EPIC. We stumbled across this place when a traffic jam diverted us off 476 on our way to the Poconos. Best Korean I've ever had. I'm not a connoisseur, but I've eaten my fair share of meals in K-town in New York and the valley out in LA. This bests them all. And the previous reviews attesting to Kim's warmth, grace, and hospitality are all true. She was absolutely lovely. I'm considering making the hour-plus drive from Philadelphia again just for another meal here. It's worth it. read more

This place is awesome. I make a point to have Korean food when I travel, most recently in Chicago. Went to 2 places rated higher than Kim and both were good but not better. Negative reviews about Kim's come from precious snowflakes. read more

I was excited to try this place after reading such good reviews but it left a lot to be desired. I went with 2 friends and we all got the bibimbap since it's usually a pretty safe bet. First of all, pretty much everything was microwaved and I think maybe only the egg was cooked to order. Secondly, there weren't any side dishes -- unless she counted the kimchi, salad, and pickled vegetables included IN the bibimbap, so there was really no way to adjust the spiciness level to your own liking besides eating around the kimchi. The salad, which was included in the same bowl as the bibimbap, included mango and pineapple, which tasted really out of place. The kimchi was way too salty but the beef (which wasn't even thinly sliced bulgogi usually found on bibimbap) was bland. On the plus side, Kim was super nice and chatted with us easily, though we were the only customers in the restaurant, so no idea if the reviews saying she was inattentive are true. Overall, I will not be returning to Kim's Kitchen. There are way better Korean places just half an hour away in North Wales. read more

Super excited to try this new spot for me! Exceptionally quick take out- can't wait to taste everything-

Was there a couple of years back first time trying kimchi and Kim made the experience so nice and lovely

I was really excited to find a Korean spot locally. I recently moved to the Lehigh Valley and Kim's Kitchen came up on my Google search. I decided to have dinner here with my son and we were both very pleased with the food. I love Korean food and was very satisfied with the dishes we were served. Although, I was expecting their traditional plating with all sorts of little veggies and kimchi sides before our meal, instead we were served dumplings and kimchi soup prior to meal. One thing I wasn't crazy about was the Korean pancake I ordered. It was really a little omelet instead of the fried dough like scallion appetizer. Other than that the food was great and the service was exceptional! read more

We go here for the kimchi. Authentic Korean food! Kim is a wonderful person and we love her.

What a fantastic one woman show. We'll be back and often. We called ahead and the owner even stayed open late for us. read more

Kim's Kitchen - Korean Near Me - Center Valley, Pennsylvania

We went to Kim's Kitchen last night and really enjoyed it. The restaurant is run by one woman. She cooks and serves for all four tables in the restaurant and she does it efficiently for a one woman show. Very impressed. Like most Korean restaurants, she brings out a lot of food. I ordered a Korean pork dinner and my wife ordered just the Korean Beef. There were at least six or seven different dishes that she brought out in addition to the entree. I was a little concerned at first, because the hot side dishes, including the dumplings were warmed in a microwave, but everything tasted great! The pork and beef we ordered were cooked to order and were EXCELLENT! For us it falls in line with some of the other great small restaurants in the Lehigh Valley. I'd put it on the same level as Mexico Lindo, Hana Sushi, Touch of Thai and Little Creek BBQ. read more

Absolutely loved this place. Kim was the sweetest lady and so personable and kind. Her food was so delicious. It came right from the heart. If I lived in this neighborhood I would be a regular here. read more

Kim's Kitchen - Korean Near Me - Center Valley, Pennsylvania

The food is exceptional and authentic. I had the beef Bulgogi, which was done to perfection. The true test for me was the homemade Kimchi. The best in the area and the second best Kimchi I've ever had. Which is a compliment since I fancy myself a Kimchi connoisseur. It's addicting. By the way, Kim is a sweetheart. This is food cooked with skill, tradition, passion and love. read more

Kim's Kitchen - Beef Bulgogi and Kim Chi - Korean Near Me - Center Valley, Pennsylvania

So incredibly happy to have found this place! Welcoming owner. Incredible service. Fresh authenic Koreon food. Accommodating for vegetarians. Houseade kimchi and fried Rice Cakes are so yummy! My new go to for comfort food! read more

Great food here, really loved it. The welcoming owner makes it feel as if you are at a dinner party she is hosting and not at a restaurant. While this might not be typical or perceived as a negative to some its not for me. Its a nice change that I happily welcomed. Besides the atmosphere the food was great and super reasonably priced. Would definitely come here again. Highly recommend! read more

Very good food and the owner was most gracious and funny. Give it a try, feels like home.

