross between bar and booth, lit intimately with dim, low-hanging lights.

The little jars of Banchan are also familiar – tangy pieces of kimchi and sweet, crispy pickled radish. Unfortunately they also kept the horrible flat metal chopsticks that I hated so much.

The Stir-Fried Beef Noodle ($14) was a steaming plate of slippery udon, stir-fried with beef and vegetables in a bulgogi sauce. The best bit was the pile of crispy fried shallots on top, stirred into the noodles for maximum fragrance.

First impressions of the Stir-Fried Spicy Calamari ($18) weren’t so good. Although it looked and smelt delicious, there was only maybe a dozen pieces of squid. Thankfully the squid that was there was tender and well cooked, and drenched in a flavoursome sweet and spicy sauce. Great for having on top of Rice ($3/bowl).

Given how much good Korean food there is in Melbourne (with more popping up all the time), Seoul Soul Plus probably sits closer to the average mark. The prices are neither cheap nor expensive, and whilst the food was nice, it was also quite forgettable. It’s a decent option, but I’m not in a hurry to come back.

Rating: 12.5/20 – seoul soul minus.
This rating reflects my personal experience at the time of visit.