Sydney Madang, Sydney CBD

Follow your nose down a dark laneway along Pitt Street, and you’ll be rewarded at Sydney Madang.

Jinro Chamisul Soju, $15

There’s a lot to like about dinner at a Korean barbecue joint. The aroma of charred meat. The cheesy K-pop tunes. The cheesy K-pop singers on bottles of Soju.

Korean barbecue is a fantastic meal if you’re in a group. The theatre of cooking your own meal brings out the cave man in you, and it’s a fun way to enjoy a meal with your nearest and dearest. Though you’ll leave smelling like you stuck your head in a chimney.

It’s wiggle room only once your meat arrives with an array of colourful complimentary banchan (side dishes).

These include the ubiquitous bean sprouts, crispy fresh spring onion, sweet salty potato chunks simmered until tender, cold mashed potato ‘salad’, and my all time favourites – kimchee, salty bean paste and fragrant garlic oil.

Complimentary banchan selection

Beef ribs, $22.00
Marinated chicken, $15.00 

The spiral-sliced beef ribs unfurl into rosy ribbons which grill to a beautiful crisp. The marinade is sweet and salty, with a flavoursome kick from the generous amounts of onion and garlic that are included in the mix.

We enjoy the slices of tender marinated chicken still sizzling from the grill. The marinade they’ve been steeped in is mildy spicy, so this one’s a good option if you’re not a chili hero.

Beef bulgogi (centre), $15.00

Sticky sweet beef bulgogi is an all-time favourite of mine, and something I will gladly order at any Korean restaurant.

The best bulgogi is made with wafer thin slices of beef, which is marinated in a mix of soy sauce, sugar, garlic, sesame oil and pepper. Some marinade recipes also include grated nashi pear, or other fruits like papaya or kiwifruit which contain enzymes (papain and actinidin) that act as natural tenderisers.

The staff at Sydney Madang are on the ball, and quickly replace charred grill plates as you cook, particularly when they notice too much smoke drifting from the centre of your table.

Soybean soup, $13.00

We also decided to try a soybean based soup (sorry, this is where my Korean food names fail me!), which is one we’ve enjoyed at restaurants in Perth too. The soybean paste used in this soup is similar in flavour to Japanese miso.

It’s a comforting mix containing soft sliced cucumber, pillowy white chunks of silken tofu and a generous sprinkling of fresh green chiles. There’s only a gentle chili-zing, thankfully, which helps me enjoy the savoury warmth of the soup.

This hit of pure umami is also amped up by the addition of beef bones to the murky brew. We fish out tender pieces of slow cooked beef, enjoying each morsel .

This soup is fantastic spooned over rice ($2.00 a bowl), or enjoyed on its own on a cool night.

Read about our other food adventures in Sydney

• Sydney day 1: BBQ King, Haymarket
• Sydney day 1: Via del Corso, Westfield Sydney
• Sydney day 1: Spiedo Bar and Restaurant, Westfield Sydney
• Sydney day 2: Bills, Surry Hills
• Sydney day 2: Becasse Bakery, Westfield Sydney
• Sydney day 2: Cafe Ish, Surry Hills
• Sydney day 2: Emperor’s Puffs, Chinatown
• Sydney day 2: Chat Thai, Haymarket
• Sydney day 3: Bourke Street Bakery, Surry Hills
• Sydney day 3: Cafe Cre Asion, Sydney CBD
• Sydney day 3: Jackie M Malaysian Cuisine, Concord
• Sydney day 4: The Rocks Cafe, The Rocks
• Sydney day 4: Din Tai Fung, World Square
• Sydney day 4: The Star, Pyrmont

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