Tag Archives: Korean Food

Top Ten Best Places to Eat in Greater Kennington #4

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Kuma

And the four spot is nailed by by the extremely popular Korean/Japanese joint Kuma in Kennington Cross. We’ve seen the crowds at Kuma grow steadily since if first opened in 2019 due to its spicy, diverse and innovative fare served at reasonable prices. If you peer through the window on any given night you can see that the word is well and truly out.

We started with Kuma’s best known dish, Korean Fried Chicken. The options were – traditional, spicy, or sticky soy garlic and we chose the latter. The medium portion was huge and suitable for two. It had a great crispy crunch and slathered in a sticky soy garlic sauce. For the mains your scribe opted for the chicken bulgogi (say it like a pro…..boo-GOH-gee) which were very thin strips of chicken grilled on a BBQ coated with a hearty sauce called gochujang. Spring onion featured and it was consumed in lettuce wraps. It was billed as ‘hot’ and it certainly was, and so generous that your scribe couldn’t finish it.

Kim the intern had the Kimchi Bokkumbap as a main; a Korean fried rice dish with the national ingredient kimchi (spiced fermented cabbage) topped with barbecued beef strips. A bit like Chinese stir fry rice with a heavy dose of red chilli sauce. It was topped with a fried egg and came with miso soup, and again was a very generous portion. Best washed down with a Cass or Asahi Super Dry beer, but not for Kim as she’s only an intern and is lucky to get a Pepsi Max.   

We love nothing more than sticking our noses where they don’t belong, and towards the end of the meal we went to the toilets and might have accidentally wandered into the kitchen. We can confirm that sous chef Mike (aka Mike-ro-Wave) was nowhere to be seen and everything is made fresh. 

Keep up the goof work, Kuma. You’ve moved up one spot from 2023!

Ten Best Places to Eat in Greater Kennington

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#6 Daebak

Since opening a few years ago Daebak in Vauxhall has been delivering consistent and hearty Korean fare in a very cool street Seoul setting. Word has now spread and it’s more popular than ever, with so many Korean patrons that you’d think a minor member of BTS was inside.   The folks are  probably enticed by their Korean down home treats such as kimchi pancakes and…wait for it….. potato chips with cream cheese powder, best consumed with the Korean beer Cass. 

For our meal the three of us ordered soy garlic Korean Fried Chicken (or KFC, a speciality, above), spicy bibimbap,  Katsu curry, crispy tofu, and gyoza. Let me tell you, reader, we were rolling out of there by the end of it. We could have easily dropped one of the main courses as they were huge. We highly recommend the various kinds of fried chicken on order (crunchy, subtle) and the Bibimbap is delicious and comes with two veg. options. I would also experiment with a starter like octopus balls. Overall it is great food, and pretty kind on the pocket. 

Daebak is small and charming, but if you are going on a weekend it might be a good idea to book, as last time we couldn’t get in we had to go across the street to ‘Jihwaja’ which was the opposite of charming. Well, unless your idea of charm involves hen do’s, stale kimchee and blaring K-Pop. And if it does then this blog might not be for you…..

Pros – It has wide open doors overlooking Vauxhall

Cons – It has wide open doors overlooking Vauxhall

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The Ten Best Restaurants in Greater Kennington #5

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Kuma

We are back in Kennington Cross and this time at quirky haunt Kuma which makes its third appearance on the list. We were there last night as we are slightly obsessed with the place to ensure standards haven’t slipped. As we know some of you prefer takeaways to physical dining, the review below was made during the last lockdown. However, if you go in the flesh you will be treated to a background of K-pop music and extremely friendly staff. And Kuma, please never do away with your water served in Korean athletic sports bottles.

It’s Saturday night and time for a takeaway! Astute readers will be cognizant of our love of the Korean/Japanese joint ‘Kuma’ in Kennington Cross. We recently had a takeaway from there and, while not achieving the olfactory heights of being in the restaurant, is definitely worth a Saturday nosh. But Kuma, if you’re reading this we need to have a serious conversation about your excessive use of Styrofoam. Moving on..

Naughty styrofoam and delicious fried chicken


Your zealous scribe started with the painfully bang on trend Korean Fried Chicken. Kuma has three options; traditional, spicy, and we opted for the sticky soy garlic. The medium portion was huge and suitable for two. It had a great crispy crunch and slathered in a sticky soy garlic sauce. For the mains your scribe opted for the chicken bulgogi (say it like a pro…..Boo-GOH-gee) which were very thin strips of chicken grilled on a BBQ coated with a very good sauce called gochujang. Spring onion featured and it was consumed in lettuce wraps. It was billed as ‘hot’ and it certainly was, and so generous that your scribe couldn’t finish it.

My associate had the Kimchi Bokkumbap as a main, a Korean fried rice dish with the national ingredient kimchi (spiced fermented cabbage) topped with barbecued beef strips. A bit like Chinese stir fry rice with a heavy dose of red chilli sauce. It was topped with a fried egg and came with miso soup, and again was a very generous portion. 

The Ten Best Restaurants in Greater Kennington #6

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Daebak…..Home of KFC

Since it opened a few years ago Daebak in Vauxhall has been delivering consistent and hearty Korean fare in a very cool street Seoul setting. Word has now spread and it’s more popular than ever. Of note there are a number of Korean patrons, probably enticed by their Korean down home treats such as kimchi pancakes and…wait for it….. potato chips with cream cheese powder, best consumed with the Korean beer ‘Hite’. The review below is from a couple of years ago but we’ve been many times since to explore its great and deliciously unconventional fare.

A few days ago we popped our sweaty selves to Vauxhall to revisit a delightful Korean friend called ‘Daebak’.  It is a small, delightful restaurant not to be confused with the not so charming ‘Jihwaja’ across the road. Well, unless your idea of charming involves hen do’s, stale kimchee and blaring K-Pop. And if it does then this website might not be for you…..

For our meal the three of us ordered soy garlic Korean Fried Chicken (or KFC, a speciality, above), spicy bibimbap,  Katsu curry, crispy tofu, and gyoza. Let me tell you, reader, we were rolling out of there by the end of it. We could have easily dropped one of the main courses as they were huge. We highly recommend the various kinds of fried chicken on order (crunchy, subtle) and the Bibimbap is delicious and comes with two veg. options. I would also experiment with a starter like octopus balls. Great food, and pretty kind on the pocket. If you are going on a weekend it might be a good idea to book, as last time we couldn’t get in we had to go across the street and it wasn’t pretty.

Daebak is at 316-318 Kennington Lane

Pros – It has wide open doors overlooking Vauxhall

Cons – It has wide open doors overlooking Vauxhall