Kaya Korean Food

Korean root

Very calm and delicious

Follow me on Instagram for more tips on where to eat really well in São Paulo: @eatnicely!nnKaya, in Bom Retiro, is a very low-key Korean restaurant, operating behind closed doors and having been around for decades—but only recently opened to the public.nnWith a menu that doesn't focus on traditional gogi-gui (Korean barbecue), it's a great place to delve deeper into this cuisine that's become popular but remains under-explored—both by the public and the restaurants themselves—beyond the grilled meat finished at the table.nnFrom the menu, written in Korean and translated with many errors into English, I ordered dish number 16. A more appropriate translation would be bulgogi jeongol—a shared stew cooked at the table with bulgogi (marinated beef). It costs R$250.00, and although the menu says it serves three people, it easily served four people who ate well.nnThe meat is served in a deep-flavored yangnyeom (marinade), with a sweet note. Because it contains sugar—which would burn on direct contact with the grill, making the meal bitter—they bring a homemade vegetable broth to pour around the edges of the grill. It also comes with dangmyeon (transparent sweet potato noodles, almost gelatinous in texture), which are cooked in this broth and also absorb the flavor of the marinade. It's incredible.nnBanchan dishes include baechu-kimchi (spicy fermented Swiss chard kimchi), myeolchi-bokkeum (tiny dried anchovies), sukju-namul (lightly seasoned bean sprouts), eomuk (fish noodles), baechu-geotjeori (lightly fermented fresh cabbage), gyeran-mari (rolled omelet), and godeungeo-gui (grilled anchovies).nnNOTE: They don't have Instagram and their address is: Rua Guarani, 158 - Bom Retiro.nnIt's definitely worth a visit!nn#eatnicely #eatnicelykaya #eatnicelysp

They no longer allow sharing a dish for two people, meaning that when two or more people come, you have to order a specific number of dishes relative to the number of people. This is absurd! Never again!

I go to Kaya regularly, more than once a month. The restaurant is great and very traditional.nI see a lot of people complaining about the service, so I have some advice: if you're a tourist, there are other options in Bom Retiro. It's a very family-friendly restaurant, and the owner is older, so... don't expect tourist service.nBut it's my favorite restaurant in Bom Retiro.