My New Favorite Korean Place

I am always happy to talk about Korean food. I have had Korean food in Japan and Korea, and I rate it as one of my top favorite foods in the world. Every single vegetable in Korean cuisine is made ten times better by the spices, chili sauce and flakes, and flavors the Korean people add to it. That is what kimchi is—cabbage, but with some amazing chili and garlic.
I have a few favorite places around Ibaraki. I have talked about two of them on my blog. The place I will talk about today has shot to the top of my favorite Korean places in Ibaraki. That is right. It has earned its place as my number one favorite Korean place in Ibaraki. I am excited to introduce you to Chinmitei .

Chinmitei

Chinmitei is located in the Akatsuka area of Tsukuba City. It is near the large amusement center, You World. If you are coming from the direction of You World, just head down Route 354. Pass "With Cheese," the amazing cheese dessert place, which I talked about before on the blog. Turn right at the Bando Taro, and it will be on your left in a minute.
The owner of my favorite coffee truck, Stove, told me about this place. I also met the daughter of the owners of Chinmitei, and she told me that I would love it. After hearing all the recommendations, I had to check Chinmitei out. The Ibaraki Eats team: my wife, my cousin, and I, visited Chinmitei after a nice swim at the You World pool and a relaxing soak in the onsen. (Did you know You World had a pool? Not many people do. You're welcome.) We were hungry from all the swimming we did and couldn't wait to have some tasty Korean food.

Inside

Chinmitei is a small family-owned restaurant. When we walked in, that was the atmosphere we were greeted with. There was a small dog in the restaurant barking its welcome. The staff, who seemed to be related, led us to our table with smiles and kindness, as if we were in their own home.
There are a few tables around Chinmitei, as well as a tatami room area for dining. Chinmitei is pretty spacious. It makes you feel like you are having dinner at the home of someone you know. We were given some cold hand towels, which felt amazing after we endured the outside summer heat, and we checked out the menu.

The Menu

Chimitei's menu has a vast array of different Korean dishes to choose from. There are three sections to the menu: the Korean BBQ section, the group BBQ section, and the other Korean foods section.
The Korean BBQ section is all about the meat. There is kalbi (short ribs), bara (rib cut), and other delicious-looking meats.
The group BBQ section is special. The reason is that you have to give Chinmitei at least a day's notice before ordering. The most popular being the bulgogi plate, which brings enough meat and vegetables for at least four people.
Finally, the rest of the menu has a bunch of amazing Korean dishes like bimbimbap, tteokbokki, chijimi, homemade kimchi, and more!
We decided to order some BBQ and a few different Korean dishes.

Homemade Kimchi

The first plate that came to our table was Chinmitei's homemade kimchi. This homemade kimchi plate brought radish kimchi, cucumber kimchi, and cabbage kimchi. I love all sorts of kimchi, but I am particularly fond of the radish kimchi. I just like the shape of it and how it gives a nice crunch when you pop them in your mouth. Chimitei's radish kimchi was exceptional. All of the other kimchi was also fantastic. Everything tasted fresh and had an amazing flavor of Korean chili flakes, ginger, and garlic. I love garlic, but I have found that some kimchi has way too much, which takes away from the chili flakes. This was not the case with Chimitei's kimchi. The garlic level was perfect. I loved every single piece of radish, cucumber, and cabbage kimchi that I had that night. I can't wait to have Chimitei's kimchi again.

Tteokbokki

If you love mochi, then you need to try tteokbokki. This is one of my favorite Korean street foods. Imagine making mochi into a cylinder shape, and then simmering it in gochujang (chili paste) and a bit of a sweet sauce to give it character. One of my favorite Korean food trucks in Ibaraki, Chungju, makes tteokbokki like a pro and even puts melted cheese on top. Chinmitei also makes pro-level tteokbokki, and the sauce that it is simmered in is incredible. They add a little bit of sesame seeds for garnish and what I believe were big pieces of spring onions. I couldn't really tell because the amazing spicy and sweet sauce that was with the tteokbokki was the star of the show. It was spicy, but not painfully spicy which takes away from flavor. Great tteokbokki Chinmitei!

Buchimgae

Buchimgae, or as it is lovingly known in Japan as chijimi, is a Korean style pancake. It is sort of like okonomiyaki, but instead of being made with regular cabbage, it is made with kimchi. It is usually a little thinner than okonomiyaki, but not Chinmitei's buchimgae. This pancake had a thickness to it that surprised me. I should mention that chijimi is Mrs. Ibaraki Eats' favorite Korean food. She loves dipping chijimi into the sweet, tangy sauce that usually comes with chijimi. My wife was very impressed with Chimitei's chijimi. She was so impressed that she almost did not use the dipping sauce and just ate it as it came. She loved how fluffy and full of fresh vegetables this chijimi was. I took a slice of chijimi, and I had to agree. It was delicious and huge. The chijimi was great!

Bimbimbap

This! This right here is my favorite Korean dish. Bimbimbap is a rice bowl filled with delicious vegetables, a fried egg on top, and a spoonful of gochujang. The Japanese version of bimbimbap pales in comparison to the real version because it doesn't have any spices. The fun part about bimbimbap is after you put in your scoop of gochujang, you grab your spoon and start mashing everything together. It is extremely satisfying, mashing all those vegetables and egg together. What's even better is watching everything turn red thanks to the gochujang. Once the mashing is complete, you grab a spoonful of rice, vegetables, and egg, and then stuff it into your mouth for a fun party of flavors. The chili sauce is always the prevalent flavor, but everything else is a close second and tasty. Chimitei's bimbimbap is by far my favorite bimbimbap. There is no hand holding for Japanese sensitive taste buds. This bimbimbap is pure Korean style. Spicy, delicious, and full of gochujang.

Korean BBQ

The final voyage in our Korean cuisine adventure was the Korean BBQ. We mainly order kalbi and bara. Both those meat plates came with fresh vegetables. The staff put a huge portable grill in front of us. As an appetizer, we were given freshly cut mushrooms that were brushed with a special type of oil. This made them gleam on the grill. Those mushrooms were excellent, but then it was time for the main event. The meat!
The bara was first to come, and we were given some green onions to go with them. We were also given a light, sweet sauce to dip our vegetables and meat into. The bara was so tender and meaty, and the vegetables added to its charm.
What really blew me away was the kalbi. That kalbi was everything I said about the bara and more. It just melted in your mouth and made you feel all warm and comfortable with every bite. My cousin loved it so much that he ordered another serving of kalbi. Grilling all that meat was fun, and whenever we had questions, the staff came over and helped. It will be a while before I can have Korean BBQ again, but when I do, I hope it is at Chinmitei.

My wife was happy and full. She really loved her chijimi. My cousin was about to go into a happy meat coma. As for me, I loved every single dish we ordered from Chinmitei. Unfortunately, my cousin will not be able to go back to Chinmitei for quite a while, but I am hoping Mrs. Ibaraki Eats and I are able to go back soon to enjoy some amazing BBQ and bimbimbap.

So if you are around the Akatsuka area of Tsukuba and are in the mood for some exceptional Korean food, why not give Chinmitei a chance? Who knows? You might see us there. Grilling some tasty meat while enjoying some fresh kimchi.
Enjoy!

For more information on Chinmitei, check out their Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/chinmitei/