Geonbae – Frankston – Korean barbecue restaurant along the water

Geonbae is located alongside Kananook Creek with views of the carpark at Frankston Beach. The location seems out of the way if you are traveling from the Bayside Centre (it’s about a 16 mins walk). The restaurant offers both the Korean barbecue experience and an a la carte options. We opted for the a la carte option during our visit with a mix of dishes such as Geonbae’s Beef Bulgogi, Bibimbap and Korean Fried Chicken Wings.

We walked to this restaurant from the Bayside Centre, having parked our car there. I was disappointed to have to pay for parking at Bayside Centre, but the existence of a nearby train station easily explains why the shopping centre owner’s Vicinity charges for parking. The parking fee is small for a few hours (up to 3 hours), but ratchets up if you stay much longer (4 hours and up) (as though to detract people parking at the centre if they are leaving the car to attend work).

Geonbae is on the other side of the Nepean Highway. As we walked towards the restaurant, there was some excitement that it would have some incredible views or even a elegant-looking establishment due to its location. On arrival, it seemed a little small. Although it wasn’t shabby, it didn’t quite meet expectations from an aesthetics perspective and extremely obstructed views of the bay.

We were able to walk-in at Geonbae, but it’s probably a good idea to reserve your table before visiting. There are options to dine indoors or outdoors. We were unlucky to sit near the kitchen and the door that leads to the toilet, because every time someone opened the door the chilly winds threatened our very livelihoods. I had to keep getting up to close the door every times someone left it ajar.

We opted for Geonbae’s a la carte menu, going for their Beef Bulgogi for $29.9, Bibimbap with Soy Chicken in a Large Size for $23.9, and Korean Fried Chicken Wings x 6 with Sweet Spicy Sauce for $14.9. Along with all these dishes, we were also served Geonbae’s side dishes of pickled vegetables, fishcake mix and kimchi (and we were able to ask for seconds as well).

The menu states that if you order only one set of meat, the kitchen will cook the beef, but if you order two sets then they allow you to do the barbecue.

The Beef Bulgogi came with rice and on a hot plate. The beef was nice and stringy. The bibimbap could have offered more vegetables, but the chicken was nice and tender and it helped that it met the definition of bibimbap with the crispy rice and many toppings. The Korean Fried Chicken Wings weren’t too sweet, nor too flavoursome – my wife enjoyed them more than me since I prefer stronger flavours,

I was surprised that there wasn’t a public holiday surcharge when it came to paying the bill. Overall, the food was fine and the service was good. And thankfully, since we had to get our hands dirty with the chicken wings, we were provided wet wipes at the end.

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