Yami Yami

398 Lonsdale Street,
Melbourne, VIC 3000

Here we are at Yami Yami. Because Ethan was lovely enough to take me out for a belated birthday dinner, it would be incredibly rude of me to go nuts with the blogging, so let’s see…

The CBD Yami Yami is actually the younger sibling to the original in Box Hill. Apparently I’ve never made that connection despite walking past both restaurants – which have the same signage – hundreds of times. The food is Korean with a tiny bit of Japanese, and their specialty is absurdly enormous serves of chuncheon spicy chicken. I wanted to ask for a picture of the 3 person serve at the next table but I wimped out; the metal plate would’ve covered your standard 4-burner stove top though, no joke.

I however had other things in mind, namely my health. And whilst Tteokbokki ($14, original) wasn’t exactly healthy, rice cakes and veggies was at least better than a sizzling plate of chicken and cheese.

There were no surprises here – the tubes of rice cake and sliced veggies were soaked in the spicy and slightly sweet gochujang that’s surely familiar to anyone who has had Korean food even once. The instant noodles, however garish, were annoyingly addictive.

We also shared the La Galbi ($18) with some rice on the side. Whilst these beef ribs looked dry and bland, they were actually sweet, smoky, and especially succulent. Very tasty.

Unfortunately the banchan didn’t do much for me. The kimchi looked and tasted like coleslaw with chilli paste, and the sprouts were bland. I did however find the chunks of potato in sweet syrup oddly moreish.

As far as Korean food goes, Yami Yami is pretty decent. Though not the tastiest I’ve had, the portions are generous and the pricing good. And let’s face it – I can totally see myself coming back for the chuncheon chicken.

Rating: 12.5/20 – google chuncheon chicken, you’ll see.
This rating reflects my personal experience at the time of visit.