Put down the corporate slop, pick up a delish Korean-style lunch bowl (before it’s gone)

When Janice and Kevin Kim launched Kim’s Korean Deli as a temporary stall at the Marrickville markets, their daughter Gabi was just six weeks old. It was August 2025, and the couple had just wrapped a 14-month corporate sabbatical, spent driving a van around Australia.

“It might sound cliche, but it opened our eyes to the world beyond Sydney, and with Gabi on the way we figured we might as well do something crazy,” Janice said. “We didn’t have any hospitality experience, but we wanted to start a business of our own.”

Kim’s Korean Deli draws upon their experience as CBD office workers, descending the elevator at lunchtime to buy what has become colloquially known as corporate slop bowls. These are takeaway salad bowls optimised for nutrition, with plenty of proteins and grains – the natural evolution of the Subway sandwich.

But Janice and Kevin wanted to do theirs differently, and to call their food corporate slop (even if that was the original inspiration) would be doing them (and you) a great disservice.

Rather, they have created a four-item menu of Korean-inspired rice bowls, using kimchi, charcoal-grilled meats (including wagyu, pork belly and spicy chicken), locally made tofu from Kim’s Enterprises (no relation) in Rydalmere, and bright marinades seasoned with sesame, soy and pear.

They were an instant hit with market-goers – so much so, after nearly six months of sold-out weekends, Janice and Kevin gave Kim’s Korean Deli a permanent home opposite the National Art School in Darlinghurst.

It’s a simple set up: a kitchen that opens to the footpath, exterior walls hand-painted with cobalt blue signage and Bad Bunny on the speakers. I count five sets of outdoor tables and chairs, four staff in the kitchen, and one baby overseeing it all from her counterside high chair, babbling away.

Gabi has remained an integral part of the venue’s story – harnessed on Kevin’s back during kitchen prep, greeting customers from the high chair, and now, crawling by Janice’s feet.

There’s also something about having a baby around that makes people smile, and Kevin is quick to build on those brief customer interactions. He greets a remarkable number of customers by name, remembers their orders and makes conversation while preparing their meal.

‘We figured we might as well do something crazy.’

And yes, the food is good. It starts with the kimchi, made in-house twice a week, available for retail sale, and featured in every bowl. The cabbage is pickled vibrant red, with gentle heat from the gochugaru (chilli powder) rub and a satisfying, briny crunch from the cheonilyeom (low-sodium Korean salt).

Each protein is available on a bed of white rice, brown rice or cabbage salad (or you can opt for half-half), priced between $14.90 and $18.90. The salad is bright, tart and textural. Ingredients change with the seasons, but today there’s finely sliced cucumber, pickled onions, cherry tomatoes, lettuce, pepita seeds and kale. The rice is an ideal al dente and the kale is chopped so finely it avoids triggering memories of Gwyneth Paltrow’s kale chip era.

It might be an odd thing to notice, but I can appreciate how everything is perfectly sized for a conservative mouthful. This is necessary, when serving a meal without a knife, to avoid awkwardly saw-chewing a piece of chicken in half, mid-conversation.

Chicken and pork belly are marinated for two days in a sweet-savoury glaze, then cooked over the grill. They’re tender, edged with a smoky char that holds up against the triple jab of acidity, salt and sweetness (the latter from pureed pears) in the dressing. The chicken has an added kick, but it’s nothing particularly intense.

Meanwhile, the wagyu is served in fine strips like you see at K-BBQ. It’s rich, soft, and seasoned with bulgogi sauce – an easy bestseller.

Kevin always has a batch brew of Ona coffee on the go, but you’ll also need to order one of their seasonal house-made fresh fruit sodas. The pear and cinnamon has all the crisp warmth of wearing the cosiest things you own on a winter morning, and I wish it came in a Big Gulp size.

Despite the inarguably delicious food, friendly and fast service and the viral social media response after their February launch, Kim’s Korean Deli hasn’t got it all figured out. In April, they started dinner service (menu unchanged), and to quote their own social media post: “No one came.”

Janice says they have two months to figure it out or face closure, so they’ve added a couple of new dishes to their repertoire: a warm, slow-cooked bone broth (sometimes chicken, sometimes beef) and $20.40 steak plate with gochujang butter.

Reflecting on their decision to jump headfirst into an unknown industry at six-weeks postpartum, Janice admits she probably wouldn’t recommend it – but it was the right choice. If not for Gabi, they might have never had the push to follow their dream.

“It really is because of Gabi,” Janice says. “I think we really wanted to bring her on the journey, and while it can be really hard, it means we get to see her every day. Working in corporate would just be a different kind of hard.”

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.