Myeong Dong

The measure of this North Strathfield room is what arrives before you have ordered a thing: a crowded parade of banchan, often a dozen or more, refilled without charge or fuss. On a given day the little dishes might run to cabbage and radish kimchi, soy-dressed perilla leaves, mung bean jelly, seasoned bean sprouts, fish cake, simmered lotus root and stir-fried spinach, a spread more generous than almost anywhere in the city and reason enough for its cheap-eats reputation. The mains hold up their end. There is a warming lamb hotpot the regulars treat as the house signature, a deeply savoury pork-rib soup, and the wider comfort-food canon: bibimbap, seafood pancakes, bulgogi, fried chicken, and bossam, the pork belly poached in herbal broth and wrapped at the table. Nothing here is styled for a photo; the pleasure is homely and abundant, the sort of Korean cooking that tastes cooked-for rather than assembled. Prices stay friendly, portions stay large, and the side dishes keep coming, which is why the tables turn over with students, families and anyone after a full, unfussy feed. It trades on generosity and consistency rather than trend, and does both quietly well.