Restaurants

Jee Cee Neh is surprisingly sophisticated given its suburban location, set among grocers and hairdressers on a residential New Malden street. The owners have quite a flair for interior design; the long dining hall is lined with dark-wood barbecue tables, and a modernist mural of green stripes runs along one wall. It’s upbeat, bright and inviting – accordingly, it is packed with Korean families most lunchtimes. Prices seem high, but portions are huge. Our bowl of yukkaejang (a rich, chilli-infused broth of beef shreds, egg and green onions, with a kick that a mule would be proud of) could easily have fed two. We barely had space for the main course: tender belly pork fried with chilli and ssam jang (fermented bean paste). Enormous jeongol stews, served bubbling at the table, seem the dish of choice for locals. Korean barley tea comes free with your meal, but the drinks menu runs to wine, beer, and lemon and cucumber soju (rice wine). Highly recommended.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2009