While picking up groceries on the Korean side of Eastwood, we were lured by the full tables at Unkles that was in stark contrast to the other empty restaurants we’d walked past just before noon.
The side dishes were rather lacklustre in comparison to other Korean restaurants we’ve visited, but covered the basics of bean curd skins, daikon, kimchi and onions.
Everyone in the restaurant seemed to be ordering soup-based dishes, so I tried this Clam Noodle Soup ($16.00). The soup base tasted like it was made from clam stock powder, which wasn’t necessarily negative but it meant it lacked depth. The noodles were al dente, but the thinness of the vegetables meant they were very mushy and soft, while the clams were chewy and overcooked. Overall, this was dish was neither impressive nor satisfying.
D opted for the Mackeral Pan Fry ($19.00). We enjoy a good pan-fried fish and this one was well seasoned with an enjoyable crisp crust but was a tad dry inside.
Finally, we were still chasing the perfect Seafood Pancake ($20.00). While the first few bites were enjoyable, the batter-to-seafood ratio was too high and left us with mouthfuls of nothing but batter. The seafood consisted of a mix of mini mussels, tiny prawns and a few bits of calamari.
With the exception of the one from Mirac, D and I are beginning to think seafood pancake isn’t for us. Overall, our first impressions of Unkles were unimpressive, but we may return for the soup with rice dishes that everyone was ordering before writing it off.
Unkles is located at 117/62-80 Rowe St, Eastwood NSW 2122.