Jin Go Gae [UK, New Malden]

#1

I have eaten in Ham Gi Pak, Palace and You Me where I go for occasional lunchtime asian / chilli fixes. (Sadly, it looks as though Spicy Island has closed.) All are good but following the recommendation from a friend, with a Korean wife, I had lunch yesterday at Jin Go Gae and, on the success of one visit, I think it wins hands down.

The recommendation was for the BBQ beef but I was after something quick and the lunchtime menu is interesting and good value, I have inelegantly cut and pasted it below.

The Jae yook dol Bimbimbap was the best bibimbap I have ever had and it even convinced me that the hot stone bowl was a good idea.

Very busy for a Tuesday lunchtime but friendly and efficient service. It is though a long way from the High Street but worth the journey.

JINGOGAE LUNCH - from £6
(MON /SAT 12 – 3PM)
NEW 순대국 – Sundae soup - £7.50
Korean steamed pork sausage stuffed with barely, pork, intestines, perilla leaves,
clear noodles, scallions and soybean paste soup served with rice
매콤간장 찜닭 – Jjim dak
Sweet and spicy steamed chicken simmered with soya sauce with chopped chillies,
carrots, onions and clear rice noodles. Garnished with spring onions, sesame seeds served with rice
짬뽕 밥 – Jampon
Spicy seafood (squids, mussel, prawns, clams), pork and thinly sliced vegetable
soup garnished with spring onions served with rice
제육돌솥비빔밥 – Jae yook dol Bimbimbap
Spicy grilled pork with sautéed and seasoned vegetables with rice served in hot stone bowl / miso soup
해물수제비 – Su jaebi
Mild seafood soup with hand torn gnocchi with zucchini and potatoes garnished with dry seaweed, and spring onions and simmered egg
불고기 덥밥 – Bulgogi Bap
Marinated sliced beef and vegetables stir fry served with rice and miso soup
매운해물 칼국수 – Kal gooksu
Spicy seafood flat wheat noodles with prawns, squid, clams, mussel and vegetables garnished with dry seaweed, spring onions and simmered egg
갈비찜 – Kalbi- Jjim
Sweet short beef rib steamed with soya sauce, carrot and mooli garnished with
spring onions and sesame seeds served with rice
양념 게장 백반 – Gae Jang
Freshly marinated spicy raw crab served with rice and miso soup
해물돌솥비빔밥 – Haemool dol Bibimbap
Grilled seafood with oyster sauce along with sautéed and seasoned vegetables with rice served in hot stone bowl/ miso soup
NEW 오삼불고기 덥밥 – O-sam bulgogi Bap - £7.50
Stir fried squid and pork with sweet chilli sauce along with vegetables
garnished with sesame seeds with rice/ miso soup
갈비탕 - Kalbitang
Jingogae’s famous mild short rib beef broth with clear vermicelli noodles garnished
with spring onions and rice
* Please note we only accept £20 or more card payment. Thank you!

#2

Thank you for the recommendation.
hmmm, what’s HO policy towards ad :grin:

#3

Yes, we enjoyed this place a lot. Living not too far from New Maldon (20 minutes up the A3), we’ve eaten at most of the better known restaurants. This is certainly one of the best if it’s the one I’m thinking of. Luckily, we have a car and parking has never been a problem, although it is a hike from the High St.

#4

Good question - if tricky.

On the one hand, every new poster has to have a first post. On the other, how to distinguish between the new poster and the advertiser/shill.

It’s not something I do with restaurant reviews but does it become a problem if I was to cut and paste the menu I’ve eaten from, from a place’s website?

By the by, when I was over at Chowhound I was happier back in the day when they were tough on shilling.

#5

Not to distract from the conversation about the restaurant, but it seems like TLC just copied and pasted the entire lunch menu here:

https://jingogae.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/jingogaelunch.pdf

including the card payment note at the end. So unless he/she’s affiliated with the restaurant, it doesn’t seem like this is an ad.

#6

@TLC I was joking… no sarcasm intended.

#7

Shill indeed!

No offence taken and no inappropriate posting intended. (I do still think the lunchtime menu makes interesting reading though.)

I have followed CH for many years, and now HO. I have CH to thank for many excellent discoveries - Thattukada, Delhi Grill, Quilon, Mao Tai, Leongs, Ishbilia are the ones that immediately spring to mind and the reason for posting was to give something back to the community.

I have posted a few times but I don’t post about mainstream places I eat in London (Ottolenghi, Wolsley, Delaunay, Scotts, Sheekey’s, St John, Foxlow, Hawksmoor, Quo Vadis) because they are well known and I don’t think I would be bringing anything new to the table. And, I don’t post about the fancy places because they by and large irritate me (Ledbury, Dinner, Fat Duck, Dabbous, Windows, Hospital Road, Clove Club).

I like good simple food and, whether horribly expensive turbot at Scotts or, kebabs and roti at Lahore, they make me equally happy.

Anyway, food is only a hobby. My real interest is wine…

#8

No offence intended by me.

Hope you find more meals that you think worth posting about

#9

I love Jin Go Gae! I’ve only been twice, and must admit the last time I tried other Korean places in New Malden was a long time ago so it’s hard to make a fair comparison, but we loved it so much one Saturday that I dragged 3 other friends along a week later. Trains to Motspur Park run quite frequently from Waterloo, and if you go for dinner you most definitely have to make a reservation because there’s almost no comfortable place to wait.

One of my favourite dishes there is the raw chilli crab. (Still looking for a Korean restaurant that does soy-marinated raw crab, if anyone has any tips!) The chilli paste is SUPER spicy and makes a right mess when you’re trying to eat it, but if you’re faster than your dining companions you can go straight for the best part which is the shell with all the roe and clean it out with some white rice. The rest of the crab meat is a pain in the arse to extract, but it’s worth sucking it out of the legs because even the chilli paste takes on the sweetness of the crab meat.

I particularly like the fact that they grill over real charcoal. For some reason even the cuts of meat are fattier and tastier, or more well-marinated than many of the central London restaurants (Koba, Asadal, Arang to name a few). The first time we went to Jin Go Gae, there were two of us and we ordered a ridiculous amount: kimchi + namul, soondae, raw spicy crab, and four plates of meat for the BBQ (their pork ribs ALMOST exceed the beef ribs!!). Need to go back to Jin Go Gae to try their lunch menu!

#10

I’ve not made it to Jin Go Gae yet, but the raw chilli crab I had a couple of years ago at Palace (183–185 New Malden High Street, KT3 4BH) was very good: cold, sweet, raw crab flesh coated in a nicely savoury chilli sauce. Photo on Flickr.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter!

Press Room
“Food is a pretty good prism through which to view humanity.”

― Jonathan Gold