Canberra's newest restaurant opening is Azuma Den at East Hotel. This Korean- Japanese restaurant has everything from wagyu tartare tacos, Korean fried chicken and flamed scallops along with vegan selections too. Come along and see what it is like!
One sunny Saturday we head out in the car for a drive from Sydney to Canberra to try out the brand new Korean Japanese restaurant Azuma Den. The restaurant is located on the ground floor of the East Hotel right next to Joe's Bar and it is busy this Saturday evening. The restaurant is spread across two rooms, the lower level room with a large round booth table for large groups and the upper level opposite the kitchen's pass. Hand dyed Shibori lanterns and silk ceiling fabrics line the ceiling above and there's a jute wall installation hand dyed with tea and madder (a leafy green plant dye) designed by Kelly Ross designs. It's a full house this evening and the service is helpful and friendly.
Executive Chef Junho "Luffy" Koh is in the restaurant's open kitchen along with his sous chef Jun Kim. Junho grew up near Busan in South Korea where he gained experience mostly in Italian restaurants there. He arrived in Australia 13 years ago aimed straight for Canberra - he supposed that as the nation's capital, it would be the busiest city in Australia.
He arrived during winter and during the 3 hour train ride all he saw was bush and no people and feared that he had arrived at the wrong place. He soon found work as a cleaner and then moved back into kitchens at East Hotel 10 years ago. When chef Francesco Balestrieri discovered Junho's Italian restaurant experience he progressed as a chef and now he is in charge of Agostini's, Joe's Bar and the newest baby Azuma Den. He is now married to a fellow chef, has two kids and Canberra has become his home.
We start with drinks. I order a non alcoholic cocktail called an Amai Apple with fresh red apple juice, honey, ginger and soda which is fantastic as it isn't overly sweet but has an appealing dry quality to it. Laura's Ume and Ocha has Japanese cherry blossom gin, sake, umeshu, plum syrup and genmaicha tea.
If there's one must order dish it's the wagyu beef tartare tacos. This is their version of beef yukhoe with nashi pear, cucumber, wasabi oil and perilla leaf. I recommend eating the taco quickly so that you can enjoy the textural crisp of the deep fried won ton skin and the luscious wasabi oil spiked filling. These are worth every rave with the filling being perfectly balanced from the sweet nashi pear cubes, refreshing cucumber and slight bitterness of the perilla leaf.
We also order the flamed scallops that come out freshly grilled in a puddle of delicious yuzu butter and salmon roe. These are simple but tasty, the yuzu citrus butter giving the scallops a rich citrus hit while the firm roe gives the mouthful texture.
Sometimes you need need a plate of dumplings and on a chilly spring evening that is definitely the case. These delicious morsels are an ode to seafood with lobster, prawn and scallop drizzled with house made chilli oil and salmon roe. The lobster flavour isn't super apparent but these are tasty with a nice hint of spice from the chilli oil.
There are two types of Korean fried chicken on the menu: a soy and garlic one and a sweet chilli one which is made with Gochujang by sous chef Jun. It's a bit spicier than a typical Korean chilli fried chicken as they add pan fried birds eye chilli to the gochujang. Junho explains that using gochujang adds smoothness to the hot chilli which you really only get right at the end. This is both of our favourite dish and the chicken is so succulent and juicy and we both love that the sauce is a bit spicier than normal as it can sometimes be a bit too sweet. On the side are some fresh, crunchy daikon pickles.
Vegans will be pleased to know that there are quite a few dishes that are vegan as they do get a lot of vegan clientele. These sweet potato noodles or Japchae are one of the vegan dishes. The slippery vermicelli style noodles are stir-fried with enoki, spinach, carrot and mushrooms and are so full of flavour with sesame and soy sauce that I suspect a hardened meat eater wouldn't miss the meat.
Their signature dish is their Jang-Jorim. This is usually a beef dish that is served cold in South Korea but here they serve it hot. It is a dish that reminds Chef Junho of his childhood as his mother made it for him while growing up. Here it is slow-cooked beef short rib in a sweet soy sauce masterstock with a boiled eggs and shiitake mushrooms. Junho also uses western techniques like sous vide to cook the beef at a low temperature overnight in the oven. The flavour of this sweet soy braised beef is rich and delicious and it is comforting especially served with steamed white rice.
