I'd been meaning to get to Soju Girl for quite a while. It was probably the first Canberra restaurant I had ever heard of when it was described as Canberra's equivalent of Longrain. Since that time 3 years ago I have managed once on a Tuesday when there used to be a 2-for-1 deal. I don't quite remember that meal so this new visit had a high level of anticipation.
I finally had my opportunity when I achieved enough Dimmi points to redeem a $50 dining voucher. Of the redeemable options in Canberra, The Boathouse by the Lake and Soju Girl (and recently Akiba has been added) probably are the highest reputed, and since I've been to the other two it was choose this occasion.
The menu has pan-Asian influence with noticeable Japanese, Thai, Korean, Chinese and a touch of Indian-Malaysian tinges. Overall the items sounds fantastic, but with the large plates being advertised as actually "large", there's a unfortunate limit as to how much can be ordered by 2 people.
- Zucchini flower, sticky rice, with Korean pickle capsicum compote soy mirin $8ea - unusually large zucchini flowers stuffed with black rice that added texture and colour. The dipping sauce had a nice tangy contrast with Thai basil leaves adding zest;
- Korean gnocchi, sauté mushrooms, truffle snow, cassava crisps $16 - rice cakes masqueraded as gnocchi, couldn't detect much truffle but it had a strong salty flavour;
- Pulled pork roti, cheese, chili mayo, soft herb salad $18 - excellent crisp and tasty roti filled with soft pulled pork;
- Beef cheek, pickled cabbage salad, Penang cashew curry $44 - a nice rich nutty and coconut curry with very soft cheek meat. A little expensive for a curry;
- Soju special fried rice $14 - rice with pork floss, some kind of black sauce and meat, son-in-law egg.
I initially ordered the Black Angus short rib in soy caramel (which sounded and looked fantastic and looked more worth the $46 main price tag) but unfortunately they had sold their last and so settled for the cheek instead. Great cheek is in no way inferior to rib (although easier to cook well) but the dish probably didn't have the price value in comparison.
The service was a little strange - I made an online reservation, called once to change it, got an email to confirm the original date, emailed twice to reconfirm the change, called once more on the day to confirm and yet turned up on the night to find it wasn't there. The seemingly disgruntled hostess showed us to the table before the waiter took over. Things seemed find until the end when he was incredibly flustered by the bill and didn't even acknowledge when I said thank you and left. I sent an email about the reservation difficulties and didn't receive any reply.
Maybe I'll return again with the same Dimmi $50 voucher as the food is quite good and I particularly want the beef rib. Otherwise the cost and service (although to be honest I don't tend to discount any place due to average service) make it a little uninspiring.