New Malden is an area of south London that, due to a quirk of fate, has one of the highest concentrations of good eating in the entire UK. It’s a neighbour of Kingston upon Thames, and close to Worcester Park, Norbiton, Tolworth and many other semi-anonymous suburbs that never trouble the Places To Eat Before You Die foodie bucket lists. What gives the area its sparkle, however, is its large Korean population, as well as all the temporary visitors, and hungry South Korean and Chinese-Korean tourists. As a result, there are upwards of 20 more-than-decent Korean restaurants in New Malden, providing the opportunity to eat pajeon, bibimbap, bulgogi, noodles and hotpots; there are also a load of supermarkets where you can stock up on gochugaru and soju, plus cafes selling sweet treats such as patbingsu, a shaved ice dessert topped with sweet stewed adzuki beans that, to my mind, is one of the most delicious things on earth. It’s the firmness of the beans, you see, and the sugary hit of the burgundy-coloured sauce surrounding them.
If you’re not hugely familiar with Korean food, consider patbingsu and the spring onion and/or seafood pancake pajeon as your gateway drugs. I had been tipped off that they served a very good pajeon at Cah Chi on the Kingston Road, a family-run spot that has changed venues a few times over the years and opened here only a month or so ago, but has retained a loyal fanbase for its simple yet delicious taste of home. I visited on a wet Wednesday lunchtime, half-expecting to be one of the only customers, but found the place packed, due in no small part to Cah Chi’s warm welcome, and to the fact that a round of steamed saewoo mandu (seafood dumplings) comes with some of the most glorious fresh banchan (small plates): a dainty pile of lush, green, wonderfully seasoned spinach, pickled cucumber, fierce, roughly hewn kimchi and a mound of black, sticky, braised soy beans.
Then the pajeon arrives, teeming with spring onion, prawns and the odd squid tentacle, all suspended in a spongy, crisp batter made of rice flour, egg, soy and gochugaru. It is good. Very good. Perhaps a little thicker than the slender, elegant versions available at the likes of Yori in London’s fancy West End, but all the more luscious for it. A gorgeous side of half a fried aubergine arrives with a sticky glaze, its innards soft, pale and squishy, its black exterior still firmly bulbous. The whole thing is perfect, and hugely entertaining for the lunching Korean grandmothers watching me try to eat its slippery innards with stainless-steel chopsticks. What I lack in finesse, I make up for in hapless enthusiasm to transfer my deftly seasoned, soft-skinned mandu one by one into my mouth without spilling their bounteous filling down my front.
Cah Chi is one of those cheap and cheerful, but decidedly good places that’s nothing to look at from the outside. It has about it a “lady-friendly”, floral-wallpapered air, though it’s decorated much more nicely than many hotels I’ve stayed in. Great staff, too, who love their community of older customers and seem to know them all by name. They’re also incredibly kind to women from Carlisle, and help me no end with my struggles to grill the beef bulgogi, bringing more fresh lettuce leaves to wrap it in, as well as extra helpings of their moreish soybean dipping paste. The bulgogi is sweet, slightly spicy and makes you wish, as you schlepp home, that you’d ordered more.
My days of drinking soju are long over, so I drink barley tea, which is served in a dainty green teapot. I wasn’t much in the mood for anything sweet, either, but was ever so politely pushed by the lovely waitress into a small scoop of green tea ice-cream topped with a large blob of red-bean paste.
New Malden is an umami-drenched patch of extreme deliciousness that’s only 20 minutes from Waterloo by train; sure, it’s not really en route to anywhere, but it is an eating destination in its own right. There are several theories as to how it became so very Korean: some say it’s because the Korean ambassador used to live here, others that it’s because of the relatively affordable house prices (well, for London, anyway). It can’t be because of the splendour of the train station, which feels older than time itself and is hidden behind a moody tower block. This area is proof, however, that when the stars align, the dining options can be quite incredible.
Cah Chi isn’t trying to change the world; it’s just quietly representing skilful Korean cooking and creating a haven for hungry passers-by. Consider me a fan.
Cah Chi 79-81 Kingston Road, New Malden, 020-8949 8880. Open Tues-Sun, lunch noon-3pm (4pm Sat & Sun), dinner 5–10.30pm (10pm Sun). From about £25 a head, set lunch £12.50-£17.50, all plus drinks and service
This article was amended on 19 May 2023. An earlier version said that New Malden is a London borough, when it is not, as well as that its Korean population numbered only 800, when it is in fact many thousands.
