Become a hungry 'Kim' and turn yourself Korean in this restaurant at Estancia Mall, Capitol Commons. For those into DIY dining where hungry diners get to choose their own flavor adventure, I Am Kim is your fun and colorful 'build your own bibimbap' spot where you can choose among a bounty of charcoal-grilled toppings for your sizzling stone bowl rice.
Where BYOB means 'Build Your Own Bibimbap'
Conceptualizing for I Am Kim was faster, Chef Him Uy de Baron shares, because bibimbaps are easier to prepare, and the concept of creating your own bowl of bibimbap according to whatever your craving (be it healthy, vegetarian, meat-loaded or all-out indulgent) encourages the hungry customers to be interactive and playful with their food. "Also, it is not a chef-driven thing that's why the people do not need to see me in the kitchen, it's all about the bibimbap. It was fairly easy; the key was really getting the marinades and getting the right meats. I really wanted the charcoal to get that really authentic Korean flavor."
For a rice-centric foodie community, it's quite a surprise that we don't have any specialty bibimbap place in the metro, but have noodle soup chains scattered all over Manila. A bibimbap (or 'bi bim bop,' or 'bap' for short) should feel right at home, as it is a comfort food of mixed rice — which is what the term bibimbap means. "Actually, no, none," Chef Him confirms about the lack of bibimbap specialty places, "I went to Thailand and I saw one, there's also one in Singapore, and people line up for it. It's a complete meal, it already has vegetables, it's very balanced. Korean food right now is getting more popular, but the way people do it here is still like a one-stop-shop where you can get bibimbap, bulgogi, barbecue, chapchae–all the same kind of menu. For I Am Kim, I wanted the menu to be focused, this one is focused on bibimbap. It's easy and accessible, you can't go wrong with rice and grilled meat."
We love our homemade and Chinese fried rice, mixing in different meats and veggies, and this signature Korean dish is a flavorful, sizzling rendition of it. To make I Am Kim's bowls of sizzling mixed rice stand out among the many Korean restaurants in the metro that serve bibimbap as supporting dishes (since these restaurants also focus on many other Korean dishes and delicacies that make their menu run longer), Chef Him buffs up his bibimbaps to become champions.
Instead of miniature toppings typical of fried rice dishes conservatively mixed with the rice, you will experience a bounty of toppings. A medium sized bowl is as deep as a ramen bowl, and you are served a hefty amount of rice (I wasn't able to finish all my rice, and only got to finish half of my appetizer). The large bowl will be good for two people, for sure, and as you can customize your bibimbap bowls, you can build a heavyweight by loading on more toppings to fill you up if you find your hunger to be supersized. The highlight of the toppings at I Am Kim are their charcoal grilled meats, and the sauces and marinades used–all made from scratch. They also make their own kimchi and kimchi slaw. While this new restaurant puts the bibimbap on spotlight, it is also playful and creative with flavors, highlighting flavors from neighboring countries in Asia and incorporating comfort food favorites, like Japanese teriyaki sauce and bacon (everybody loves bacon).
How to Build Your Own Bibimbap at I Am Kim
1. Choose the bowl size and rice. Medium is P350 while Large is P500. Currently 4 kinds of rice to choose from: Japanese (standard), Organic Brown, Organic Red, and Black Rice (add P20).
2. Choose your sauces. You get to pick 2 kinds out of 10: Gocuchang, Bulgogi, Umami Butter, Chimichuri, Roasted Garlic Paste, Spring Onion Sauce, Teriyaki Sauce, Chili Jam, Superior Soy Sauce, and Sauce of the Day. All sauces are made in-house and are from scratch.
