At dinner with a group of food-loving friends one night we each made predictions as to the next food trend that will sweep Melbourne (cos the taco burger food truck thing is so 2012).

My prediction is Korean. It is spicy, hearty, healthy and, well, not Mexican. And while my knowledge of Korean doesn’t extend too far beyond bibimbap and bulgogi, perhaps stylish newcomer Bistro K is the place that will teach me to look beyond Korean BBQ to modern interpretations of Korean food.

If nothing else, their Korean drinks list was an eye-opener. The non-alcoholic fizzes were a series of unfamiliar names so I took a stab at a can of Sujunwa, cinnamon juice, which proved to be a sweet hit. My friend tried the traditional Korean Yuza-Citron tea which was sort of like pouring hot water onto marmalade and similar to the traditional flu remedy of honey and lemon with hot water.

In the alcohol column there were traditional Korean rice wines and plum wines and curiosity will one day lead me to try their fruity, soju based cocktails or a jug of Mak Ku Li, fermented rice milky wine, with various fruits.

The menu is split into small plates, larger plates, bibimbap. The prices are very reasonable – small dishes are around $10 and mains are under $25. And the servings were appropriately sized – you’re not getting a tiny bit of food as a ‘main’ course.

From the entrees we selected the deep fried crumbed oysters ($12 for 4). Crumbing is not the way I’d normally choose to enjoy my oysters but in this case the crunchy coating was an enjoyable contrast to the fleshy oyster briney-ness inside.

You can’t avoid kim chi in Korean cuisine and for our other entree we selected one of the more traditional dishes on the menu – slow cooked pork belly with kim chi topped with a thin slice of steamed tofu ($11.50). The relative blandness of the tofu was just the right counterpoint for the package of sour and spicy pickled cabbage and tender rich pork. You can also have this dish as a main course and it is just the kind of food I’d hoover down with rice on a cold winter’s night.

We were equally impressed with our main courses.  If you’re vegetarian/vegan (or even if you’re not) then I highly recommend the spicy cubes of deep-fried tofu with a side of fat, fleshy grilled king mushrooms the likes of which I’d never seen (I actually thought I was eating meat until I realised it was fungi). It’s a bargain for $18 and I reckon even meat eaters won’t feel like they’ve been cheated from their protein.

Our second shared main course was a fall-apart fillet of pan fried butterfish which really did melt in your mouth like butter. It came with more king mushrooms, a brushstroke of pumpkin puree and some interesting textural contrast in the form of soy jelly film.

Both mains were served with black rice and a bowl of soy bean and vegetable soup which meant that we actually didn’t have room for dessert – a shame as I would have liked to try their house made ice cream ($6).

I really enjoyed my experience of Bistro K – it serves a sophisticated yet very reasonably priced menu that I’m keen to explore further. Who knows, maybe Bistro K will lead the vanguard of Melbourne’s newest food trend.

Bistro K,  +61 3 9973 605

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‘Do you have anything that doesn’t have garlic in it? I don’t like garlic.’

‘Sorry – we’re a Spanish restaurant. Everything has garlic!’

I felt a little sorry for the guy, obviously a tourist. Who would have thought that walking into the Robert Burns Hotel meant a menu of paella and chorizo and not haggis with tatties and neeps?

The front of the Robert Burns Hotel looks like many a workers’ club, albeit a bit spruced up with fresh flowers and no sticky carpet in sight. The back restaurant is a lighter, brighter space with comfortable banquette seating down one side and cane chairs and wooden tables in the remainder of the space. You can order from the menu and eat in the front area or the restaurant, though if you sit in the pub space you’ll be propping up food on your knees or perched on high stools.

I love the juxtaposition of tartan carpet with the quickfire Spanish being bandied around in the kitchen.

The Robbie Burns has become a bit of a home-away-from-home for Spanish expats in Melbourne so their menu spans cuisine from all regions of that country. The food is comfortably familiar Spanish, with special emphasis on meats from the grill (parilla). Luckily I don’t have an aversion to garlic!

At the moment on weekdays they offer  a lunch deal of $12 for a dish from their express lunch menu or $15 for an express lunch dish with a beer, wine, soft drink or coffee. The lunch dishes are light meals and offer great value.

As I was super hungry I decided to start with some jamon croquettes from the standard menu ($10.50 for 5). You can also order the same croquettes on the lunch menu where you’ll get 6 croquettes (3 of the jamon, 3 of the croquette of the day) for $12.

The texture of the croquettes was about as close to perfect as I’ve experienced. Super crispy on the outside and so creamy on the inside. There were only a few tiny slivers of jamon within each croquette but I wasn’t too concerned. I just loved to crunchy/oozy combination of it all.

From the express lunch menu I had the mussels in an aromatic sofrito salsa. The mussels were very fresh and plump, and the amount of sauce left over at the end was almost equivalent to a small bowl of spicy tomato soup. The accompanying bread was perfect for mopping up the sauce and in fact I asked for more to wipe the bowl clean.

Greedy for more I decided to go all out and have three courses, so I finished my lunch with the chocolate coulant ($11.50). They warn you that it takes 15 minutes to arrive because the molten chocolate pudding with vanilla bean ice cream  is made to order (they forgot to put the ice cream on the plate for the photo but brought it out separately later). It was everything that a chocolate moelleux should be but wasn’t amazing.

The standard menu at the Robert Burns Hotel is available for dinner and they also hold special events – their current series explores cuisine for each of the Spanish regions. Go for an easygoing take on some classic Spanish cuisine with nary a bagpipe in sight.

Robert Burns Hotel, 379 Smith St, Collingwood +61 3 9417 2233

Monday – Tuesday 5pm – late

Wednesday  – Sunday 12pm – late

Thank you long weekend!

It seems that most people have taken the opportunity of a 3 day weekend to head out of town, leaving the ramen-hunting to the rest of us.

One of my favourite Japanese restaurants Wabi Sabi Salon is offering Tonkotsu Ramen Sundays, an interesting alternative to the Sunday roast. Until further notice every Sunday lunch time from 12 midday Wabi Sabi Salon will be open for one thing only – hot, steaming bowls of homemade ramen.

Ramen is perfect winter comfort food. Having one of those big bowls plonked in front of you is like having a steam facial and the more you eat, the hotter you get, until you’re shedding layers like a sunburnt Brit.

The menu has just three items on it – traditional Tonkotsu Charsyu noodle ie sliced pork and egg, a Tonkotsu Tan Tan spicy noodle with minced pork and a Vegetarian Tasty noodle.  The tonkotsu pork stock is put on the stove 24 hours before and the noodles are made fresh on the day, with only enough to fill 150 bowls.

I felt in need of some chilli for the chill so decided on the Tonkotsu Tan Tan spicy noodle. The bowl was filled with a heady, murky broth of porky goodness with a small slick of sesame and chilli oil. However, I don’t know if my tastebuds had been numbed by the hot soup but I definitely didn’t think it was spicy. The noodles were excellent, springy and toothsome.

I was thrilled to enjoy such great ramen on my doorstep until I was told that it cost me $16 (cash only). That’s not my experience as the going rate for a bowl of ramen. And it’s almost double the price for a bowl of pho, another form of a filling noodle broth.

So while I would recommend Wabi Sabi Salon‘s Pop Up Tonkotsu Ramen if you live nearby (and so it gets a HOT), is it so amazing that I’d cross town for it and get not much change from a $20? Probably not.

Pop Up Tonkotsu Ramen, Wabi Sabi Salon, 94 Smith St, Collingwood +