Kimpira (김피라): Not Your Basic Korean Street Food

Kimpira is a place I’ve been meaning to blog about for a long time now. When I first came across it in Hongdae a few years back, it was Korean comfort food heaven. The name “Kimpira” is a combination of the words kimbab, pizza and ramen; the essence of their menu. Then a few years later, their menu changed and it was wildly disappointing, so we stopped going.

Since then, they have expanded quite a bit and about a year ago we came across a new location in Sinchon. They had changed up their menu, so we stopped in for a bite and found it was good again! So far it has been consistently good (having gone just last week) and I feel comfortable enough to recommend it now.

What makes this place unique is it’s “creative” concept. It takes common Korean “snack food” and morphs it into something familiar, yet new. I admit not every dish is a winner, but there’s definitely stuff on the menu worth trying.

The one dish we always order that has remained unchanged throughout the years is the Fondue Tteokbokki (떠먹는 퐁듀떡볶이). It’s a glorious serving of tteokbokki topped with cajun fries, bacon and chopped chicken breast smothered in 2~3 different types of cheese and garnished with dried basil. It’s amazeballs and a must have item for any food lover anywhere. I seriously can’t get enough and have no desire to know the calorie count.

We also get an order of  their Bulgogi Ssam Kimbab (불고기 쌈김밥) to accompany our platter of cheesy shame… you know… to balance it with some vegetables. Instead of your typical seaweed wrapped kimbab, these are wrapped in rice paper (like springrolls) and come with a special tangy dipping sauce. It’s really light, so it compliments any heavy pasta or tteok based dish really well.

The last time we went, we got a bit greedy and decided to order their new dumpling and noodle salad (샐러드쫄만두) because… salad! It came with 4 large fried dumplings (halved into 8 pieces), a full serving of spicy cold noodles and a hardy helping of greens with balsamic dressing. It was a ridiculous amount for just 2 people (who had already ordered 2 other dishes). On the plus side, it was really good! On the negative, there was no way we could finish it all, though we did give it a solid try.

All in all it’s affordable, filling and I often find myself going there around lunch time. They also have sets so you can try more for less. So, if you’re looking for a different side of Korean snack food and don’t mind the extra calories, drop by and indulge yourself.

• Hours
  • 11:00am~10:00pm, Everyday
• Address
  • Hongdae Branch
    • 서울시 마포구 와우산로 15길 49
    • 49 Wausan-ro 15-gil Mapo-gu Seoul
  • Sinchon Branch
    • 서울특별시 서대문구 창천동 2-33
    • 2-33 Changcheon-dong Seodaemun-gu, Seoul
• Phone
  • Hongdae Branch
    • 02-337-0860
  • Sinchon Branch
    • 02-392-1003
• Website (Korean ONLY)
  • http://www.kimpira.co.kr