Janet's, Pontypridd, Korean and Chinese restaurant review

“Joey doesn’t share food” is one of the abiding principles I’ve followed in life when dining out in a big group.

All too often I’ve been out with a load of mates and shared dinner only to end up with a single mouthful of the particular dish I wanted to order. Also, people often end up skirting around the food out of politeness so you don’t get to eat anywhere near as much as you’d like.

In contrast, by only sharing with Mrs G, we know exactly what’s ours and we can divide it up between the two of us with no fuss.

However, I’ve clearly been doing it wrong all this time. Because last week when we visited Janet’s Korean and Chinese restaurant as a group of eight, we ordered so much food and doubled up on so many dishes that there was absolutely no risk of me being left hungry.

It’s been almost five years since we’ve visited Janet’s and in that time, they’ve been named champions at the British Street Food Awards in 2021 and transformed from a market stall into a cosy restaurant located in Pontypridd town centre.

Having grown up in the Yanbian region of China that borders North Korea, chef and owner Janet Wei’s menu primarily draws influences from both countries. But, there’s also Vietnamese noodle salad, Malaysian laksa and other South East Asian dishes that feature too.

It’s good to see local Welsh influences on the booze selection and I knocked back a couple of very good bitter-sweet Dabinett ciders (£5.50) from Gwynt y Ddraig, who are located just down the road in Llantwit Fardre.

With the menu divided into dim sum, mains and sides, we ordered around 14 small plates and 10 larger dishes between the eight of us. Despite it sounding like a heck of a lot of food, we still managed to clear the lot.

Dishes were brought out in a staggered approach as and when they were ready, so there was nice pace to the meal and we were able to pile in on the dishes when they were at their freshest.

I was most impressed by the dim sum and I’d gladly devour any of them again.

A plate of pork and kimchi gyoza (£8.90) had compellingly crisp skins that were filled with a juicy mix of minced pork with a delicate spice and funk of kimchi.

A vibrant cucumber salad (£5.90) combined crunchy pieces of cleansing cucumber bathed in a savoury and spicy gochujang and garlic-based dressing that was flecked with coriander and crunchy peanuts.

Prawn and pork sui mai (£8.90) saw a quintet of delicate steamed dumplings stuffed with a tender and slightly sweet mix of minced prawn and pork. They were accompanied by a fiery hot chilli oil dip.

A crisp edged scallion pancake (£8.90) was topped with soft omelette and a hit of allium and funk of kimchi. It was a lovely bit of moreish comfort food.

Kimbap (£8.90) was a clean and light dish that well balanced the fried stuff. The super fresh Korean rice rolls were filled with crunchy raw and pickled vegetables and omelette and drizzled with the delicate chilli kick of a gochujang dipping sauce.

Finally, soft and airy homemade steamed buns (£9.90) were filled with hot shreds of sticky hoisin duck and the crunch of peanut and spring onion.

Whilst the mains were delicious, I don’t think they quite hit the highs of the smaller plates.

Cumin lamb (£16.90) was one of the standouts. A generous portion of tender lamb pieces were bathed in an addictively earthy cumin-laden spice blend. It had more of a saucy vibe going on than the dry stir fry at Zi’s Café and I thought it made a nice change.

Beef bibimbap (£16.90) combined a big pile of rice, stir fried beef, wafer thin batons of sauteed carrot, gochujang, and a runny-yolked fried egg. It all mixed together to create a lovely combination of flavours and textures. But the stone serving bowl lacked its advertised sizzle, so the dish didn’t have the crispy caramelisation which arises from the various components sticking to its edges.

 

Tender battered pieces of Korean honey chicken thigh (£14.90) were very tasty but were slightly over-sauced so that the meat lost some of its crispness and I thought the sweet and sticky sauce could have done with a bigger kick of chilli.

 

A volcano rice bowl (£16.90) combined a big pile of fried rice topped with sweet, marinated stir fried beef and cleansing kimchi sat in a thin cheese topped omelette. Much like the bibimbap, it was another comforting rice dish.

Finally, tender pieces of pork tenderloin (£14.90) were coated in a beautifully light batter and drizzled with a sticky sweet and sour sauce. It was very tasty but perhaps lacked the excitement of some of the other dishes.

