IT may occupy only half a shop lot, but 88 Kimbab packs a punch with its Korean street food.

The menu is extensive at this outlet in Desa Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur, so you may need many more visits to try all the dishes on it.

There is also a “stall” where you can take away some Korean side dishes.

My friend, who is a regular here, made a beeline for this stall and picked up a box of fermented squid or ojingeo-jeot. It is pungent, salty and spicy: just the thing to eat with rice. I liked it, and had a takeaway (RM15).

I have not had a good jajangmyeon (RM20), noodles with black soybean sauce, at most of the Korean restaurants I’ve been to, and I was happy with the authentic version here, where the sauce was thick and dark as it should be, with the right flavours.

The smooth noodles, topped with julienned cucumber, had a bite and tasted good. I had them with some kimchi to give them a spicy kick.

The kimchijeon (RM21) or kimchi pancake was well-fried to a golden-brown colour, crispy on the outside and moist inside. I bit into squid, and of course kimchi, onions and scallions. Altogether it was a flavourful pancake.

Two Korean “snacks” on our order list were kimmali and gun mandu. The first are deep-fried seaweed spring rolls. Glass noodles (japchae), carrot and chives are rolled up in a seaweed sheet, coated in batter and deep-fried.

They made crunchy, yummy bites, dipped in a sauce of soy, sesame oil and spring onions. Gun mandu is pan-fried dumplings filled with seasoned minced pork. They are each RM17.

I loved the kimchi sujebi or pulled dough in a hot, tangy kimchi stew (RM21). The sujebi was smooth and al dente. It was delicious in the stew with its well-balanced flavours, topped with seaweed and spring onions.

It’s similar to our meehoon kueh here (hand-torn pieces from pan mee dough and cooked in soup).

Our other main course was samgyeopsal gui (RM30). This is grilled pork belly, finished with onions and garlic, and served with rice.

I thought the meat was a bit dry and tough. I guess we should have asked for some fresh lettuce and raw garlic to wrap the pork up together with a dollop of ssamjang (a spicy Korean dipping sauce). That would have really spiced it up.

As we had young children with us, bacon toast and bulgogi toast suited their palates more, though we had a bite of these too.

The basic toast (RM8) on the menu is just omelette and shredded cabbage, and you could add to that bulgogi, bacon or ham (RM5) or smoked duck (RM7). The beef bulgogi toast with the sweet and sour crunchy cabbage stood out for us.

There are lots more to explore at 88 Kimbab, especially its range of gimbap which gives the place its name.

Spicy pork, spicy stir-fried dried squid, beef bulgogi, anchovies with chilli and tuna kimchi are among the fillings for the gimbap.

There is even a diet gimbap with no rice for those who have sworn off carbs. It is just egg and vegetables with your choice of meat or seafood.

There are also gimbap sets, with ramyeon (RM22), tteok-bokki (RM22), even with dak bal or chicken feet (RM30).

88 Kimbab, which has been around since 2015, is at 25, Jalan 23/70A, Desa Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur. Call 03-6206 4677 for enquiries. – February 12, 2022.

* Eu Hooi-Khaw has been writing about food for the longest time, covering all aspects, from restaurant reviews to cooking and recipes, as well as the healthy side of it. She has written for major newspapers and magazines, published the cookbook Fresh Ingredients, and also writes for her website hooikhawandsu.com.