3. Choose your meats. Pick 2 kinds out of 16: BBW Short Ribs Kitayama Wagyu, BBQ Squid Lemongrass, BBQ Squid, Fried Tofu, Raw Beef Tartare, BBQ Chicken, BBQ Tofu, Raw Tuna, Korean Sausages (3 pcs), BBQ Chicken Spicy, BBQ Pork Belly, BBQ Prawns (+P150/3pcs, +P250/5pcs), BBQ Prawns Spicy (+P150/3pcs, +P250/5pcs), Raw Salmon 70g (+P40/M, +P70/L), Beef Bulgogi (+P40/M, +P70/L), and Meat of the Day.
4. Choose your egg. There are 3 doneness levels to choose from: Sunny Side Up, Poached (Sous Vide), and Raw. Traditional bibimbap is topped with raw egg that you mix in with hot rice; Chef Him suggests the Poached egg if you like the rice mix to be less wet and cooking time of your bowl quicker.
5. Choose your veggies. Pick 3 kinds out of 9: Spinach, carrots, green peas, mushrooms, zucchini, fried onions, bean sprouts, bok choy, and vegetable of the day.
Barely one week old, I Am Kim just opened last Thursday but was packed over the weekend with diners. "It was so full, and people would come in big groups," the chef shares. Less than half of the customers so far have been creating their own bibimbaps, which is understandable since it's a new concept and the suggested combinations, called Composed Baps (inclusive of 3 sides), are time-saving and highlights a mix of traditional and creative baps that are Chef Him's recommendations. As a primer, there's a Classic Bap (P275/M, P370/L); the chef's current favorite is the Spring Onion & Ginger (P275/M, P355/L), and the current bestseller, The B.E.C. Bap (P300/M, P415/L), combines bacon, egg, chicken, and cheese, among other toppings.
Do you want your baps with a lot of flavor like I do? Then Chef Him suggests the Umami Bomb (P350/M, P470/L), a bowl with Korean sausage, bbq chicken, fried tofu, spinach, carrots, bean sprouts, mushroom teppan, raw or sous vide egg. It has on the side gocuchang (fermented Korean soybean and chili paste), umami butter, and bulgogi sauce which you can add little by little to suit to your taste or dump it all in–you decide. Three sides that come with the bowl were baby potatoes, kimchi, and kimchi slaw. Served sizzling and generous with the meat portions, it was one hearty bowl that was a treat do dig in, the umami butter so lipsmackingly savory I could eat it on its own or slathered on toast. The Korean sausage, two pieces of it made with ground pork and beef, are also made in-house and are packed with lots of flavor (my bowl is named Umami Bomb for a good reason). The sausages can be ordered ala carte as appetizer (Korean Sausage, P180/5pcs). To add more heat, I tossed in the kimchi and mixed everything. Every spoonful was indeed an umami bomb, explosive in flavor and texture.
Appetizers (Korean sausage, Kimchi, bacon & tofu), salads (potato salad, chap che salad, grilled squid & pear salad), and soups (two to choose from, which will be available next week) are available to compliment your bibimbap, as well as a selection of bbq if you want to skip rice and just enjoy charcoal-grilled meats. I had an appetizer order Korean Fried Dumpling (P190/5 pieces) while waiting for my bap to be served. "It's like a rift on Korean fried chicken that's double fried and with sauce. It's good with chicken and mushrooms," Chef Him tells me. Wrap one of the golden brown, crispy dumplings in lettuce shiso, and take a good sized bite to have spicy, crunchy, meaty and juicy meeting the freshness of the leaf to balance it all out. To cleanse one's palate of spicy or flavor-loaded bimbap, I Am Kim will soon offer their own take on the popular Korean Melona ice-pops. Homemade creamsicles in assorted fruit flavors? I am definitely coming back to I Am Kim for those after my fill of make your own baps.
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I Am Kim is currently on soft operations, and in cash-basis transactions. Visit the restaurant at Lower Ground Level of Estancia Mall in Capitol Commons, Pasig. Call 542-2558 for inquiries. Like them on Facebook ('I Am Kim'), and follow on Instagram and Twitter (@iamkimph)
