Delicious Korean stews @ Masizzim, Melbourne

Recently I received an email invitation for me and a guest to try some of the food and drinks at a new Korean restaurant called Masizzim that opened up at The Glen Shopping Centre. This shopping centre is quite a drive from home, and the week day timing was a little awkward for my schedule, so I must admit that I did not immediately jump at the opportunity. However after having a chat with hubby about this invitation, he was keen to try, as we realised that we hadn't eaten Korean since we left Hong Kong in early 2018. I managed to arrange a suitable time to visit Masizzim, and boy, are we glad that we took this invitation! Here I must state that although we did not pay for this meal, I maintain the integrity of my blog to give honest reviews. So here is our experience as if we were full-paying customers. Our older two kids were in school, so our youngest got to come along and enjoy the experience. We were greeted warmly and welcomed by one of the restaurant's staff, who took excellent care of us for the hour that we were in the restaurant. We had previously informed the restaurant that we could only stay for an hour, and our waitress ensured that the food were served at a good pace. She also gave great recommendations on what to order.

Masizzim's interior is bright and spacious with a contemporary and distinctly Korean fit-out. Wood, slate, steel and stone feature prominently:

At our waitress' suggestion, we sampled some of the popular Korean drinks. The 3-year-old enjoyed the sweet Haitai Bon Bon grape drink with whole skinless grapes, hubby ordered the peach soju which he really enjoyed, and I got the aloe vera drink:

One of the things I look forward to in a Korean restaurant is the banchan, the complimentary and usually refillable side dishes to accompany the meal. We were served kimchi, seasoned eggplant, onion and fish cake:

Masizzim at The Glen is the first Australian branch of a Korean chain that has restaurants in Singapore, Jakarta and Bangkok. Masizzim translates to 'delicious stew', referring to the restaurant's specialty of galbi jjim meat stews featuring slow-cooked beef or pork short ribs. These braised meat dishes are traditionally served during festive holidays and at high end restaurants, but Masizzim makes galbi jjim easily accessible to anyone for an any day meal. The restaurant's Korean founder uses his mother's original recipes, and imports the secret recipe pastes from Masizzim's Korean kitchen. The meat - pork, beef or chicken - are marinated in the secret recipe pastes, then cooked and served in an iron pot with the choice of udon or chewy glass noodles. There are 4 levels of spiciness to choose from, and we ordered level 2 spicy beef stew with glass noodles, which was pretty spicy even for us but still enjoyable. The beef was very tender and flavoursome, and we were pleased to see pieces of chewy tteok bokki in the spicy stew.

I ordered Tuna Rice Balls for the 3yo, which were fun to make, but she was more interested in the Squid and Leek Jeon (pancake). She enjoyed the savoury pancakes so much, she must have demolished at least half of it. She's actually quite a picky eater, and I was amazed to see that she did not pick out the green bits like she usually does. The tuna rice balls were delicious and it would be a great dish to order for my middle one who loves to get her hands messy (gloves are provided).

Squid and Leek Jeon:

The ingredients in a bowl for tuna rice ball (with glove and kim chi on the side, not pictured):

Hubby also ordered Stir-fried Spicy Pork Hot Stone Bibimbap, and the flavour was on point but lacked the burnt rice bits at the bottom which we have become accustomed to looking for in hot stone bibimbap. It was nonetheless still a delicious bowl of bibimbap:

For dessert, there are three types of bingsu on offer at Masizzim. I've never had bingsu like this before! We chose the Mango and Cheese Bingsu, which comprised of milky shaved ice topped with sweet juicy mangoes, cheesecake pieces and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. What a perfect way to finish a spicy meal! Hubby really appreciated the cheesecake chunks.

Masizzim is worth a visit if you're in the area. I just wish we lived closer so we could make this a regular jaunt.

Masizzim
Shop 1-002/235
The Glen Shopping Centre
235 Springvale Rd
Glen Waverley, VIC 3150
Tel. +6 1 3 4418 2805