the gaya

// The Gaya // Applecross Arcade, Shop 3&4, 3 Kearns Cr, Ardross WA 6153 //

Korean, Asian, Modern // www.the-gaya.com //

Back in early November, I received an email inviting me for lunch or dinner for two at The Gaya, a modern Korean restaurant in Applecross. Having been flat out busy, studying for exams, working and preparing for a full-blown Christmas production, I wasn't able to follow through with the invite until just a week before Christmas, when things started to be a little more quiet. My friend and I went in for a dnm lunch session on a Friday afternoon and were given a warm welcome by Leo, the owner of the restaurant. Once seated, we ordered our full-course meal. Thus, the anticipation and excitement began. No, but seriously, we were starving. After ordering, we were given complimentary appetizers: fried cheese and potato wedges. As expected, both were very light, airy, and 'appetizing'. I don't know what kind of sauce it was, but it was pretty damn good with those potato wedges. I wasn't too much of a fan of the fried cheese, but I guess it could be a hit or a miss for anyone.

Our first picks were the beef cream roll ($14) and the japchae ($12). For starters, the portions were pretty decent. We felt like we would have been happy eating just the two and leaving. Unlike other japchae I've tried, this one was fried into a pancake-like form, which actually made it easier for us to eat. The beef cream roll was basically cheese heaven. I particularly liked how they wrapped everything with the beef and made it into a roll. Two lovely ways to start our lunch. Once these two beauties were devoured, he kindly took our plates and gave us the side dishes and rice: kimchi and fried potatoes.

Now for the mains. We chose the bulgogi ($28) and the spicy pork ($26), expecting fine-dining small portions, but boy were we so wrong. Both dishes were colossal. Okay, not colossal, but they were two pretty decent-sized dishes that gave us two girls a hard time. They were both delicious, but because of the portions, we almost drowned in them (metaphorically speaking). The bulgogi was served in a hot pot with rice noodles (similar to the japchae, or perhaps the same) and proved to be perfectly cooked and delicious. But our favourite of the night would definitely have to be the spicy pork. Suffocating under the vegetables, the spicy pork had just enough spicy (for us anyway), and unexpectedly, potato wedges and aioli was served on the side. I guess this is where the influence of the west comes into play.

Once we barely finished the last bits of our mains, we gave our stomachs a rest for a few minutes, then received our last picks of the day: homemade green tea ice-cream ($6) and homemade ho-tuck ($8), which, as a fan of Korea myself, I'm pretty sure is pronounced ho-ddeok. We devoured the green tea ice-cream, which strangely tasted very similar to one our friend made earlier last year. As for the ho-tuck, we had never tried it before. It was a Korean style pancake, served with warm dark brown sugar and strawberries, drizzled with walnuts, sunflower seeds, and pine nuts. And yes, we totally ate the two together, because we were juvenile like that. Finally, we finished the meal by ordering a bottle of soju ($10). A lovely end to our time at The Gaya.

Overall, our experience at The Gaya was very pleasant. Leo, our waiter, was very courteous, made us feel very welcome, and served us well. The majority of the food was on-point and definitely worth another try. I was surprised by the gorgeous blend of the western and Korean styles. I'd have to say that it's about sixty percent Korean, forty percent western, which did very well together. I'll definitely be giving this place another visit this year, with more company perhaps.

ex oh,

CITRA