I don't even know where to begin to write about this hidden little gem! Tucked away on a sparse section on a relatively busy road (Rt 309), Kim's Kitchen is a delightful place where you can find authentic Korean food made and served by the equally delightful and sweet owner, Kim. It was a quiet weekday night and I found myself the only customer in the place. Mind you, the place was about to close within the hour. But that didn't affect my experience or the warm welcome I received by Kim. The menu is a bit deceiving at first glance. It has the typical deli meats and sandwiches you'd find anywhere, but look a little closer and you'll see hand-written signs for her Korean dishes. The selection isn't huge by any means but she easily makes up for that overwhelmingly in the quality and taste. She has the standard Korean-style chicken, pork and beef (awesome!) dishes, along with the kimchi and her almost addicting dumplings. Make sure you use the homemade dipping sauce. You may find yourself wanting to drink the stuff so as not to waste it. Friggin' delicious!! She also makes some very tasty soups as well. Try the seafood soup - think Manhattan clam chowdah, Korean style. Hours aren't very long here. Closes at 6:30pm from Monday through Thursdays and at 7:30 on Fridays and Saturdays. I'd call just to be sure though. I can't even begin to describe how much I enjoyed my eating experience here. The place is completely unpretentious and laid-back. It was like eating at a friend's mom's house. If you're game, she'll whip you up a complete, authentic huge feast . You just need to ask her. She won't even accept tips. Crazy! I think Kim found a very loyal, repeat customer in me. Thank gawd I drive by this place on my way home from work! Love it!!!! read more

I'm teetering between three or four stars on this one just because I don't know how to categorize this experience. The food is certainly better than any other Korean I've had in the area (what was the other one that closed years ago?) although the menu is kind of basic. You have your basic meat options and some appetizers like the seafood pancake and such. It's all very good, though. I liken the experience to more like going to the local Asian church and one of the moms there feeds you afterwards and then you play Goldeneye on the N64 with her sons (this may or may not have actually happened in my childhood). The food just tasted very homey... Heck, I think Kim (the owner) used the same mismatched set of plates and dishes that one Asian mom had.... Semi-update: My own (Asian) mother bought similar glass bowls that Kim's Kitchen likes to use. read more

We were thorougly disappointed with the food. The flavor profile isn't where it needed to be for authentic korean food. The food isn't cooked in front of you, rather it is reheated in a microwave. The service was also a huge disappointment especially after reading the reviews. For those who are frequent customers the service seemed companionable. They were all greeted with warm hellos and friendly chatter. They were waited on by the owner with overt enthusiasm--keep in mind there are only 5 or so tables in the entire venue. Once we received our food we were not approached at all until I finally asked for a glass of water after 10+ minutes of waiting. It seems trivial, but to be quite honest, if any one of these several things were not up to par, I would be more understanding. The combination of issues should certainly deter people from frequenting this place. I am a large proponent of supporting small businesses, but this is one place I will not be supporting. read more

We went to Kim's Kitchen with high hopes from all these great reviews. However our experience was not that stellar. Kim seemed very nice at first and brought us out all these awesome dishes like the dumplings, chop che, and tofu soup without us even asking her to. We then ordered some items off the menu, like the pork and beef. When the time came for the bill, she handed us an index card with a price written on it. We weren't quite sure how she came to the $70 bill with the items she had served us, and without an actual itemized receipt we asked her for some clarification. She then informed us that instead of charging us the individual prices of the items on the menu that we thought she would be, she had charged us the "dinner special" price because we had started eating after 5:30 pm. She became very curt about this and made us feel like it was our fault for not understanding, so we paid and left. To make things worse, we got sick that weekend with very bad stomach aches causing frequent trips to the bathroom, which made us think it was the food. With one person cooking and serving, it leads us to question the cleanliness of the plates, food, and even Kim herself walking back and forth from the kitchen to the dining area and just wiping her hands on her apron as she goes. Overall, the confusion over the menu prices and how Kim handled it as well as the unpleasant experiences afterwards most likely caused by food poisoning is why we will never be coming back here. read more

Kim is very nice and accommodating. The food is hit or miss but her bulgogi and chicken are usually quite tasty. Her kimchi is also a good option. She does her best to have fresh ingredients and make seasonal dishes. I've had better Korean but overall I'm impressed and will keep going back. read more

Kim is a gracious host with delish relishes, an interesting array of dishes and great service. I will go back for her exotic flavors.

