Yi Ning

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  7      Service  10      Value  10     

My wife and I discovered this place about a year ago, and we have been regulars ever since. The restaurant is hidden at the top of a staircase, in a side street behind the Lalor Park pub.

The decor is a bit cheap and cheerful, but the food is magnificent. When you go, ask for Daniel, he's incredibly helpful, and can recommend food from the menu to suit your palette. The prices are excellent, the food is incredibly tasty, the servings are huge, it's BYO with no corkage and there's plenty of parking nearby.

If you go, you must try the chilli garlic fried chicken, it's brilliant! We've been there more times than I can remember, and we'll keep coming back!

Mar 26, 2012 

9.8 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  10     

In terms of the type of Korean food they serve (Chinese fusion), this is very well priced. Korean food like this is meant to be shared and their servings are so generously portioned to do this. My friends and I crave this place, it's so good. The food is always so good, all my Korean friends agree on the authenticity of this place.
It's fresh, it's fast, the service is fantastic. The staff are really attentive and friendly.

Response from Management:
Thank you for your comments and support, we will try to continue to bring you better service and bring more range of better food.
I hope you continue to come back and enjoy our food.

Nov 20, 2010 

9.5 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  10     

Love the food here, big portions, great service need to expand the menu.
Wish they would add some dishes like Hotpot Beef Bi bim bap which would sell real well! and Bulgogi beef.

Response from Management:
Thank you for the feedback,
We are in the process of extending
The menu, with bulgogi and other korean dishes
Hope u keep coming back

Sep 21, 2010 

2.5 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  1      Service  7      Value  1     

Went there Saturday night after reading positive reviews. Either the reviews are bogus or my expectations are way off. Nearly everything is deep fried? The Spicey Chook was not chook flesh as in breast fillet, the pork/noodle stir fry had no pork.
I have had some bad meals around the world but this place is even worse than the Ettamogah Hotel.

Response from Management:
Dear customer, I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your meal at our restaurant, I would like to reply to some of the remarks you have made, first of all, not all our meals are fried, but like a lot of Chinese dishes, a lot of it is fried, if you were looking for something not fried, I'm sure we could of found one to your taste, our most recommended dish is fried.

Secondly, you are right we don't use chicken breast meat, we use chicken thigh meat which is more tastier, and for not being fresh, I think you were mistaken, we buy fresh from butcher 2 times a week.

Thirdly, to have tasted one or 2 dishes and to assume the whole menu is bad is presumptuous, to assume that because you didn't enjoy the food, to say all the review are frauds is a mistake.

Fourth, in the blacken bean noodle with pork, we use pork mince, that's how the recipe is, I'm sorry it wasn't what you were looking for. If you do come again, please ask for Daniel, I will help with your choices.

Aug 15, 2010 

9.5 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  8      Service  10      Value  10     

Oh Wow! Went here with high expectations because of the reviews on this site. Expectations were met and exceeded! Even ordered the meals that were recommended on this site, garlic and chilli prawns and the spicy pork belly. What beautiful food! It was exactly as others have said, tasty food, huge servings, plenty of free extras including black bean sauce, rice, pickled radish, cabbage, tea, etc.

Four of us shared the two meals and we went away well and truly full (and I am a big eater). The garlic and chilli prawns were as nice a meal as you could get and the pork was tasty and spicy (raised a little sweat but wasn't too much). We were the only westerners in the restaurant and were made to feel very welcome. This really is a hidden gem, tucked away in a dingy little corner of Lalor Park. Who would have thought that such a treasure was just up the road from my home! A meal to remember!

Aug 01, 2010 

7.8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  9      Value  7     

Reading the previous reviews before hand and having had so many before me give this place so much praise, made my decision all the more easier to make the trip down. I now understand after having visited this place why its looked upon as a 'hidden gem' and rated so well.

As previous reviewers have stated the garlic and chilli chicken/prawn dishes were recommended and so we couldn't help ourselves and ordered this together with the soy chicken and sweet chilli chicken or something there abouts. (I've since forgotten the name of the last dish as this was my least favourite).

The food proved to be interesting and for a first timer like myself I can honestly say I enjoyed it. The entrance to this place can be a bit deceiving as you would not think much of this place from the outside. I would definitely come for a round 2.

Jul 12, 2010 

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  10      Service  10      Value  7     

Awesome food with huge portions to share and even better service. My fave dish is the chilli and garlic prawns which I definitely recommend. Prices are reasonable for the large meals if sharing.

Jun 02, 2010 

9 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  10      Value  9     

I read the reviews and had high expectations of this restaurant. As soon as we entered, we were greeted by Daniel who was very friendly and polite. As first-timers, he recommended the garlic and chilli chicken (for a little bit of spice). I wanted the prawn but thought I'd go for the recommendation, and I had no regrets. It was a very good dish with a nice texture.

We also ordered the spicy pork belly and that was awesome. It was hot and spicy but the flavour was excellent. The dishes came with rice which was good. A highlight of the restaurant is all the complimentary food they provided: kimchi, small bite-size dessert of sweet potato, and we were lucky on the night to get a can of coke.

Servings are huge as everyone says and I had to force the food down, but was happy to do so as it was good! The place itself seems a bit "old" but it was actually cosy in there with good enough decor, and again as previous comments say, once the food comes out, it doesn't matter anymore.

Service was tops, very friendly, checking up on us every so often to make sure we're satisfied. I would not hesitate to come back here again. Definitely recommended!

May 01, 2010 

8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  9      Value  8     

We totally agree with the previous reviewers. We ventured here for a different experience, for my brother's birthday. We were guided through the menu and 3 mains for 5 people was too much. We all left very full and very happy with the choice. Everyone saying that we will have to go back. Give it a go and don't be put off by the entrance stairs.

Apr 19, 2010 

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  8      Service  10      Value  9     

I love this place! My husband was telling me about it and the excellent service he got from Daniel, I think he's the waiter who deals with all us non-koreans!

So we went there for dinner on a friday night, the location is so dodgy as others have mentioned but once inside we were met by, you guessed it! Daniel! He is lovely and very helpful with suggesting what to order on the menu. We took our 17 month old son with us (yes they have a few high chairs) and we got the garlic prawn fried rice $12.50 (so yummy and enough there for us all to try a bit, our son loved it!

We ordered the pork belly (it is hot and spicy as Daniel advised us but we love chilli) that was $22 and all the mains come with rice anyway so you only need to order extra rice if there's not enough. The meal was well worth it! I rave about this place to everyone I know! I look forward to coming back and trying more dishes!

Mar 30, 2010