We had a great evening at Janet’s sharing a massive spread of her comforting, spicy and fresh cooking. It’s a little bit different to anything in Cardiff and handily just a 30-minute hop away on the train.

Going forward, I’ve revised my approach to dinner out in a group to, “If in doubt, over order.” I mean, what’s the worst that can happen? I’ll just have a bunch of leftovers to take home and eat the next day. However, knowing my appetite, the chances of that happening are rather slim. 

The Details:

Address - Janet's, 3 Church Street, Pontypridd CF37 2TH

Web - https://www.janetspontypridd.com/

Telephone - 07825 463685 

Kimchi, Cardiff Korean restaurant review

Kimchi are taking a low-key approach to marketing themselves - in fact, they're just letting the food speak for itself.

After just over one month of trading, this Korean restaurant on Cowbridge Road East has garnered a handful of 5 star reviews on Tripadvisor, has no telephone number online (by the way it’s 02920227122), no social media accounts and no website.

Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to be doing them any harm – on the Saturday night we visited, it was packed to the rafters.

Furthermore the owner, who explained that he has opened the restaurant to service the needs of Cardiff’s Korean food crazy Chinese student population, has been thrilled by the reception they’ve received from locals and students alike.

I can understand why.

Having already waxed lyrical about Yakiniku, Cardiff’s other Korean restaurant, over two years ago, it’s much the same this time around.

Kimchi’s food is a breath of fresh air - a unique, sociable experience offering flavours and textures which are a refreshing change from my usual meals out. 

Whilst Kimchi’s lengthy menu may initially seem a little daunting, it essentially breaks down into two main sections:

Firstly, Korean barbecue – choose your marinated meats and vegetables and have a giggle whilst you cook your dinner on the hotplate in the middle of the table. 

The more Korean lagers I necked (£3.50 a pop - I preferred the Hite to the Cass), the less precise my cookery skills became. 

Secondly there’s food which you don’t cook yourselves – the eponymous kimchi, bibimbaps, stir fries, Korean pancakes, dumplings, casseroles, noodles and fried rice dishes.

The four of us ordered a load of dishes from the former section, a load of dishes from the latter section, ate them all and then ordered some more. 

Mrs G couldn't resist the cheap gag

The first of the barbecue dishes, beautifully marbled beef bulgogi (£7.90), was heady with the complexity of its sesame, soy, ginger, garlic and spring onion marinade. 

Bulgogi before cooking

Cigars of rib-eye (£9.50) were just as delightfully tender.

Rib-eye and beef bulgogi

Generous slices of smoked duck breast (£9.30) were flecked with pieces of spring onion which caramelised up a treat. 

So too did thin slices of sweet potato (£3.50) which picked up the meatiness of the dishes we’d cooked before. 

 
A complimentary plate of garlic put to bed any lingering remnants of Valentine’s romance. 

Pointed peppers (£3.50) meanwhile actually turned out to be chillies – most were enjoyably tolerable but a couple of excruciatingly hot ones had been thrown in for fun. 

That was the end of the bbq antics – but the other food was just as marvellous.

Korean fried chicken is world famous and with stuff this good, I now know why; a huge plate of crispy, tender, sticky, sweet and spicy chilli chicken (£9.50) was the very definition of finger licking good.

Vegetable bibimbap (£7.90) was as artfully presented as would be expected from any restaurant with fayne dayning aspirations. A searingly hot stone bowl was filled with rice, kimchi, tofu, seaweed, bean sprouts, courgettes, chilli sauce and a raw egg yolk – a swift stir and everything combined to make a colourful and clean tasting side dish. 

In contrast, the only dud of the night, special fried rice (£7.90) was pallid, clammy and imbued with the whiff of the seafood which was dotted amongst it. 

A selection of cold Korean salads (£3) provided further interest for the taste buds – cold, slippery bean sprouts; salty ozonic seaweed; spiced & vinegary white radish and cleansing cucumber. 

Lastly, the Kimchi itself (£2.50), a spiced, vinegary, fizzy fermented cabbage which is actually a lot less challenging than it sounds and is in fact surprisingly addictive, especially after a quick blast on the hot plate. 

The food at Kimchi is bloody marvellous. That’s all there is to say. 