The owner's enthusiasm and graciousness are 5 star worthy. But I found the paper plates and disposable utensils to be a bit unusual for a dine in experience. In terms of the banchan, everything was delicious: the fresh and pickled daikon were my favorites, fresh cucumber kimchee was just pickled enough, and the standard kimchee wasn't too pungent. Entree wise, the amount of food was just right and had some authentic Korean flavor, but fell a little short of the mark. Soup and dumplings were both delicious. Overall, I was glad to have found a Korean restaurant moderately close to the Lehigh campus, but wouldn't go out of my way to come here. read more

Such a unique place. Kim is a Wonder Woman as she does it all...and, with a smile. Food was delicious. Dumplings were phenomenal! Definitely go back. read more

Fantastic home made Korean meals, cooked to order. Kim is a gracious host who provides meals that taste like my Korean childhood memories come to life! It's hard to put into words the feeling of homeyness this place has! read more

Dumplings were very good. The pork bowl and beef dishes we chose were not great - pork was squishy and soft. The vegetable sides were not tasty, we couldn't even eat them. read more

Center Valley's hidden gem. I work in the Stabler Center and have driven past this place hundreds of times without thinking twice about stopping. Now I won't be able to help myself. The food is simply outstanding. I had never had Korean before and had an loved it. I had the Kim-Chi Tofu soup followed by a couple shrimp pancakes. Delicious. In terms of atmosphere, the name is not deceiving. It is pretty much a large kitchen with a handful of tables. Great service. read more

We've been going to Kim's Kitchen for almost 7 years now. Kim doesn't just make the food delicious and authentic, she is a wonderful host and has become our dear friend. She goes out of her way to stay open later for us because we cannot get there until 6:30pm. She makes us speciality drinks, sometimes lights us candles and every once in a while, we get lucky and our friend actually joins us. Not too often you catch Kim sitting. We tell all our friends about Kim's and will continue to do so.... Mitch and Donna read more

This restaurant was absolutely amazing! We never expected Center Valley to have such a treasure, but Kim's Kitchen could compete with any five star Philly restaurant. If you go to Center Valley, or to anywhere in a one hour radius, go to Kim's Kitchen!!!! We walked in (I did call ahead and Kim accommodated our early arrival) and the smell was divine. We began with the complementary spicy squid pancake; the squid was as tender as crab! The flavor was rich and delicious. Next, came the dumplings. Ahhh...the dumplings! Enough said. Our entrees (I had chicken and my husband had flounder) were perfect and filling. Kim also brought us extra noodles and soup that we gobbled up. Everything was perfect and Kim really makes you feel like a special guest. We watched as Kim picked fresh mint for our tea--truly a pampering experience! Plus, it was BYOB--so we got to bring our favorite wine and beer. We went en route to Desales Shakespeare Festival and Kim made sure we were at our play on time. Truly a wonderful and unique dining experience! read more

This is a friendly Korean deli where you can get meals, sandwiches, dishes to-go, and catering. I went for lunch and for $8 had a huge meal with: green tea, four vegetable dumplings, Korean noodles, soup, 5-6 little kimchi sides in bowls, the main dish of stir fried spicy chicken breast with rice, and a hot spiced pear cider. The food was all delicious. The owner is funny, efficient, and no-nonsense. She was running the whole operation by herself when we went. She seems to take a lot of pride in her food; I can't imagine you would ever be disappointed by the food here because she cares about your experience. read more

I love Korean food. Kim does everything herself, but she has a system worked out that keeps things coming at just the right pace. The menu is not large, but there is variation and what she does fix, she fixes well. The kimchi appetizers were excellent and are available by the pound for take-out. The soup, rice, and dumplings were also excellent. The main courses were good. Kim's Kitchen would be on my regular rotation even if it weren't the only Korean restaurant in the area. read more

I just had the most lovely time at Kim's. The lady there is so sweet. I ordered the spicy chicken and japchae for lunch. You also get 4 dumplings and a plate full of banchan. Absolutely delicious. It's located in a real house. The sign outside is easy to see. I so recommend trying this place. I am so sad I'm not from here and only here on business. I would come everyday just to talk to the lady who works there:) read more

Stopped in on our way through town. Found a delicious Korean lunch, like our mom would have made if we were Korean. I had seafood pancakes, 2 in an order, and each with a large shrimp, comes with 4 delicious veg dumplings. Hubby had bibimbap, which he loved and kept finding interesting additions, like apple, mango, and grape. Boys (10 & 14) each had Korean beef plates, one with noodles and one with rice and kimchi. My lunch was on the small side but I sampled from the other dishes and we had no leftovers and full tummies. The owner was very nice. Worth a diversion from your route. read more

Hey. Here is my simple answer for you. I am Korean and I won't go to Kim's again. I can cook way better than her seriously. It's not even real Korean ways to cook. Really disappointed read more

Kim, is such a sweet person I love her to death! This is the first time I have been to this restaurant but will not be the last. Kim was so sweet it's as if you're eating in a korean's person's home. Awh I loved it! I went with my mother and my mothers boyfriend it was interesting hearing about other peoples cultures. We ordered the korean chicken and beef I only eat chicken so I ate that and oh my gosh her dumplings I could eat those everyday. Although, I felt sick today and wasn't in the mood of the party her food was just light enough to heal my upset stomach. So if your looking for korean food in the area I highly recommend Kim. read more

Amazing food! Best Korean for a long ways. And it is certainly a food Oasis with not much else around.

