What a long overdue post!
I’ve been eating at Kimchi for about 2 years now and haven’t reviewed it!
I was so happy when I was moving to Cardiff that this Korean restaurant just around the corner from me opened.
Apart from when I cook it myself, I don’t get to try Korean food that often, what with my mum living in Korea and that.
When I crave one of her soups, I tend to order it from Kimchi. But what I want to review here is the Korean BBQ option in Kimchi.
It might be quite confusing and daunting when you’ve never been exposed to Korean food and also because it doesn’t quite work like in the Western world where you just have a starter, main and dessert.
If you want a proper guide to how Korean eating works, read my post about it on my personal blog.
When you are faced with pages and pages of meat options, all you got to do is dive in. My go-to is the beef bulgogi, which is a big pile of marinated, thin strips of beef and I usually say, it’s enough to feed 2 people no problem.
The BBQ is accompanied with a basket of lettuce leaves in which you’re meant to wrap the meat and a bit of rice.
So after you choose what meat, fish or veg you want to grill in front of you, you can order some rice to go with it as well as little side dishes like kimchi, kimchi pancakes, dumplings, chilli chicken and other such things.
If you don’t go for the BBQ, they have traditional main dishes and I very highly recommend the bibimbap.
The meat at Kimchi is very very soft and thin, exactly how it should be. You get some soy sauce and chilli powder on the side but I usually never touch it and use their red squeezy bottle which is the bibimbap spicy chilli sauce made from gochujang.
You grill the meat then add it with some rice in a lettuce leaf, add some chilli sauce and try and eat it all in one go. It might be a struggle but you got to try it all in one. it’s part of the fun!
Their chilli chicken is great, fried pieces of battered chicken in a sweet chilli sauce. It’s a big hit with most people as it’s a bit more “western” than some of the other dishes.
I’ve had their rib eye steak to grill before as well as the spicy pork but I always opt for the beef bulgogi as it’s sweet and fragrant marinate makes the whole dish!
When you order kimchi, you can also BBQ it as it’s quite different when grilled than just pickled.
None of the food is particularly spicy, so people who are more anxious about spiciness need not worry.
When your lettuce runs out, they happily refill it for you.
Kimchi is the best place for a date as the hands on actions during the dinner will relieve of any awkwardness and the food is good.
I hope Kimchi stays for a long time and am sure it will as it’s a regular joint for me and other Asians who miss the taste of home.
Prices are dirt cheap, between the 4 of us, we ordered 2 lots of meat, 3 rice, 3 sides and beers and paid £12 each.
Highly recommended and don’t be afraid to ask how it all works!
Lia
Saucy Pans 