The details:

Web - Nope

Telephone - Nope... oh go on then 02920227122

Address - Kimchi, 72 Cowbridge Road East, Canton, Cardiff

Yakiniku Korean & Japanese restaurant, Cardiff review

Cardiff doesn’t have a destination restaurant right? Surely no-one would plan a visit to Cardiff just to eat out?  I can understand why someone would travel specifically to Abergavenny or Whitebrook. But Cardiff.....

How wrong I am. Koreans regularly visit Cardiff’s own Yakiniku from Birmingham, Swansea, Bristol and even Reading in order to get a fix of their national cuisine. Rather peculiarly Yakiniku is located in the almost rural feeling Seoul House Hotel a few metres from the welcome to Newport sign on the A48 in St Mellons. A few feet extra and Newport would have the destination restaurant.

When we arrived on Saturday evening, the car park was rammed and the party was in full swing. A large group of Koreans gave the homely dining room a buzzing, friendly feel.  It felt like being transported a few thousand miles away from Cardiff.

I’ve never eaten Korean food before but I’d already figured out a battle plan. Having studied the menu extensively in advance, I picked out the restaurant's recommended dishes which I’d encountered in my lost years of food blog trawling.  In fact I’d seemingly picked so well that our server noted that we’d ordered in a similar vein to their usual Korean guests. I had to explain that I spend a LOT of time reading about food on the internet.

There's no S before the h

As I sipped a refreshing bottle of Hite lager, a few bowls of complementary appetisers were brought to the table. The cold, fresh vegetables were the perfect way to take the edge off my eager stomach. Crunchy, slippery beansprouts were lightly dressed in soy; slivers of soft seasoned potato strips went down a treat and a bowl of slightly vinegary, chewy unidentified vegetable provoked debate.....I’m 31% confident they were mushrooms but forgot to ask.

For starters Mrs G opted for some extremely fresh California rolls. The moist but firm rice cosseted a well balanced filling of avocado, crab stick and cucumber. I’m normally a crab stick hater rather than a lover but they worked well in this case. My starter was the Seoul house chicken salad. I’ve wanted to try Korean fried chicken for ages and it didn’t disappoint. The chicken was beautifully moist and coated in a light, crisp almost tempura light batter. In contrast, the pedestrian iceberg lettuce leaves and chilli sauce it came with let the team down slightly.

Mains were where the party started. A switch was flicked in the middle of the table and in an instant it lit up like a 70’s electric coal fireplace.  After 10 minutes, the lid was whipped off to reveal a searingly hot electric Korean barbecue (Yakiniku). With it being patently obvious that we were novices, our server lent us a helping hand and placed our sesame oil marinated pork belly strips and vegetables on to cook for us. 5 minutes later the crisply cooked pork belly and slices of squash, courgette and aubergine (and so on) were ready to take off the grill with our chopsticks and dip into the silkiest soy and sesame oil dipping sauce I’ve ever tasted.

Lid on

Lid off

To go with our Yakiniku we also ordered Bul Go Ki. Tender, wafer thin steak marinated in soy, sugar and sesame oil almost had a slightly sweet meat stew kind of thing going on. It was good and worked well with the bowl of Dol Sot Bi Bim Bap we ordered. Served in a heavy hot stone bowl, this rice dish looked as pretty as a picture before it was stirred. Unfortunately I’ve only got the after shot. A bowl of rice was adorned with a mixture of vegetables, a relatively mild chilli sauce and a raw egg. When stirred together the egg cooked in the hot bowl to produce a sticky, eggy, slightly spicy bowl of moreishness.

I washed the main course down with a Lime Soju cocktail. Soju is a Korean spirit which tastes like a slightly sweetened vodka but overall the drink tasted like a pint of lime squash. Dangerously refreshing.

Nearly beat, we rounded off the meal with a bowl of matcha ice cream. Smooth, creamy and with a fragrant green tea after taste, it was the perfect end to an excellent evening. I can’t wait for my next Yakiniku rematch. In my mind I’ve already pre-ordered the Yum Yum Fried Chicken. I’ve got a strong feeling it’s going to be finger licking good.

The Details: 

Address - Cae Graw, Newport Road,St. Mellons,  Cardiff, CF3 2WH
Web - http://www.seoulhaus.com/restaurant/restaurant.html
Telephone - 01633 68 1662