KIMS Korean Restaurant For Authentic Korean BBQ

I remember the first KIMS Korean Restaurant I visited was at Tavoy Road, off Burma Road, opposite Union Primary School.

The restaurant occupies a big bungalow with ample parking around the restaurant.

I remember KIMS Korean Restaurant has a comprehensive range of Korean delicacies, among others, the more famous items of

• Dak Galbi
• Shabu Shabu
• Barbecue
• Korean Rice Cake
• Korean Fried Chicken

KIMS Korean Restaurant BBQ

Irene and I took the whole of 2020 to meet up due to the lockdown.

Finally, we got to have dinner together during the last week in December 2020.

We decided to try the outlet at All Seasons as it was a midpoint.

The restaurant was previously Ssambap Korean BBQ Restaurant, which relocated to Bukit Mertajam.

While the menu items seemed to be priced slightly higher than its competitors, we were happy with their attentive service.

KIMS Korean Restaurant crew are friendly, smiling, and ever helpful with our orders and make good recommendations, so we don’t over order.

We appreciate this gesture.

We requested refills of the Ban Chan, and the servers took the initiative to keep refilling the sides – until we asked for them to stop.

As we were early, the food arrived promptly.

Restaurant Interior

Ethnic Koreans operate the Korean restaurant at All Seasons, so expect authentic recipes here.

The interiors of the restaurant feature wood heavily with timber floors and furnishings.

The dining section is divided into private rooms and cubicle seating for the BBQ.

Built into each table is an iron plate from Korea that retains heat and cooks food thoroughly.

Menu

Malaysian fall in love with K Drama, the beautiful actors, and actress, AND Korean Fried Chicken.

The crispy but greasy Dak-Gangjeong/ Korean Sweet Crispy-Glazed Chicken is a popular dish that most customers order.

At  KIMS Korean Restaurant, there’s a vast variety of dishes to order, and it is not a limited menu.

Even if you have no appetite and want rice with vegetables, you will enjoy the food here.

Many customers enjoy the spicy rice cake with Tteokbokki sauce or set meal box with rice.

KIMS Korean Restaurant Ban Chan (Complimentary-Refillable Side dishes)

Banchan (반찬) or bansang is a collective name for small dishes that go along with cooked Korean main meals and rice.

The number of banchan dishes varies from restaurant to restaurant.

The five that are served today are

• Korean Macaroni Salad
• Boiled Spinach
• Korean Sausages
• Tofu
• Kimchi

At Kim’s, banchan is complimentary, and refills are free of charge.

Our favorite is the Korean Macaroni Salad.

It is not a traditional Korean side dish, but I have enjoyed this Banchan in many Korean restaurants.

Korean macaroni salad is a Korean pasta salad side dish made with macaroni pasta.

The dressing is a creamy, rich, mildly tangy, and slightly sweet mayonnaise-based.

We kept signaling for more, and the staff happily refilled the complementary side dish for us.

Irene found a simple recipe, and we make this at home whenever we crave a nice cool salad – with added cucumber, corn kernel, red and green capsicum.

We added dijon mustard for an extra kick.

Korean Macaroni Salad

Ingredients

• 200g / 7 ounces elbow macaroni
• 50g / 1.7 ounces cucumber, seeded & cut into small cubes
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 50g / 1.7 ounces corn kernel (from a tin), drained
• 50g / 1.7 ounces red bell pepper/capsicum, cut into small cubes
• Macaroni Salad Dressing
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (whole egg)
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp honey
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp ~ 1/2 tsp fine sea salt, adjust to your taste
• ground black pepper
• (optional) 1 tsp dijon mustard

KIMS Signature BBQ Pork Lover Set (돌판돼지고기바비큐) for two RM69.90

When we saw the Pork Lover set, we decided to get this as it was pretty large and more than enough for two.

The 2-person Pork Lover Set includes two servings of pork of the customer’s choice.

1. Spicy Pork Belly (고추장삼겹살)
2. Garlic Pork Belly (마늘삼겹살)
3. Marinated Pork Shoulder
4. Pork Belly
5. Pork Shoulder

We chose Spicy Pork Belly and Marinated Pork Shoulder to balance the pork fat content.

The Spicy Pork Belly (고추장삼겹살) is marinated with spicy Gochujang (고추장) and was very delicious and suits my palate better.

The set comes with

The large set comes with

1. sliced pork
2. scallops
3. shrimps
4. sausages

Vegetables include

1. Kimchi
2. Onions
3. bean sprouts
4. broccoli
5. pumpkin
6. mushrooms (eryngii and enoki)
7. potato
8. Korean rice cakes
9. Cheese corn is cooked separately.

The Pork Lover Set is ideal for 2 (RM69.00) or 3 (RM98.00) persons.

