Lum Lum Korean Restaurant - Chiang Mai: Great kimchi - the rest was pretty average
Located just north of the city center in the wildly-popular Mechoke Plaza / outdoor shopping mall. Lum Lum might not be so easy to spot because they have zero signage in English. However, it is just opposite the only McDonalds and they have vacuum tubes hanging from the ceiling.... that might help you figure out which place it is.
The restaurant isn't very big but honestly, considering the niche market for Korean food I would say it is just the right size. There are two major options available here at Lum Lum: You can order slices of pork or beef by the plate, or you can go for the pork buffet. The buffet was 329 Baht a person (around $10) so we went for that.
As you would expect from a Korean restaurant, an entire ensemble of free "extras" come with the meal (with buffet or individual plates) but for the most part, i wouldn't really consider these to be a factor since most of them were either tasteless or gross- the one exception would be a the Kimchi, which was absolutely fantastic.
Taste in Kimchi is very subjective but as far as Thailand is concerned - this was likely the best Kimchi that I have ever had here that wasn't made at home.
Booze is relatively inexpensive and the service, although slow at first, gradually gravitated to them doing everything for us including cutting and cooking the pork for us on our personal grill. This is where the major problem sets in: The pork was advertised as being "very high quality" and I'm afraid that myself and my 2 companions did not agree.
I have eaten at these sorts of establishments in Korea and while i realize it isn't fair to compare cuisine outside of a country to what it is like in said country - this pork was pretty average at best.
The establishment itself is friendly, it is wonderfully located for visitor and people who happen to live in the North part of town and the prices are very reasonable. However, the absolute main reason why people visit a Korean BBQ is for higher quality cuts of meat than they would get at your run-of-the-mill barbecue buffet. In that regard, i really feel as though this place is quite lacking.
While we were all able to eat here and have a great "Korean" experience, I honestly feel as though the meats just aren't of a very high caliber.
Myself and every member of my party left full (as you tend to from a buffet) but also agreed that while it was "ok," we really don't see ourselves returning anytime in the near future - if ever.
top image credit
all other images are my own
Restaurant Information
Lum Lum Korean Restaurant
206 หมู่ 6, โครงการมีโชคพลาซ่า, ถนนเชียงใหม่ - พร้าว, ตำบลฟ้าฮ่าม อำเภอเมือง จังหวัดเชียงใหม่, 50000 Tambon Fa Ham, Amphoe Mueang Chiang Mai, Chang Wat Chiang Mai 50300, Thailand
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This looks like it would be a cool place to try at least once. I have never had kimchi, but I want to try it some day. I hear nothing but good things about it. We have a new Brazilian steak house near where I live. I want to try that sometime too. People I know that have been there kind of gave the same opinion you did here. It is nice and all, but for the price they would probably do something different next time. It's like $50 per person. I am guessing you didn't get any Kobe or Wagu beef here huh?
they don't have the beef like that there. They have what they claim in higher quality beef but make no claims that it is imported from Japan. I don't know if you know this, but Koreans generally don't want anything to do with things Japan has made - still holding a grudge.
$50 a person seems expensive AF to me and is likely something I wouldn't do no matter how tasty it is. We don't have them here but i used to really enjoy those Jap steak houses where they have the food cooked right in front of you, sometimes by someone with serious knife skills.
It's all you can eat for that price but I am not sure I would be able to eat $50 worth of food these days. Maybe back in my prime... I didn't know that about the Koreans. We have a Japanese steak house just down the road from where I live. I haven't been there in forever though.
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Totally unrelated, but I saw this and thought of you... https://decrypt.co/9078/thailand-national-utility-launches-ethereum-based-renewable-energy-platform might be a good future post topic for you.
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interesting article. Renewable energy is still in its infancy here. We do see a lot of solar shops opening from place-to-place. It could kind of jump start things if there was some sort of incentive. There is a growing middle class here but mostly we just seem them spend beyond their means on massive mortgages and fancy cars.... you know... just like the rest of the world :)
Exactly like the rest of the world! Some things are universal I guess...
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It looks really delicious. I am hungry now.
The presentation looked good, but that sucks that the quality of the meat wasn't that good. I hope that you will be able to eat in a better Korean restaurant in the future. Thanks for sharing this with us and have a great day
Even though the meat wasn't the best, you did a great review.
Thanks for sharing