Beud rhymes with food and is an old forgotten Korean word that means kitchen. Located on Maitland's High Street, within the revitalised Maitland Mall Beud has cemented itself as the popular place by day or by night to enjoy delicious Seoul food by way of the Land of the Rising Sun.

Both Korean and Japanese cuisines are big on balance and harmony. Careful consideration is given not just the textures and flavours, but also the temperature and spiciness, and even certain colour combinations of the different types of ingredients used within a particular dish.

Korean food is often cooked slowly, gently. Meats are often marinated for a few days to make each cut tender and to give it maximum flavour.

Rice is certainly a staple of both cultures' cuisines, as are vegetables, which can be found in almost every dish.

Kimchi is a staple of Korean food, too. It's a traditional side dish consisting of salted and fermented vegetables, typically cabbage and radish that's often liberally seasoned with garlic, ginger, and chili powder (gochugaru).

Sushi, sashimi, and seaweed salads are all traditional dishes of Japan.

You can find every single one of these meals, main plates and sides alike, on the extensive menu at Beud, which even includes a few special drinks.

Did you know cold sparkling teas are your new favourite drink? Citrus with honey, quince with honey, grapefruit, honey plum, honey black raspberry, and, my own personal favourite, honey ginger with lemon.

It doesn't get much more refreshing than spicy ginger chunks doused in honey then mixed with iced tea and sparkling water, served in an old fashioned milkshake glass.

There are warm teas too, of course, and Beud stocks their fridge with a few soft drinks and juices, as well.

Perhaps, the best thing about the drinks menu is that Beud offers BYO, which means you can do a deep dive into your wine cellar, or swing by the bottle shop on your way there- may I suggest Gymkata Syrah by Konpira Maru (2018, $27).

The entrée menu features deliciously soft and salty edamame beans ($5), vegetable spring rolls ($6), Korean pancakes ($9), and steamed or fried dumplings ($6).

The fried dumplings resemble tiny gyoza filled with pork mince and chives that, once dipped in the accompanying black sesame sauce, become a simple, tasty little snack. If you're feeling adventurous, or just a seafood fan that doesn't like to limit themselves to the aqueous hits, try the Japanese snack, takoyaki ($9), or octopus meatballs. They're very yummy, I gotta say.

As is the Kimchi fried rice ($15-$17). Who knew fermented cabbage tasted so good? The Koreans, of course, and the Germans too, with their sauerkraut. Beud's fried rice version is packed with plenty of spicy flavours, that can be enhanced by your choice of either chicken, tuna, or bulgogi (Korean barbecue) beef. A fried egg with a golden runny yoke on top makes for a quick and healthy lunchtime option or a delicious bonus dish to share at dinner.

If you're not into all that adventurous fermented cabbage and spice, but you want to get a sense of Beud's knack for Japan's greatest gastronomic hits, order the bent box ($19) full of yummy samples, such as sushi, salad, tempura, and steamed rice.

Order it with the chicken katsu (basically, a Japanese schnitzel), or the spicy pork, or the tofu, if that's what you're into.

I should also note that the spicy pork off the specials board is probably my favourite food at Beud. Spicy, fatty, saucy strips of tender pork and red veggies accompanied on the side by lashings of crisp green lettuce, resting on a bed of sticky steamed rice. Add a few dashes of togarashi for extra kick.

Maitland continues its transformation into a haven for hungry foodies with the ongoing success of places like Beud; it's the cool and super cosy Korean and Japanese kitchen you've been looking for.