I got another email from the same person who asked me to write a review for Bibimbap Soho. And so I said yes, I can write another review for a different Korean restaurant. Not a problem. This time I invited Miss Pinky first. She said yes straight away... I was advised to go between Monday to Wednesday, but the only problem was that we were only available during the weekend, and Mr Bear and Mr Smiles weren't available to join us... :( Oh well, maybe next time! So there were no offers this time round... But that doesn't matter. I got to eat Korean food again!!! (^_^)v
Asadal is a Korean restaurant situated in one of the busiest areas in London. Holborn. The area of lawyers and the place where the Royal Courts of Justice is! (I know this as I went to find this place with my cousin who once was on a placement a long time ago... It's behind the station somewhere!). I think the restaurant's Korean name is 아시딜 a-sa-dal (correct me if I'm wrong! I'm trying my best to learn Korean... But there's no time or I'm just being a lazy Geek!!). According to Wiki it means "morning land" or "morning mountain" depending on what Chinese characters are used... Chinese characters for this restaurant are 阿斯達 (Canto: a si daaht; Mando: a1 si1 da2). This means to reach and achieve in Chinese. |
| Outside Asadal |
Miss Pinky happened to be babysitting Master H for a few hours yesterday so he was very lucky and came with us!! (This boy gets so many treats... I'm hoping when he's older and finds a job he will be doing the same... treating Miss Pinky and I to loads of food!! ^_^). It was snowing yesterday, so it was a GREAT day to eat Korean food!
As we got there, it wasn't a far walk from the bus stop and from Holborn Tube Station. It's right next door to the station! Once you enter, you need to go downstairs. It's quite a dim lit restaurant, but it gives you that homely feeling, and I didn't see anyone complaining. Most of the diners that were there seemed to know the place already! It was a little quiet for lunch time, but maybe it's because we got there just before 2pm, and it shuts at 3pm before they reopen at 6 pm... They are closed on Sunday's as well. |
| Menu cover - I like! |
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| Really dark inside!! But homely looking |
Thankfully the place is warm!! So here's what we ordered...
Miss Pinky's food. She had the Jap Chae first, which is thinly sliced beef and stir-fried vegetables with glass noodles. She enjoyed it but she said there could've been more beef than veg. I tried a bit. It needed seasoning. |
| Jap Chae |
Next she had the So Go Gi Bibimbap. This had cooked beef minced meat, vegetables (that were side dishes as well) and a fried egg. She didn't want the fried egg, so I had to eat it! Her complaint this time was that there wasn't enough rice, and it was burnt at the bottom. ¬_¬"" Hey I'm trying to be nice on this blogpost and not to be so critical!! Miss Pinky is taking this review a little too seriously!!!! I didn't try it, so I don't know how it tasted... But Miss Pinky seemed to have had a lot in the end! |
| So Go Gi Bibimbap |
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| Some side dishes... I like that green one! |
Master H has grown to love allsorts of food! And I think he is getting his expensive taste for food from me!! Hah!! He first had the Tang Su Yook which is deep fried sweet and sour beef. He asked me later why it looked like that (see picture), and not like how Chinese restaurants do it? I don't know! I tasted a few. It tasted good! But this also needed seasoning! A little more salt maybe?! |
| Tang Su Yook |
Next he had the Bokum Myun. This was just seafood, vegetables and noodles. Master H didn't want any squid... and surprisingly he didn't want the mussels, so I ate them... It all tasted goooood!! Just like Chinese style food!! No seasoning needed in this dish! |
| Bokum Myun |
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| Master H's Miso soup |
Finally here's my food. By the way, I had an Oolong Tea. Miss Pinky had a Green Tea and Coke, and Master H had a 7-Up! ^_^ I had the Bin Dae Duk, which is a traditional Korean pancake made with ground green beans. They looked appetizing But again it needed more seasoning! :( Luckily they provided some soy sauce in a small dish, otherwise I don't think I would have enjoyed it! |
| My oolong tea |
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| Bin Dae Duk |
Next I had the Soon Tofu Chigae. This is a spicy soft tofu soup with clams with a raw egg that was still cooking and served with some sticky rice. Yummy. This is good for you if you have a cold or trying to warm up from this bout of bad weather! No seasoning needed here!!! It was really filling, and I didn't have any dinner afterwards... Wow! |
| Soon Tofu Chigae |
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| Close up of the Soon Tofu Chigae... It spilt at the edge... |
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| Let's Eat!!! My fried egg and mussels is in the middle of the table ¬_¬"" |
We got a piece of orange for dessert too... :) |
| Sweet orange |
As we were leaving, Master H told me to take some pictures of the dolls by the toilet. They are pretty cute. (Miss Pinky said I should also mention about the toilets ¬_¬. They were fine!). |
| The rest of the dining area |
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| Cute male doll in traditional Korean clothing |
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| Cute female doll in traditional Korean clothing |
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| I think this is a couple getting married in traditional Korea clothing |
So overall, Asadal is a nice restaurant for lunch, some mixed views between us about the lighting, the food was ok but some needed seasoning, or they could've offered some seasoning items on the table (i.e. salt, pepper, soy sauce...). Miss Pinky said this is better than Arirang, as it was spacious and relaxing, and she would definitely come here for dinner one day (just not when she's busy at work). Master H liked the food (of course he did, he chose the expensive items!).
Total cost came to £57.60, under £20 each. Not bad. There's no service charge at lunch time, but I believe there is a 10% charge during the evening meals. |
| This is Holborn... It still snowed when we were leaving!! |
My geeky rating: 4/5 and Miss Pinky's rating: 3.5/5 (she wanted to join in the rating!)... So an average of 3.75/5 (but stick to my generous rating!!).
Good points:- Good spacious restaurant- Good service (I didn't experience the rudeness as other bloggers had)- Didn't feel rushed to eat my food even when they were closing at 3pm!- Food was really filling- No service charge at lunch time!!
Bad points:- Menu lists and pricing on the website needs updating (I compared the bill prices with the menu on the site - they are not the same)- Food needs some seasoning... a bit bland...- Food is a bit pricey (but it's in a high end area... I would expect that!)
Address: Kingsbourne House, 229-231 High Holborn, London WC1V 7DA (right next door to Holborn Tube Station, you can't miss it!!)Telephone: 0207 430 9006
Website: www.asadal.co.uk
