KEN HUNTS FOOD: K Food Korean Restaurant @ Elit Avenue, Bayan Lepas, Penang.

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

K Food Korean Restaurant @ Elit Avenue, Bayan Lepas, Penang.

Well-welcomed by the younger generation in Penang, Korean restaurants are a dime of dozen now on the island but it is not uncommon to put a dent on the wallet if you wish to dine in a proper Korean restaurant. Budget-conscious diners can now enjoy Korean delicacies at a cut-rate at the newly opened restaurant at Elit Avenue (main starts from Rm 10 per order). It does not offer any Barbecue or Hot Pot menu but an uncomplicated, unassuming menu presenting an array of Korean delicacies, at unbeatable prices. No sophisticated setting, no heavy elements in decorations, no elegant tables and chairs; not the perfect romantic place for your date but rather, a place to please your Korean appetite. We managed to try a few dishes and most of them did manage to meet our expectations.

One of the popular items at K Food would be Bibimbap (Rm 17)- studded with Sprouts, julienned Carrots, Cucumbers, Shiitake Mushrooms, Cabbage carefully curated and topped with a raw Egg, blanketed with lashings of Seaweed. The Bibimbap was served using a searing Hot Pot, along with a serving of sweet, spicy Gochujang sauce. The sweet, savory and spicy mayhem was absolutely lovely, K Food played a nice twist by adding in copious amount of Seaweed, which gives the rice a vegetal-Umami flavor. The continuous heating to the concoction will result in a tacky crunch of rice sheet at the bottom of the pot- nicely imbued with a delightful charred aroma yet comes with a shattering crisp texture.

Yet another favorite Korean snack, Toppoki/ Korean Rice Cake with Cheese (Rm 18) sees a generous amount of Cheese. Not only did the addition of Cheese provide a gooey-savory flavor to the Rice Cake but it provided another layer of dimension to the spicy-sweet Toppoki sauce as well. K Food's Rice Cake has the ideal texture, fully cooked through yet, maintaining its chewy-resilient texture. Bits and pieces of Korean Fish Cake were seen as well.

Rice monsters could go for their Kimbap/ Korean Styled Seaweed and Rice Rolls (Rm 10), a rather straight-forward and simple tummy-filler. Carefully cooked Korean White Rice rolled with Cucumber, Carrot, Ham, Egg and pickled Radish. Nothing out of the ordinary.

To share, we had Kimchijeon/ Korean Pancake (Rm 10); the base was slightly burnt and the pancake was a tad too salty to our liking. There were heaps of Kimchi in the pancake but the taste did not shine and was unctuously greasy unfortunately. The Soy Sauce dip was unnecessary as the pancake was heavily seasoned on its own. Some minor refinement needed.