Le Kim Chi

So sorry, no food porn to accompany this post, so you'll just have to trust me on this one.

I had my first visit to Le Kim Chi this weekend and it definitely won't be my last.

The appetizers had me drawn in right away, so many delectable choices. My friend Sue and I managed to narrow it down to the KimChi Twikim Mandoo – 4 homemade, lightly deep fried kimchi dumplings drizzled with a creamy spicy sauce. And the Pa Jeon, a delicious seafood and scallion pancake panfried until golden and edged with crispy bits. The pancake was served sliced like a pizza, perfect for sharing.

Sue suggested the Bulgogi to share for the entrée, but my eyes, being much larger than my stomach, gave me the courage to convince her we needed more. So along with our thinly sliced, oh-so-tender beef (which was served with vegetables, rice, kimchi, seaweed salad and pickled sprouts – somehow I managed to miss that part on the menu), we also ordered the Vegetable Bibimbap. What a beautiful dish. A medley of vegetables and grainy rice arrived in the hotpot (we ordered without the egg yolk). Normally we'd be the ones to mix everything together but I think our server could tell we just had so much on the table and it would just be easier if she did it for us. There's a small dish of hot sauce that comes on the side, it's not that hot so you can add the whole thing. In fact, I would have liked a little more spice. That said, I enjoyed every morsel as it was.

Although we did order a bit too much, I didn't regret it this morning when I served up the leftover bibimbap with some eggs. Yummy!!

Prices at this restaurant are very reasonable. Their wine and drink list is a bit limited but good and fairly priced. Atmosphere cozy and dimly lit with really good service.

Le Kim Chi
420 Preston Street, Ottawa
613-233-2433