There are three types of yakitori on the menu: chicken, pork jowl and king mushroom and we try the classic chicken yakitori with spring onion glazed in a classic teriyaki sauce. I also love this dipped in the AZD sauce that is made in house with a base of gochujang, chilli hot oil, spring onion, chilli powder sugar for a rich, thick dipping sauce.
All of the pickles including the kim chi are made vegan without fish sauce to cater for vegan customers. Kim chi is a staple in Korean cuisine and here they make a kimchi using cucumber, carrot and onion. This is delicious and moreish especially to cut through some of the meat dishes.
Likewise the pineapple and ginger pickles are great for the exact same reason. These have a sweet and sour quality to them that complements the cucumber kim chi. This is not a traditional Korean pickle but more of their invention. The serve of these pickles is also sizeable for a side pickle.
Desserts wise, there are a few Asian style desserts from house made mochi to a meringue with Asian flavours. We start with the mochi skins encasing house made ice creams. The first is a creamy matcha ice cream with a good amount of matcha and the second is a vegan yuzu coconut ice cream. The matcha is the pick for me.
We also try the coconut meringue which is an interesting take on a traditional meringue. Instead of a typical chalky meringue texture, this version uses shredded coconut in a meringue giving it a chewy coconut macaroon twist. It is served with an intriguing miso yuzu caramel custard and mandarin segments that actually works as it balances the salty and sweet.
Where To Stay When Visiting Canberra: East Hotel
For our visit to Canberra we stayed at East Hotel so dining at Azuma Den was easy and we didn't have to drive anywhere. East Hotel is a family-owned hotel and part of Bisa Hospitality Group. It is located in the area of Kingston which is the oldest suburb in Canberra but still contemporary in feel with leafy streets that are easy to walk. The Old Bus Depot Markets are an easy 10 minute walk away while the Kingston Foreshore and Lake Burley Griffin are 15 minutes walk.
The staff at East Hotel are fantastic and helpful. And very importantly, I am happy to report that the colourful lobby still has complimentary lollies which you can help yourself to - the best pick me up after a long drive from Sydney!
The lobby is striking with jewel tones and chandeliers and is a feast for the eyes. Our room is #503, a Luxe Apartment which is like a one bedroom suite. It is spacious and has a kitchenette and televisions in both the lounge room and bedrooms. There is also a balcony and the whole space is perfect for a couple. This room type is also designed for anyone with accessibility issues.
The bathroom has a large bath, spacious sink and good quality amenities from brand 19-69 including bath salts for a bath to really take the edge off the drive. Everything is thoughtfully done and convenient from the luggage rack that is already out, the floor lamps that illuminate the room softly to the comfortable couch for two. The pillow topped bed is very comfortable and you can curl up in a robe with slippers and watch the tv. There is a compact but more than adequate gym on the premises complete with shower and hotel guests can access a nearby Manuka pool for free (it's a 6 minute walk). One thing we found was that the aircon is a bit idiosyncratic and is best controlled by a call to the front desk.
Tucked away in a cupboard is a washing machine and dryer and powder and the kitchen has a full sized fridge freezer, oven, microwave and hot plate are available on those nights where you cannot bear to leave the room.
However the food offering is one of East Hotel's strongpoints. It includes Agostini's the Italian restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner to Joe's Bar, the popular bar with its own pizza oven that churns out a menu from snacky bits (I recommend the focaccia Bollo with prosciutto) to full meals as well as the brand new Azuma Den Japanese restaurant. It's the sort of hotel where you don't have to leave (and sometimes when we stay, we don't!). Self parking is a reasonable $20 per night.
For breakfast, guests now have access to Agostini's which is open for breakfast and offers a range of Italian influenced dishes like carbonara scrambled eggs and breakfast lasagne - this is part of a tradition where Sunday lasagna is pan fried the next morning for breakfast!
So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever dined at a Korean Japanese restaurant before? And have you ever stayed at a hotel and never left it to go out to eat?
Azuma Den
East Hotel, 69 Canberra Ave, Griffith ACT 2603
Phone: (02) 6178 0007
Lunch Wednesday - Sunday 12noon til 3pm
Dinner 7 days 5.30pm – 9.30pm
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