A friend and I decided to try out Suda, a Korean restaurant hidden along Healeys Lane (and located a little away from the heart of the CBD). The small yet well-decorated restaurant offered a selection of unique dishes, such as burritos filled with various traditional Korean flavors including bulgogi and kimchi tofu. Although I’ve only tried some of the dishes from the lunch menu, most of the portions had been quite small even though they were relatively cheap. Albeit serving mostly Korean food, the dishes at Suda resemble fusion food to a large extent and thus, taste less authentic (pretty good nonetheless). The most memorable incident I have of Suda was given one of the dishes for free as a sign of apology for their slightly crappy service initially.

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 – General Review –

•  Service: 8.5/10

Minimum EFTPOS of $10. Although the personnel were not the friendliest initially, we were given the lotus root chips free of charge as the waitress apologized for the poor service earlier on.

• Servicescape: 8.5/10

The restaurant was small to medium-sized, clean, and furnished with cozy and wooden furniture and decorations. Music choices was more Western compared to Korean, and the atmosphere was less Asian as well. It was relaxing and a great place to chill.

• Non-smoking area: Seats are indoors and smoke-free, but some outdoor seats available too.

• Vegetarian dishes: Yes, several vegetarian dishes available.

• Price range: $-$$ (AU$7 – $10 for most main dishes.)

Overall Rating: 8.2/10

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 – Food Experience –

1) Lotus Root Chips:

I ordered the Lotus Root Chips since it sounded unique – lotus roots as chips? – but I thought it didn’t taste too different from normal chips anyway. The dish was relatively inexpensive, so I wasn’t too surprised with the small portion. The lotus roots were sliced thinly, crispy, and pretty oily, but I liked the spicy mayonnaise sauce that came with it.

2) Crispy Dumpling w/ Cabbage Salad:

The dish came with 8 pieces of dumplings, which were all very fried and crispy. The stuffing was delicious, and I loved the dressing. The salad helped to counter some of the oiliness as well.

3) Kimchi and Tofu Plate:

The portion was just right, and the dish consisted of purple rice, some kimchi and tofu with sliced onion and scallion, salad, and 2 pieces of fried dumplings. The kimchi was a little too sweet and the tofu too fried on the outside but otherwise, it was a pretty decent dish and quite a good value for the price.

4) Spicy BBQ Pork Bibimbab:

The Spicy BBQ Pork Bibimbab is probably one of my favorites from here so far. The portion was just right – not too small, yet not large enough that you’d be stuffed from this dish alone. The spicy pork was delicious (although it wasn’t very spicy) and the dish also came with sliced carrots, eggs, onions, mushrooms, some salad, and a small bottle of spicy sauce (crucial for bibimbabs!) The presentation was unlike any other bibimbabs I’ve ever seen, and it had more of a Western flavor to it.

 

Location: ShopC2 550 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne – VIC, Australia (3000) 

Contact number: +61 3 9942 6422

Facebook: Suda

Operating hours: Mon – Fri: 11am – 11pm

Sat: 12pm – 11pm

Sun: 5pm – 11pm

Posted by: V