Bi Bim Bap

***LONDON***

Bi Bim Bap
11 Greek Street
W1D 4DJ

Pretty sure this was my first ever official taste of Korean food - I wasn't sure what to expect. This place is literally 2 doors from my office in Soho, so personal bonus points for location, but not nearly as good as the next street over (Frith Street) for eateries. Competing with age-old institutions like L'Escargot and Gay Hussar is no mean feat, but Bi Bim Bap is definitely aimed to the cheaper/faster end of the market, which is what a working man on his lunch break is all about.


Happy people, not Michelin stars

The menu is fairly diverse, but you are definitely steered towards the straight up Bi Bim Bap itself. We sampled the Chilli Chicken and Beef varieties. Word of warning from the off; I was railroaded into getting a fried egg on top of my dish (its in the logo, so I figured I'd go with it), but didn't realise this is an extra £. It WAS fried exceptionally well, but £1 for an egg is kind of a stinger.


The contentious egg. The yolk stood up to a good prodding though :)


All mixed up, as instructed

Small detail though, as this quick dish is kind of insane-delicious. It is brought in a crazy hot stone bowl, and you are instructed to mix up the ingredients (rice, your meat choice and an assortment of little vegetable bits incl. cucumber, mushroom and pickles) before eating. The benefit (or downside depending on your POV) is that your food stays hot forever, BUT it kind of does keep cooking the rice though, so once you get to the bottom you have some slightly overcooked rice...

Considering that its all a big mish-mash of ingredients, the flavours actually separate pretty well, I was pleased with the beef choice, although the chicken variant was a little over-powered by the chili sauce.


Blurry, saucy Chili Chicken

As ever, a trip to any restaurant of South East Asian origin must include a visit to DUMPLING CITY. These bad boys were weird, less salty but more flavour-some than the Japanese gyoza, the dough was more crisp. If I had to choose, I still crave the saucy PUNCH of gyoza, but the dumplings at Bi Bim Bap definitely do the job. A little expensive for a side (at £5-something) but sometimes you just gotta, you know?



I washed this down with a lovely root tea, check out the heavy-duty teacup below. Lots of attention paid to the interior here. Due to its location on the street, it doesn't get much natural light, but the inside is really fun. I'm a big fan of the chairs and crockery, and the mind-bending amount of polaroids of happy diners adorning the walls!





Overall, I'm fairly sure that the prices have dropped, a Bi Bim Bap can be had for under £6.50-ish which is not bad for Soho, and let me tell you, those bowls are PACKED full of chow. Eating at tea-time is probably unnecessary if you eat here for lunch.

Worth a go.