Bim Bap at Kosirae

Bim Bap with Beef

Kosirae, Sukhumvit Soi 55, Bangkok, Thailand

Price: 300 baht (US $9.73)

Like other major metropolitian cities, Bangkok has its fair share of ethnic restaurants run and own by the original creators of the food. There is sizeable Korean population in Bangkok and with it comes excellent Korean food.

Located just off Sukhumvit 55 (Soi Thong Lo) and accessible by the BTS Skytrain, Kosirae is owned and run by a Korean family, offering both a la carte and a 290 baht Korean barbecue pork buffet. Having come for the highly recommended buffet before in which they use hot coals to power your stove, I wanted to try out the a la carte menu as well.

I ordered the Bim Bap with beef (300 baht or US $9.73), which is basically served in a piping hot stone bowl with raw beef on top. You would then stir the beef and mix it with the rice, in which it will quickly cook and become well done, given the immense heat of the stone bowl. An hour later, the bowl was still warm. The rice itself also comes mixed with flavourings as well as fresh mountain vegetables.

As part of the set, you also receive a set of nine side dishes which you can ask to be refilled as many times as you want. These side dishes include kimchi, fruit salad and very delicious spinach, which is crispy and has a very distinct flavour. The side dishes themselves are very tasty and almost constitute a meal in itself. 

The bim bap was scrumptious and came with a bowl of soup, which helped to counter the stronger and spicy taste of the side dishes.

It's an experience, but the price of the bim bap is rather expensive, given that its 10 baht more than the buffet. That said, it's trying to understand the taste of Korean food, but I would probably come back for the buffet next time.