[Food] Kimchee Restaurant

Are you curious and interested in Korean cuisine? - If you are in London you should check out this place! It´s one of the best Korean restaurants over there, even famous K-Pop stars were said to have had a meal there!

~ Hel ~

On the third day of our trip we went to this stylish Korean restaurant called Kimchee around Holborn and Chancery Lane. The best way to get there is to take the underground and get off at Holborn Station.
The restaurant is decently large and has an open kitchen. So the dishes are being cooked right in front of your eyes! Color-wise they kept the inferior in dark brown shades. All the dining tables and banks (yes ,customers are sitting on wooden banks in here, quite unique!) are made out of shiny dark wood. Something that also catches one's attention is the little Asian pond/well next to the entrance. It adds on to the quite, peaceful atmosphere in the restaurant. Also note that even the toilettes have an impressive design. It'll remind you of an Asian spa with all the polished dark wood going on there.

Believe it or not, in order to get inside the  restaurant we had to wait in a queue at the entrance for almost 1 hour! Was the food worth the waiting? Well, find out in the dishes' review right below:


At the Kimchee restaurant not only authentic Korean cuisine but also Korean-style Chinese cuisine is offered. We noticed that quite a lot of the customers were Koreans themselves which proves how authentic the dishes are.

Now Mary and me are going to share some dishes of the extensive menu with you guys :)

Kimchee Jeon

      Kimchee Jeon is a national dish of Korea. If you are looking for something that's very common in Korean cuisine than Kimchee (cabbage fermented in a spicey, salty sauce) is the first dish you should try. This dish in particular is a pancake with the fermented cabbage. Kimchee Jeon is often served with a soy and chive sauce. That dish is extremely crispy and of course a little bit spicy. Because of its spiciness which comes from the kimchee a lot of none-Asian dislike the taste. If you're not familiar with spicy food then Kimchee dishes might not be the right thing for you. There are exceptions though: Although Asians are generally said to love and enjoy very spicy food, Mary can't handle spicy dishes at all! hahaha

Dduk Bok Gi

Dduk Bok Gi - a very popular street food which is originally sold by street vendors in Korea. They are snack dishes made with rice cakes and fish cakes. Commonly Koreans use to eat this during cold winter to warm up their body. The rice cakes are served with vegetables in a hot spicy sauce. I have been eaten this dish alone since Mary can't stand the spiciness (she wouldn't even take a bite no matter how I tried to tempted her!). Describing the taste I can only say that it is extreeeeeemely hot and spicy. Yet it is somehow sweet at the same time. After I´ve finished half of the dish Mary made fun of me because my face got red like a tomato and a cloud of steam seemingly came out of my nose. If you're out for a spicy challenge - then go for this dish!

Kanpoongi

One of my favorite side dishes on that day was Kanpoongi. A lightly battered chicken in a chilli and garlic sauce. The outer of the chicken was very crispy while the inside came out to be very tender. I really loved its combination of sweetness and spiciness. Also the presentation of food in a crunchy rice basket was impressive. As for the spiciness level, you don't have to worry with this dish. Mary approves that the sweetness is more dominant than the spiciness. Thus making this dish taste good to both spice-lovers and spice-fearers!

                                                                                                                                                                

                                                                                               

Pa Jeon

Pa Jeon is another traditional Korean pancake with spring onions and mixed seafood. Like Kimchee Jeon that dish is pan fried until its golden brown and has really crispy edges. Personally, I like this pancake better because it wasn´t spicy thus easier to enjoy. The dish was served with a soy and chive sauce as well. The mixed seafood inside wasn´t chopped up which you can see by the chunkiness of the pancake. You really have to chew carefully, otherwise the squid pieces would get stuck in your neck... I'm joking! Don't worry about that. None of the ingredients are alive or dangerous or whatsoever. You know, I'm just saying this, because many (for whatever reason) have the prejudice that Asian cuisine is all straaaaaaange. Be sure that everything we're recommending is simply delicious! ;)

                                                                                                                  

Gogi Mandu

 Gogi Mandu are pan fried chicken dumplings 

served with a light chilli and soy sauce. They were crispy and soft on the outside. In the inside there is  slightly chopped meat and vegetables. You can absolutely taste the aromatic mix of chicken and fresh herbs. However, I was a bit disappointed that those dumplings didn't seem to be handmade.

Jap Chae                                                   

Jap Chae is one of Mary's favorite dishes. Basically this dish consists of glass vermicelli noodles that were stir fried in sesame oil and mixed with beef plus vegetables. The vegetables used are spinach, thinly sliced carrots, onions end cucumber. Sweetly garnished with sesame seeds Jap Chae tasted so fresh. Unfortunately the portion was rather small so that you'd practically be through with it after two bites.

          

Jjajang Myeon

I had very high expactations for this dish after seeing it in Korean movies. But as soon as it arrived on our table I was rather disappointed because it just looked like spaghettis in black sauce! Jjajang Myeon is a dish of noodles served with pork and vegetables. It is topped with smooth black bean sauce. The vermicelli noodles are thick and nice, while all the ingredients and vegetables gave the dish a fresh taste. All in all still a delicious treat - I call it the Asian spaghetti!

Mul Naengmyeon

                                                             

In the hot summer season Mul Naengmyeon is a number one dish in Korea. It is a very cool and refreshing meal. Cold buckwheat noodles are served in a chilled beef broth with pickled radish, cucumber, sliced pear and egg. Surprisingly there were ice-cubes inside of our bowl! Have you ever seen a dish with ice-cubes inside?! Quite unique but definitely refreshing! The dish has a light sour flavour to it. Personally I did not like the dish.

All in all the dishes we´ve ordered were very delicious. Even the way the dishes were served was impressive. Everything was so pretty and delicate. On top of that the price is invincible! - Having ordered 5 to 6 different dishes we paid £15 per person only!

Visit the website of Kimchee Restaurant:

http://www.kimchee.uk.com/