For larger families and groups, go for the BBQ Family Set instead.

Irene and I struggled to finish the huge meat eater portion – although it’s recommended for a couple, we believe it could easily feed a family of 2 adults and two children.

The servers are great.

They clean the pan in front of you before setting up the BBQ.

They will cook for you too.

Such a friendly service, especially cutting up the pork with a pair of scissors so we could continue to stir fry pork.

We tried and made a small portion by cutting the bacon thinly and stir fry pork with kimchi,

A popular way to enjoy Korean BBQ, which I learned during a visit to Seoul, is by wrapping a bite-size portion of the meat, a few slices of raw garlic, and ssamjang (쌈장) in lettuce.

The Spicy Pork Belly is not spicy at all, and there is a trace of heat.

The taste is great.

Korean Pork Belly

Pork Fat is high in B vitamins and minerals and is much healthier than beef and lamb fat.

Although Pork Fat or Lard is considered high in saturated fat, there is a growing trend around consuming fatty food items to support Weight Loss and Cognitive Function.

It sounds like the perfect recipe for what Irene and I set out to do – Eat Food to lose weight.

We’re sure the men will find this BBQ set will go very well when paired with chilled Beer.

But since the taste was not something we were seeking, we were good with water!

Since we’re counting calories and decided water instead of sweet drinks, we could order the Korean Stretchy Cheese to wrap our food.

Plus, we also forgo the Korean seasoned rice and fried rice.

Cheese Fondue (치즈퐁듀) RM7.90

Whenever I go to Korean restaurants, I  see many people order food covered in cheese or cheese topping.

What Koreans call cheese is only white Mozzarella Cheese or American orange cheese.

Given the hundreds of cheese fondue recipes out there – my favorite is the traditional Swiss recipe.

I got to taste a delicious Cheese Fondue at Paul Boulangerie et Patisserie in Taguig, the Philippines.

Another way to savor Korean BBQ is by dipping cooked pork into a cheese fondue, the Korean Stretch Cheese.

Irene and I later found out that Koreans call cheese is only white mozzarella cheese and practically tasteless.

When we heard of cheese fondue, we thought of a mixture of melted Swiss cheese, Gruyere cheese, and dry white wine!

Now we know – there is cheese, and there is cheese.

As for the Korean Cheese Fondue, a melted Mozzarella Cheese ball was tasteless, thick, and gooey – we felt better by not touching our food to it.

Sorry, we didn’t like it at all!

However, the Cheese Dipping Sauce that came complimentary with the set was thin, sweet, and pleasant – it goes very well with the corn.

Beverages

Koreans love their tea, so if you’re a tea lover, you will appreciate a selection, the top being the Ginseng Tea.

Hot Beverages

• Ginseng Tea (인삼차, RM7.00) has a pleasant bitterness, which soothes the throat.
• Mail-Cha (매실차, RM5.00)
• Yuja-Cha (유자차, RM5.00 prepared from plum and yuzu

Cold Beverages

Several popular Korean canned drinks.

• Podo Bondbong (포도봉봉) RM5.00 contains chunks of sweet, fruity white grapes irresistible to children!

Private Rooms

The restaurant has three small rooms with sliding doors if you prefer a private setting.

Each room can accommodate eight people.

Individual smaller rooms can be combined to form a larger space.

KIMS Korean Restaurant Review

Top of the orders at KIMS Korean Restaurant is the Signature BBQ set.

Almost all the diners order this mouthwatering Korean barbecue.

KIMS excels in serving many other authentic Korean dishes.

The staff’s (foreign workers) attention to detail is exemplary and matches several star service from local hotels.

If you want an authentic taste of Korean cuisine, this restaurant is a great choice and wins hands down for taste, affordability, and service.

Try Kim’s sister outlet at Jalan Tavoy, off Burma Road, if you’re in George Town.

I started my experience dining at this outlet with Ah Boy and Baby Fish when I kick start my travel and food blog, SmartDory.com.

KIMS Korean Restaurant All Season
Landmark: Near I Mum Mum
6G-1-11 All Seasons Place, Thean Teik Hwy, 11500 Air Itam, Penang
Business Hours: 11.00 am to 10.00 pm
Phone: 011-1445 8992

Parking: Ample if you go early, you can park right in front of the restaurant.

Alternatively, customers can park behind the parking garage and enter the restaurant from the open space.

KIMS Korean Restaurant @ All Seasons Place

All Seasons Place is an open-air shopping mall at Air Itam, a suburb of George Town in Penang, Malaysia.

In 2012, the first strip mall in Penang formed part of All Seasons Park, a mixed residential-commercial development.

The three-story, the open-air mall was designed by Cottee Parker Architects.

Blog Disclosure: This is a NOT sponsored blog post. All opinions are mine. The writer and friends paid for their meal.