Kimbap Cheonguk: Korean snack bar in Coquitlam

Kimbap Cheonguk is a casual Korean restaurant located in Coquitlam. They are in the heart of K-town (Lougheed area) and are known for serving traditional Korean snacks and casual eats.

This review is based on a mix of in-dining experiences as well as a recent takeout experience via Uber Eats.

Interior

Kimbap Cheongjuk has a pretty small space. It’s kind of like 1 long hallway. It is by no means fancy but it has an authentic Korean pocha/pub feel. In this sense, I like how casual and down-to-earth it is.

What I probably like the most about the interior is the giant photos they have of their menu items. Certainly makes ordering a lot easier!

Food

Kimbap ($3-5 per roll)

Let’s start with their bread and butter – the kimbap. Yes, this is the same kimbap as the kimbap in their restaurant name.

Kimbap is a Korean dish made from cooked rice and other ingredients that are rolled in gim—dried sheets of nori seaweed—and served in bite-sized slices. The dish is often part of a packed meal, or dosirak, to be eaten at picnics and outdoor events, and can serve as a light lunch along with danmuji and kimchi. (Yes I grabbed this from Google). Think of it as a Korean sushi roll.

The kimbap here is delicious and they always look perfectly. They don’t skimp out on the ingredients or size either. If you order online, the rolls are more expensive (around $5) but their regular in-dining menu is only $3-4 for a roll.

I usually order their beef kimbap, but they also have other choices: cheese, kimchi, tuna and crab meat kimbap.

Al bob ($8-10)

The next item is my boyfriend’s favourite dish from Kimbap Cheonguk – Al Bob. Al Bob is a stone pot rice bowl with carrot, cabbage, yellow radish, tuna, cheese and tobiko. They put a lot of tuna and fish eggs in here and you mix it all up in the hot stone bowl until the mixed rice is all crispy.

I personally find this dish a little too salty for my taste, but if you like tuna and tobiko, you will for sure like this stone bowl.

Regular in-dining price for an al bob is around $8, but takeout will cost you $10 (and you don’t get a stone bowl lol).

Stone pot rice and pork ($12)

Similar to the al bob, the stone pot rice and pork is a rice dish inside a sizzling stone pot. They mix in carrots, zucchini, bean sprouts, red pepper paste and seaweed.

Overall, it’s a bit too spicy for me but if you are a spicy lover this will be a piece of cake. I thought the pork was a little on the dry side covered up with the pepper paste sauce.

Ddock bok ki ($7-10)

Ddock bok ki are spicy rice cakes. In dining price is $7 but it’ll be $10 for takeout. Good news is that it’s a large serving and they give you a lot of that spicy sauce.

Again, I’m a mild kind of girl but I love the ddok bok ki from Kimbap Cheonguk. I find their rice cakes are cooked to perfection! They are chewy and just look so cute and beautiful.

Aside from rice cakes, they also throw in kimchi, onion and large pieces of fish cake. A perfect spicy snack and super easy to re-cook the next day in a pan with the leftover spicy sauce (tip: add instant noodles to make ra bok ki)

Kal gook soo ($8-10)

Kal gook soo are Korean hand-cut noodles. You may have seen this dish on the popular Netflix show “Street Food”. Now I don’t know if the cooks at Kimbap Cheonguk or hand cutting the noodles in the kitchen, but it’s certainly a very comforting bowl of noodles. Very homey and comforting.

It is a vegetarian dish as it only contains noodles, zuchinni, onion, seaweed, carrot and egg. Portion size is enough to share between 2 people and it is great to pair it with something spicy like the spicy rice cakes.

In terms of takeout, they don’t separate the noodles from the broth so the noodles were a bit soggy by the time we started eating. Aside from that, it’s a decent bowl of noods.

Final thoughts

I like Kimbap Cheonguk because it’s one of those hole-in-the-walls, down-and-dirty, no-bullshit type of restaurants.

I definitely recommend any of their kimbaps as this is what they are known for. Everything else is a great option for late night eats or a casual lunch. In terms of prices, they are cheap, especially their in-dining menu (almost everything is less than $10). I expected their takeout menu to be more expensive during covid-19.

Sincerely, Loewe