Hidden away on a pedestrianized street, you’ll find Kimchi Kimchi par Le FoodLab. This melting pot project from Coralie Flandre and Iris Vial has plenty of character, experi(fer)menting with Korean cuisine and Japanese influences. And the local Catalan population sure seems to approve of it, seated on barstools or tatami mats, surrounded by neon lights, antique knickknacks and bottles of sake. The night we went, the menu featured: oysters with ponzu sauce that were fresh, clean and precise; a pea, rice milk and sweet tofu chaud-froid; traditional pork or shrimp jiaozi; tasty General Tao’s chicken, fried and enveloped in a syrupy sweet and sour sauce, served with vinegary rice and a heavy artillery of braised vegetables; before a very cute green tea ice cream mochi, or strawberries with cilantro and yuzu. FYI: if you’re lucky, the house serves a Tampopo Brunch some Sundays: tamago kake gohan (rice, seaweed and an egg), teriyaki salmon, gyoza, etc. (Reservations a must). // G.V.
FEELING THIRSTY? Clean wines (Nada, a Syrah at €5 a glass) and local beers (La Boc, a blanche from Perpignan at €6 for 500 ml), or even natural sakes, whiskeys and cocktails from Asia, not to mention the litchi tea (€3) and the cloudy lemonade (€4.50).
PRICE: Set menus €12-14 (lunch), menu €25 (dinner), small plates €4-14.
