KA YuMi

As a fellow Korean, I support Korean restaurants in the Bay (hence the 4 stars). But in my honest opinion, neither the food nor the service was good.
The boodae jiggae (military stew) was a mix of really cheap and low quality ingredients (and no, bacon doesn’t fix everything). Including the fact that they did not offer banchan (traditional korean side dishes) or rice, i would say this was the worst boodae jiggae I’ve ever had. The service also annoyed me. The boy with the bowl haircut, for instance, might have thought it was funny to call out people waiting outside by jumping the gun and exclaiming «(insert name) not here? Okay next». But the customers feeling like they were losing their place in line bc they couldn’t react quickly enough weren’t laughing. I cringed at the fact that I tipped the service… I only tipped because the girl server (who wasn’t even assigned to serve my «table») was attentive despite the rush hour… and bc I’m also Korean.
I think they could do a few things to improve the place. First, fix those ghetto looking menus. There are no good descriptions of the dishes, nothing much written in Korean, and seemingly little attention to the fact that the menus are old and falling apart. It was pretty odd that they would go back and forth with ml and ounces in the drink menu section (no consistency). Going thru the menu was challenging even as a fellow Korean brotha. Spell check wouldn’t hurt either (but that’s forgivable).
Second, cleanup that messy looking bar area! I was fine with not demanding a table to sit since the place was jam packed, but it was disappointing to see a cluttered bar with cheesy pirate decorations and loose soju bottle-​caps hanging from the ceiling. I think the counter area also looked dusty, which was a big turn off. I think it’s fine to be a family owned small business; customers are pretty forgiving of certain things. But, please, at least make an effort to look neat and get some second opinions when it comes to decorations.
On the bright side, the seafood pancake was very good. If nothing else, that wad pretty flavorful and crunchy.
As a Korean restaurant, i cannot recommend this place. The rating says 4-​stars (bc Koreans stick together, and I understand the importance of a good Unilocal rating), but I really meant to give it 2 stars at most.

Nice little korean joint tucked away in a plaza off of Fremont Blvd. This restaurant is in the same plaza as Cloverleaf bowling, so if you’re done bowling late, this place would be nice to grab a bite to eat. There is a huge parking lot, and even though it’s shared by the whole plaza, finding parking is relatively easy.
I ordered their stone pot Bibimbap, and it was quite tasty! Good variety of mix ins, and the rice got nice and crispy on the bottom of the stone pot. They give you a little squeezy bottle with the korean hot sauce. My friend ordered their fried chicken, spicy and sweet and I really enjoyed the glaze on it! The fried chicken also comes with fried rice cakes in it. There is also a small dish of complimentary pickled radish/​daikon (not sure), and I think it goes really well with the bibimbap, adds some acidity to the dish.
Their service was fast and responsive. They were quick to refill on water and on bringing out the food. I love how late theyre open till! A good place to satisfy any late night cravings.

I asked for most popular dishes and suggested Boodae Hot Pot with ramen (instant). That was a mistake!!!
Very salty, fat and unhealthy portion
Soggy fat Bacon
Balogna Sausage
Baloney
Ham soaked with spicy thick sauce and a few cabbage and tofu.
I give 4 stars for Service and 0 star for food.

If you order the fried chicken wings, know that you’re not just getting drumsticks and wings. You’re getting ALL parts of the chicken. So sometimes you’ll bite into a piece, and accidentally hit small bones or the underside of the chicken (that’s slightly bitter). It threw me off a little. We got the fried chicken plain with a side of soy garlic sauce. I like it this way because you can control how much sauce goes onto each chicken piece and dip your fries into the sauce too. Speaking of fries, sometimes you get rice cakes with the fried chicken and sometimes you get fries. I didn’t see the differentiation on the menu.
A new thing I got this time around was the Kimchi Japtang (soup) which I thought would be like Kimchi Chigae (stew). It’s very similar but the former has more stuff: kimchi, pork, tofu, dumplings, and onions. It’s sort of like hot pot at your table because there’s a strong flame that keeps it boiling. Having a soup with fried chicken is a nice balance. I would get it again for $ 15.

