Soju’ is a Korean spirit and a ‘Soju Girl’ is a party girl, which is exactly what this restaurant encompasses. With a fusion of Korean, Japanese, Thai and Malaysian flavours and a hint of Australian, Soju Girl is the perfect compromise between the West and the East.
Walking into Soju Girl I was blown away by the size of the vicinity. Who knew that such a place, tucked into the depths and darkness of the Melbourne Building was going to be so large.
The atmosphere of the restaurant is stylish, yet not pretentious and the cocktail lounge has a cool air of sophistication to it.
Upon entry we are immediately shown to our table and the charming service commences. Cocktails are bought out; the Mafia Princess, Yellow Fever and a Soju Girl. The SojuGirl is made with muddled lime and kiwi fruit shaken together with Korean Soju, Midori and a house-made lemongrass syrup and then layered over cranberry juice.
The Mafia Princess is made with strawberries, vanilla sugar and vodka shaken with some strawberry liquor and a dash of lime.
The Yellow Fever cocktail is made with Caribbean rum, coriander, mango and lime juices and finished with a dash of ginger beer.
The first dish we shared was the Betel leaf with smoked trout and a coconut chilli dressing. These small, but delectable morsels exploded in our mouths and the smoked trout and coconut flavours complemented each other well.
The next dish that came out was the zucchini flowers stuffed with sushi rice and soy mirin. The zucchini flowers are lightly battered and they crunched, yet melted in our mouths.
Followed by the zucchini flowers was the Wagyu beef Carpaccio with pure wasabi and enoki mushrooms.
The tataki sirloin dish is next to appear and is cut into halves; one of which was grilled and the other was flash seared in the Chicago style.
The last dish for dinner was the crispy pork hock with a red date puree in a black vinegar caramel. The pork has been braised in Master stocks – a Chinese stock – for 12 hours. The pork is so tender; it falls apart as soon as it hits the lips.
Most of the plates at Soju Girl are designed for sharing and you can select from ‘small’ and ‘large’ plates. Very reasonably priced, on average a small plate is $16 and a large plate is around $30-35.
Just when we thought we could not possibly eat another thing, the interesting and quirky desserts arrived. The Menajahtwa which is a special for the night is unlike anything we have ever experienced. A martini glass filled with ginger beer jelly, vanilla pannacotta, mango foam and a light sprinkle of pop rocks is the perfect sweet explosion.
The other dessert we had was the sesame sponge with white sesame ice-cream, vanilla cream and Aloe Vera jelly. The dryness of the sesame sponge with the creamy white sesame ice-cream is an unusual sensation, but it worked.
Walking away with very full bellies and in awe of the dining experience we just had, Soju Girl is definitely on the list of ‘places to return to’.
