Authentic Korean Cuisines at Korean Picnic

Korean cuisine has always fascinated me. Being from a generation where watching Korean dramas and movies was growing and at its peak, where most of the scenes of the dramas were all about authentic Korean foods and side dishes such as Egg Rolls, Kimbaps, Kimchi, Ramen and many other mouth watering dishes, my cravings for Korean dishes have been mounting since then.

At those times, about 10 years back, there were only very few Korean restaurants and the Korean foods were not that preferred as they are now. But, look at the Korean market in Nepal now. The scenario has changed a lot and we can see so many new Korean restaurants opening not just in Kathmandu, but even in Pokhara, Dharan and many other cities too.

In Nepal, Korean Picnic has been one of the initiators of Korean food. In conversation with Mr. Gyandendra KC, the co-owner of “Korean Kitchen Picnic”, I got to know that they used to live in Korea before and he also shared the story behind name of the restaurant. It was named ‘Picnic’ because Koreans mostly take Kimbaps with them when they go on a picnic and Kimbap is a popular Picnic food in Korea.

The “The Korean Picnic” restaurants also initially started by focusing on just selling Kimbaps. It was only later that they started adding other cuisines on the menu. Further talking with him, the location, Thamel was chosen as there is a great flow of tourists in this place and there was not much demand of Nepalese for Korean foods in the past. Subsequently, Nepalese demand has been rising in the present context and people’s love for Korean foods now is unconditional which is why they have opened their branch at Boudha as well. I want to wish them all the very best for their new branch.

As I entered, I was greeted and welcomed very warmly by all the staffs there. Even though it was very crowded, the co-owner, Mr. Gyandendra KC also took out his time to welcome me and have a conversation with me about the whole journey of Picnic.  As I heard the story behind the name Picnic, I couldn’t wait to try out Kimbap and as a result, I immediately ordered Tuna Kimbap. 

The Tuna Kimbap looked delicious and freshly made with a mixture of tuna and mayo served with a side sauce made of soy sauce and wasabi. To be honest, I am not a huge fan of wasabi but, I was amazed that the combination of Kimbap with the dipping sauce went quite well. I could see the mayo dripping and I couldn’t wait to dig in, as it looked so luscious.

As I ate my first piece of Kimbap, I could tell that the veggies were very fresh as I could feel the crisps of it. The Kimbap had the right amount of the tuna and mayo mixture, veggies, egg, sesame seeds and went perfectly with the dipping sauce too. Being a Kimbap freak, I was expecting a lot from Picnic and it undoubtedly met my expectation as it was so good.

Pork BBQ set is definitely the signature dish of Picnic and I had heard a lot of good reviews about the dish. So, I decided to try out the most selling dish too. I was awestruck looking at the presentation of the dish. It was served in a beautiful sizzler tray and I could hear the sizzling sound, which was already very tempting.

The pork BBQ contained some generous amount of Pork, finely chopped onions, carrots and capsicum and Korean chili paste with the perfect blend of spice and sweetness. As I tasted, I could feel the subtle crisps of the Pork, it was very tender, juicy and glazed with the fusion of the spices and sweetness inside the pork, just the way I liked. Moreover, Pork BBQ set came with a sticky rice bowl and some heavenly side dishes such as Kimchi, boiled potatoes, a bowl of mild spinach, and Korean soybean sprouts.  For that reason, Pork BBQ definitely won my heart and has made its room on my go-to-dishes’ list.

Picnic has been working on providing new dishes in an effort of providing varieties for the customers to choose from. Another new dish in Picnic is the ‘Cheese tteokbokki’. Cheese tteokbokki being the latest recipe, I was excited to become one of the initial people to review on it.  Cheese tteokbokki contained some tteoks, which are cylindrical-shaped Korean rice cakes made with steamed rice flour, Korean red chili pepper paste, and sesame seeds covered with rich cheese.

The soft, slightly sweet, savory, and chewy rice cakes are purely addictive. It is a modern twist to Korean rice cake with the fusion of melted cheese over the top of rice cakes which complements the dish perfectly and makes the dish amazingly scrumptious.  As I picked up a tteok, the soft cheese strands stretched along with it which was very comforting to watch and gave rice cakes a delicate cheesy taste and created a perfect combo. Next time you visit Picnic, do try the ‘Cheese tteokbokki’ if you are a cheese lover like me. This dish will surely not disappoint you.