Kiwajip

 

6

50

Roony P.

Fremont, CA

Came here for lunch the other day because we had to roll to the rite aid for some shopping and decided to try some place different instead of the LA tofu house on decoto...
Clean, friendly\attentive service, and good food.  Wasn't overly impressed with the kimchi chi gae because just not enough flavor (kimchi flavor, spicy) for shemustbeobeyd... I had the spicy chicken which was OK.. loved the small plates that were included.. seems like a pretty good value ..
mom\pop kinda place .. I like to support mom\pop places esp. if the food is good..
overall not bad , i give 3.25 .. may come back and try the panchan, pajun..

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13

54

Clarissa R.

Fremont, CA

This is a nice, friendly, neighborhood Korean place. I usually get the dul sot bibimbap, which is pretty good. The banchan change occasionally but the potatoes are very tasty, so I usually get a couple servings of those (banchan are the included side dishes/appetizers, and you get free refills). Their menu is a little different from most places, including Korean tonkatsu, but you've got your standard bibimbap, bulgogi, etc. There are some pricier items that I assume must be more special, but I haven't dared try them yet.

The staff members are very nice, even when we came in last Friday at 8:30 (they close at 9 PM).

Now if I could only remember that it's rude to pick up the bowl in Korean etiquette! (Well, that's not a worry with the BURNING HOT AND HEAVY stone pot dishes, but I can't seem to overcome my instinct to pick up the darned rice! Oh well, they haven't thrown me out yet.)

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13

92

Helen S.

Fremont, CA

It is nearly impossible to find anything Korean in Fremont, and after many trips to Santa Clara, I was glad to find that there is this cute little Korean restaurant just minutes from my house. This restaurant is located a couple doors down from Manna Supermarket, the local Korean grocery store. It's really not in a great location, but the food more than makes up for the location. We had dolsot bibimbap, jap chae, and galbi here. All of these dishes were excellent, as well as the assortment of banchan.  The owner also gave us some pine nut porridge in the start of our meal which was delicious, and also some kind of sullung tang broth before our main courses came out. Since sul lung tang is one of my favorites, this made my visit all the better.  I didn't see the sul lung tang on the menu, but I imagine that I could ask for it and they would be able to serve it.

Service was great. The owner didn't look at me like I was a moron when she realized I couldn't speak Korean, and she was really sweet by coming by to make sure we were okay with the banchan and the food in general.
The galbi was perfectly cooked and marinated. One of the best I've had in this area, and everything else was near perfect. It's so sad that this place doesn't get as much traffic as it could.

If you're in Fremont, come and check it out. It's located behind the shopping center with the Rite Aid, Joey Basil's and... the Jamba Juice. SO good. So worth it. If you like Korean food, this is where its at.

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0

8

Jin K.

Fremont, CA

My second time here with both of them being pleasant. First time I went I had the Yukejang which is like a really spicy beef soup which always has been a favorite for me and this place matched what I had always liked. The second time I went I got the Soondae Gook on the lunch menu which also has been another favorite of mine. It has different varieties of pork so if you're a picky eater, it might not be a thing you want to get.
The side dishes were also good.

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18

188

Ella B.

Fremont, CA

YEA!  A lunch without co-workers!  On these days i like to indulge myself in things that the co workers probably wouldn't dig too much, ya know?  I like them to work with but for eating i'm gonna venture a guess that most of them aren't going to enjoy kim chee, garlic and dried fishies for lunch...  these are folks that ask for sweet and sour and soy sauce when we have Thai....

I rolled into the parking lot looking for the noodle place that was there before, ZaZang or something but it was gone and replaced with Kiwajip.  Kiwajip doesn't serve noodles like ZaZang, they serve traditional Korean chi-gae (sp?)  "soups"  and bi bim bob rice bowls etc.  

I ordered the lunch special vegetable and seafood che-gae, medium spicy.  The order comes with 8 panchan dishes with the usual kim chee, dried fish, potato, fish cake and pickeled daikon.... and some other stuff i can't remember, and a bowl of rice.

the soup was on the salty side but good.  It was a little thinner than what i'm used to compared to LA Tofu.  And i didn't notice any seafood in the soup???  
The service was fast and friendly.  The panchan dishes  were on the average side but i would say satisfying for a lunch time korean fix.  

I would definitely come back again, but not because the food is fantastic, but overall, relatively satisfying and friendly.
The meal was $11 plus a tip.
They take visa / mastercard.

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0

1

James C.

Newark, CA

The small dishes are great.

Service is good - the owner lady is sweet and very friendly.

Bathroom is clean - I find this very rare in restaurants that serve Asian food.

The food is excellent value - typically the bill for my wife and I are less than $25 (which includes taxes and tips).  My personal favorite is the seafood pancake.  Give it a try - it is really good.

Highly recommend it.

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Elite '08

79

710

shannon l.

Fremont, CA

I believe this use to be a "Za Zang" but I guess the location isn't that great?  It's located next to a tiny korean market that is the size of a bedroom.  This restaurant opened up maybe a couple months ago and the owner lady who served us was super sweet.  It wasn't too packed when we went, probably 35% of the restaurant was full.

I had a big bowl of yu keh jang (spicy beef stew) and it was spicy but not too spicy where I had to stop eating.  There was probably enough to feed two people but my piggy self finished the whole thing anyway.  Hey, I can't help it if it's a cold outside and I need to keep warm!

All the side dishes were fresh.

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1

11

Pyrat O.

San Francisco, CA

This is a dependable neighborhood Korean place.  The lady who runs the show is very friendly, and the service is quick.  Decor is nothing fancy, and the air-conditioning needs a boost, but overall the dining room is clean and comfortable.  The kimchi chigae was good, and the portion was huge for $9.95.  As reported by derrick - the panchan is very good, and they bring a nice selection.  Note, they don't have a liquor license yet, so your drink choices are limited to Coke, Sprite, caffeine-free Diet Pepsi, tea, and water.  If I could, I would rate this 3.5 stars - worth a return trip to...

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Elite '08

98

316

Derrick V.

Newark, CA

Excellent panchan!  I haven't had panchan this good in a while, I greedily asked for seconds!  The napa & daikon kimchi were really good.  Service was friendly in the bare bones decor.  I loved the Dduk man du guk (rice cake & dumpling soup with green onions).  The Bul go gi bok um (sauteed thin beef w/veggies) was just ok.  Maybe we'll try pork next time.  It's easy to miss this place, right off of Mowry in a hidden alley to your right.

Update: 7/6/07 The Dduk man du guk broth has changed to a plain beef broth, or was it chicken?  I didn't like it as much this time around, but the first time it had a savory seaweed flavor.  I wish they kept it the same.

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