I recently discovered this place. The décor is very unique and quite interesting. The food is good, I came here 3x in a week because it’s that good. My sisters and I love trying new places and will only return if the food is good. In this case, it’s very good.
Love the garlic soy chicken wings. very close to 99 chicken’s favoring.

I would say I am a fan of this place! Good food, good prices (especially when you go with good company and split the bill), I like it! Plus my friends and I came on a Saturday night and surprisingly it wasn’t busy.
The food was good in my opinion. Now was it the best korean ever? Not too sure since I feel I don’t eat korean food THAT often to compare things to. But my group decided to go family style and a few items we got: Kimchi Fried Rice, BooDee Hot Pot with Ramen, and the 18 pieces of chicken. I thought this place was good. I’m a sucker for Ramen and this one had a slight kick to it. It was very filling already in itself but I loved it. KimChi Fried rice was good as well, along with the chicken.
Service was great as well. I like a good restaurant who comes by often to refill water glasses (Phở Restaurants, take note!). Nothing I can’t stand more when restaurants forget to bring water and on top of that, don’t bother refilling your empty glass. It’s like leave the darn pitcher already and I can do it myself. Food came in a timely manner as well. I mean it was busy but it wasn’t busy where there was a line out the door which was great for us.
Overal, I think I give this place a 5 stars. Good Food, Service and nice ambiance.

My friend and I ordered the seafood soup with noodles added, the spicy chicken feet and cheese corn. I really enjoyed the seafood soup and noodles as that really hit the spot on a cold night. It was yummy and the portion size was good. The soup did boil down a bit faster than I would’ve liked and I wish there was an egg in it. The spicy chicken feet was good too and the portion size was pretty big. I ended up taking the leftovers home. It had a good kick too it as it wasn’t mild. The cheese corn was ok. I thought I would’ve enjoyed it more, but I’ve had better. Overall, I would come back again.

AMBIENCE: More of a bar feel. Booths good for 6 – 8 people. Not very large, so you’ll likely have to wait. Sign outside says «Yumi,» and it’s across from Cloverleaf.
SERVICE: Waitresses attentive, friendly, and efficient. Drinks always refilled. Owner also spoke with us for a bit. First dish came out quickly, but others were quite staggered.
FOOD: «Steamed pork bacon» is large enough for 4 – 6. Make wraps with the cabbage, jalapeño, and garlic. The cabbage smelled off when the dish arrived, but we never mentioned it and my husband still ate it. Also got the spicy & sweet chicken wings and the ttukpoki. Both sufficiently spicy. Chicken wings crunchy. Ttukpoki seemed to be missing fish cake?
VALUE: Overpriced on some items, but fairly standard for a Korean place. Steamed pork bacon is a good value.
DRAWBACK: Check the produce. Always a pain when the first dish comes out 10 minutes before the others.

Best late night Korean food in the area, and probably one of the three best in the Bay Area generally. And it’s usually buzzing with a late crowd too.
So if you follow my reviews, you know I am biased towards braided dishes and stews. They just have the best Budae Jigae. Piping hot, spicy, and flavorful — I can drink that soup and eat that ramen all day.
Really fantastic chicken wings here too. Definitely the soy based flavored. It comes with fried mochi which is quite yummy.
Anyways. This is the place for stews, souju, and beer. Late night. Can’t go wrong here.

First time at Ka Yumi last night. I’m not a drinker so I don’t have much to write about the alcohol. We ordered 3 dishes: Sweet & Spicy Chicken, Corn Cheese & Cream Ttukbbokki.
Service won me over. Our server put his best effort to explain Cream Ttukbboki for us and even though the house was busy, he didn’t cut us off or rush us. The S&S Chicken and Corn Cheese was what I expected and I was happy with the flavors.
We both were pretty hesitant to order the Cream Ttukbboki b/​c it either turns out super heavy or not flavorful/​bland (?). We took a chance and it wasn’t bad. But this tip is for you Unilocalers who can’t handle «cream» anything but would like to try this dish.
HOW TO EAT CREAM TTUKBBOKI:
I watched a «Mukbang» (Food-​eating show) and they showed folks eating cream/​carbonara ttukbboki with soy sauce. They dipped the rice cakes into soy sauce. At first I thought it was really odd but I was curious about the taste. If you can’t handle cream/​carbonara/​whitesauce —ask the server for a small dish of soy sauce. We finished the ttukbboki & I was still picking up whatever vegetables were left on the plate and dipping it. I was surprised.
The first bite with soy sauce, I slumped back into my chair. OMG how could this taste SO GOOD. It’ll taste like pizza – delicious pizza. Your mind will be confused. «I can see that I’m eating Korean fusion but I have Italian flavors swirling in my mouth. WTH!!!»
The soy sauce didn’t kill the heavy cream flavor but balanced it out. Since Unilocal wont’ let me type in Korean: It «Jab ah jwuh» the heavy flavors” Kept that heaviness in check.
At the very end we asked for Kimchi to help «clean the heaviness» out.