The dumplings are outstanding as the Bi Bim Bap. A sweet and simple atmosphere and a great experience.

I went to Kim's for lunch with my boyfriend for the first time yesterday. It was great! You have to understand going in that it really isn't what you think of as a Korean restaurant. It's more of a deli. There is a small menu of Korean specialties, most of which are in a display case, along with regular deli items. The seating area only has a few tables and really feels like you were invited into someone's kitchen. Very casual. That said, I loooove Korean food, and Kim's bibimbap hit the spot. No hot stone bowl, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it really didn't matter... still delicious. We also got a whole bunch of tasty stuff we didn't really order. Lots of food for not a heck of a lot of money. On top of that, Kim is a real character. Definitely worth checking out for the food and the experience! read more

Thank you, Kim, for the fabulous dinner you provided tonight for my friend's birthday. And, the fact that you did it all on your own is amazing!!! The food was fabulous. We loved the soup with it's perfect touch of spiciness, and I'm not sure which appetizer we loved more: your dumplings and its dipping sauce, or perhaps your shrimp pancake? Kimchi? Can't decide. They were all so good. And the bi bim bap was perfect. We loved how every few minutes we'd be treated to another small-plate to savor, right down to the dessert: manju and strawberry. But what we loved most was your warmth and friendliness; and your willingness to stay open later just for us was so kind. It was like dining in the home of a treasured friend. Thank you and best wishes for success, always. read more

I've thought about it long and hard and Kim's is without a doubt my favorite restaurant in the Lehigh Valley. Kim is a passionate chef as well as the owner/operator/sole employee of her kitchen. She runs the whole show with a smile. She is kind, talkative, and very energetic. If you get her going and she's not too busy, she will happily educate you on Korean culture, geography, and language as you eat. Her kimchi has spoiled me and I am forever disappointed when I try kimchi at other restaurants. Her traditional kimchi is densely flavorful. But the best part is, she will swap out other base ingredients depending on what is in season, and she always serves at least three varieties of kimchi for the whole table to sample as part of any meal. Her pear kimchi is probably my favorite, but she'll only serve it when she can get fresh Korean pears from a local orchard. Kim makes everything fresh to order and is extremely willing to customize. Her restaurant is EXTREMELY vegetarian friendly. I am vegetarian and I am always stuffed and satisfied when I leave. I recommend the kimchi bokumbap. Of course, there are many meat dishes to choose as well. There's a menu but I often ask Kim to just cook what she feels like and I am never disappointed. She often surprises me with off-menu dishes depending on her mood. She also has traditional American/Italian deli options for sit down/take out but you are doing yourself a disservice if you don't order from her Korean menu. I'm telling you. If you're like me and you're not Korean, you probably have a friend or family member who is unwilling to try this food because it is something new to them from another culture. Bring them along anyway. They can have Kim's potato salad if they want. I'm sure it's excellent. But not you. Taste what makes Kim's one of the most special food experiences in the Lehigh Valley. I'm going to leave a "tip" about this but it's worth mentioning here that Kim books the building and her cooking services for private parties and events at a reasonable rate. I did this once and it was so much fun. read more

Sweetest lady in the world, she made sure our basketball team always had food when we came over after practices. I would eat here everyday if I could. read more

Kim's Kitchen, on Rt. 378 North in Center Valley PA, is my favorite lunch spot in the Lehigh Valley! Owner, Kim, is a fantastic cook and a vibrant, energetic personality who serves up the best Korean food this side of Seoul! Kim's homemade kimchi is superb and better than any kimchi I've had anywhere (and I've tried a lot). Kim is renowned for her vegetable dumplings and her fantastic marinated chicken and pork. She also makes excellent Korean dishes like bibimbap, bulgogi, Korean pancakes and more. Her kimchee soup is my personal favorite. Kim's Kitchen is pleasantly casual and Kim personally waits on her customers. Prices are very reasonable and her food is the best! Kim's Kitchen is open for lunch on weekdays and Kim is also in great demand as a caterer for private events and parties. read more