Simon & Lee

Long time readers of Eat It Auckland will already know of my love affair with Simon & Lee. For the rest of you, welcome. I’ve visited them, a lot, over the years, and first wrote about there here. I have recently rekindled my relationship with Simon & Lee and sat down for dinner recently.

Down a sleepy commercial street in Parnell lies Simon & Lee. Better known for their KFC (Korean fried chicken) and brunch dishes with a heavy Korean twist, from Wednesday to Friday they really come into their own when they open for dinner in the evening.

I can’t stop thinking about their bulgogi spaghetti, a luscious tangle of sweet, silky, savouriness. It is chocked full of shiitake mushrooms and thinly sliced beef and is heady with warm pecorino cheese. Topped with an egg yolk, tossing it together transforms it into the kind of pasta dish that you can’t stop eating.

The dolsot tofu is a bibimbap of sorts, three types of tofu (tempura, pressed and cotton) served in that quintessential stoneware pot. Served with pickled shiitake mushroom and beetroot, seaweed, kimchi and rice, this dish a glorious hodge podge of flavours and textures. You’ll be fighting over the crispy bits of rice at the bottom.

The KFC needs no introduction. Theirs is so perfectly fried, the leftovers remain crispy the next day. Having tried the danger spicy before (the name is no joke, you have been warned) we opted for half and half of the garlic soy and safe spicy chicken. The chicken is glazed with sweet, sticky gochujang sauce which has a spicy kick to it, and is accompanied by slaw and a tangy daikon radish pickle that balances the glaze nicely.

Waffle cut fries, spring onion, kimchi and mozzarella. Enough said.

Simon & Lee
115 St Georges Bay Road,
Parnell,
Auckland

Ph. 027 520 8908