Open late with good Korean food. The seafood pancake was large and they don’t skimp on the seafood! If you come here with a few people just order maybe 3 items and you’ll be okay for dinner. The portions are large but depends on what you order. Maybe if it’s just two of you, 2 items would suffice. I’ve been here a few times already and definitely pleased.

Ka Yumi definitely surpassed my expectations! After grabbing drinks, my friend and I were hungry and ended up here. Nearly everything on the menu looked appetizing, and the actual food served looked AND tasted better than I was expecting (see mouth-​watering pictures included in review)
We ended up sharing an appetizer and an entrée, which were both generously portioned and appropriate for the price range. If ordering individual entrees, the appetizer (beef cheesy fries) is good to share between 3 – 4 people, in our case, the 2 of us barely finished it while sharing the entrée we ordered (bulgogi japtang)
Beef cheesy fries — ⁵⁄₅. the fries stayed perfectly crunch underneath all the sauce (mayo?) and beef. The chopped jalapenos gave it an extra kick/​flavor and crunchy texture to the fries, while the bulgogi added a sweet taste and chewy texture. So perfect!
Bulgogi Japtang — Delicious soup with bulgogi, tofu, and veggies. I really liked the soup base (salty, but not too salty. super flavorful!), but the bulgogi in this dish were clumped together in huge balls/​clumps and made it very difficult to eat. We tried to «cut» them using the given soup ladle and our own spoons and it was still a struggle. Otherwise, the entrée was very tasty as well!
Overall, the ambiance was great and there wasn’t a wait at 9:30pm on Monday.
This place is easily one of the better Korean fusion places in town — I’ll be back to try some of the drinks and other entrees/​appetizers they offer!

It was «One of those days» at the office, skipping lunch & leaving around 9PM on a Tuesday STARVING… So many options in the SV (gotta love the «Open Now» filter on the app) & was overwhelmed with a plethora of (never before visited), bookmarked grinds en route to San Ramon…
In an effort to expand my options during the drive home, I took a pit-​stop through Fremont, opened the app & flipped a coin w/​Korean Fried Chicken (KFC) winning the toss… Though there were quite a few options in Fremont, seemed a majority of Unilocal Buds gave high praises for KA YuMi (which had far less reviews than some of the more established joints).
Waze then took me to a very familiar area, i.e.; Coach’s in the general vicinity (adjacent end of Fremont Blvd) & within the same plaza as Cloverleaf Family Bowl (Been over a DECADE since I’ve been to either spot, though without going into too much detail, memories are still quite vivid)… Don’t ask, cuz I’ll just plead the fifth…
Stepping through the doors nearing 9:30PM, house was relatively packed. Great, welcoming vibe w/​TV’s focused on Warriors vs Raptors (way back in the 11 – 0 days). Bar seating was open & I took a seat to browse the menu & watch the remaining minutes of the game. Flying solo, I was torn between the KFC & the Seafood Spicy Tofu Soup. Starving & in no mood to argue with myself, I of course opted for both… Server asked, «What type of sauce would you like? Mild, Medium, Spicy… OR… Crazy?» Crazy you say? Sounds like a challenge to me! Server literally did a double-​take asking, «Are you SURE you want crazy?» For me, that’d be like telling Brad Pitt to NOT look in the box. Curiosity was beyond piqued & I assured them there was no changing my mind…
Dishes arrived almost in unison, the Spicy Soup atop a glowing blue flame of cooking fuel. As I was snapping pics, another server passed & stated, «So you’re the one that got the Crazy sauce!» Hmm… Haven’t bit in YET, but they’ve sure hyped it up! Nice glaze, chicken chopped into drumette-​sized bits, sprinkled with sesame seeds & chopped scallions. First bite wasn’t too bad, gradually increasing in intensity after the second bite, then compounded exponentially from the spicy soup (not from spice, but from the sheer heat, temp-​wise). Sitting at the bar, the owner passed (likely noticing me wiping my now running nose) & playfully stated, «Coming into MY SPOT & asking for Crazy sauce huh?!» He was pouring a Sapporo from the tap (cool Samurai sword handle), laughed & asked if I drink. I smiled, nodded yes & he plops a frothy one in front me & stated «On the house,» then cheered w/​glasses clanking… DEFINITELY, my kind of joint! Owner was very cool/​interactive & funny, even offering to make my crazy sauce even crazier (no thanks!).
Fantastic service along w/​the food (Spicy Seafood Soup was OUTSTANDING) & they easily made a lasting impression (very much looking forward to my next visit). A rarity to just walk into a random joint (first time visit) after a hard day at the office (Sports on the tube), sitting back w/​a cold brew, some killer wings/​soup while bantering with the owner who obviously loved his job…
I’ll definitely be back, though will take the wings down a spice-​level next time around (maybe opting for an alternate sauce), NOT to tap-​out, but to give the taste-​buds a break… ;) Top this off with yet another WIN by the Dub’s @ (12 – 0) & the evening couldn’t have gotten any better…

