About 15 years ago, Korean topped most food critics’ lists of the next big thing. It’s never quite taken off, which is strange as the three classic Bs of Korean cuisine — bulgogi, bibimbap and barbecue — are as approachable as they are appealing. Bulgogi is thin strips of marinated meat, usually beef; bibimbap is a hot stone pot of rice, egg and veg; barbecue sees strips of subtly marinated meat and seafood cooked on a grill set into the table. Throw in a side plate of kimchee, the pungent fermented cabbage that doubles as the national dish, and what’s not to like?
New Malden, a 20-minute ride from Waterloo in the London borough of Kingston-upon-Thames, is the heart of London’s Korean community and its cuisine, with an almost bewildering array of Korean restaurants; we’ve singled out our favourite, Imone, below. The other heartland is Soho, where the capital’s very-first Korean restaurant, Arirang, opened in 1975.