If you’re from LA, ka yumi is like the super tame version of Gaam for late night hangouts with friends!
Beer + soju. Easy seating. Good food.
Great place to chill when you’re in Fremont!

I used the address from Unilocal on Waze to locate this place and it got lost?! LOL No matter, outside parking was full. The damn drivers just can’t drive or park around here! Someone parked so close to me, he just looked at me and walked away! The other just drove so slow but in the middle of the road! Really?! Not much for a wait inside the restaurant on a Wednesday night but it was full inside.
You have to wait for your table. The food was given pretty fast. The service here is a little slow once you get your food. This is why I only gave four stars. Good thing it was only my eldest daughter and I. The place is not much for large groups but it’s doable. While waiting for our food, we were entertained by the Korean music groups on a clear HD channel.
We ordered two mugs of soju cocktails of strawberry and mango flavors. Both were really good! We should have gotten a pitcher instead as its a little cheaper. We also ordered bulgogi jap jang soup. The portion is definitely for two people. This was very good too with dumplings, rice cake, bulgogi and veggies inside. We ordered the 8 piece soy garlic as well.
WOW them soy garlic chicken drumsticks and wings were deep fried, crispy and oh so good! Love the sauce as it was not too sweet but also just enough salt. My new favorite soy garlic chicken. Very close to my favorite place in NYC for soy garlic chicken! Score!
This will be my new hot spot to have drinks and wings and for a late night eat since they close at 2am! Yea!

Their fried chicken is essentially candied meat. Every bite has a crunchy, sweet exterior (and spicy!), but the inside is juicy chicken. You can order it by half chicken, whole chicken, or just wings! It also comes with little chewy deoks (rice cakes).
It’s great for dinner with the family or get together with friends. They have a variety of dishes, some great for pairing with drinks, or family style soups and meat dishes. We had the garlic gizzard, which was great with our beers. We also ordered the mussel/​clam soup and corn cheese. We weren’t sure if the soup was mussels OR clams, or mussels AND clams. The soup only came with mussels, no clams, in a salty broth enhanced with radishes and leeks.
They have a pretty extensive menu. If you’ve ever been to Porno Palace in Oakland, it’s very similar, but I think it might be a teeny bit cheaper. I’m definitely going to come back to try the steamed pork bacon.

This place is quite the hidden treat. I haven’t gone into this Shopping Center since I was a kid, when they used to have an Arcade…
Anyway, this place gets busy around Dinner time. And they appeared to be understaffed when we came in. People were always running around, and I saw someone actually trip. The service was slow in general, but I’m not knocking them down for this, cause they were damn trying. Wish they were nicer in general though…
The décor is as you’d expect from most Korean Bars. Not too bright inside, and a lot of drinks available.
The food was pretty tasty. Not the best Korean Food I’ve had, but there’s a slight twist to them as opposed to your usual Korean Restaurants. So first off, you’re not going to get an Ban Chan, so don’t bother looking for those. And the prices are a bit steeper than the already pricey average of Korean Food. However, they do give larger portions than most places.
All in all, they had some unique dishes that were pretty tasty, but the wait times and service has room for improvement. I’d probably come back and give them another shot. 3.5 rounded to 4 stars.

On Friday night we went and tried the recently opened KA YuMi. The location is is in a old shopping center and is filled with young people. The food is Korean pub food. All of the dishes are big and pretty good. We ordered the following:
Seafood tofu soup 4 stars lots of tofu with pieces of octopus mussels squid and tofu
Clam Soup 5 stars was excellent simple clams with ginger and green onion broth was great.
Garlic Chicken Gizzards 3 stars very tough big plate
Spicy glazed Korean Fried Chicken 4 stars crusty sweet and spicy glazed coating, but the half chicken was cut into unidentifiable pieces. Only the drum stick was a sure cut.
Limited beers on Tap. (Sapporo) Soju choices, No liqueur, Plenty of parking, Service is good. Good value.

I’m a huge fan of all these cool and hip places popping up in Fremont. My city really is up and coming!
Although located in a pretty dead plaza (minus Cloverleaf Bowling and Shanghai Noodle House), KaYuMi is really a diamond in the rough. This new restaurant is the go to place for some good Korean food and drinks. KaYuMi definitely reminded me of Tonight Soju Bar or Toyose in San Francisco.
Our group of six ordered:
— Half Order of Sweet and Spicy Fried Chicken: wowie, this is spicier than we expected. But the wings are glazed nicely, and the meat inside was juicy.
— Seafood Pancake: pretty standard
— Kimchi Fried Rice: this dish was the most meh to me. I think I can make better at home…
— Budae Hot Pot: yum! For $ 20, all of us got to have a delicious bowl of soup, ramen, spam, and other items!
— Spicy Chicken Feet: they’re not like the Chinese dim sum styled chicken feet, but we ordered it because it was on their best sellers list. It’s interesting!
Soju cocktails are $ 15 for a pitcher, and they’re refreshing and easy to drink. Just be careful because soju cocktails are creepers! ;)
This place is great for filling your belly with good food or just grabbing a drink with a friend. Besides booths and tables, they have bar seating. They’re also open until 2am, so it’s perfect for a late bite! (I mean, seriously, what other place in Fremont opens past midnight?)

My Unilocal elite best bud told me about this place and she wanted to go with me because she lived so close to it. Sadly, I ended up going with somebody else. She’s mad at me but it’s okay she can read my review and pretend she was with me.
This restaurant is located in the plaza where the Cloverleaf bowling alley is at. It is really dead in that plaza. It was sad to see. There was several empty stores for lease. When you drive by looking for this place in the plaza you can’t miss it. Its one of few stores open in that plaza.
We came here on a Tuesday around 5−6PM. It wasn’t busy at the time. The waitresses were pretty attentive. We had to flag them a few times for water and other things but they promptly resolved our requests. We ordered the following:
Beef Fries:
Fries, beef, cheese, and diced up jalapenos. Pretty good dish. The beef was pretty flavorful. The fries could be crispier.
Half Chicken (spicy & sweet):
There was about 7 or so pieces of chicken in there. They were pretty large pieces. Huge glazes of caramelized sugar around the meat. It was definitely flavorful. It had a good kick too and we asked for ‘mild’. I’m a little afraid to go any higher than that. It was pretty cool they provided a bucket to put bones in and also pickled daikon to clear and cool your plate down. This is a must buy dish.
Kimchi Pancake:
I really enjoyed the Kimchi pancake. When me and my friend got this dish we didn’t talk that much and just finished the pancake within minutes. The pancake was crispy and the kimchi flavor was there but wasn’t overpowering. I think this was my favorite dish out of the three.
Overall this place is great. I’ll be back again to try some other dishes with a large party. It isn’t really a the best place for dinner spot for 2 people early in the evening. You need more people and eat later at night so you can try more yummy food and drink more booze! For two people and 3 dishes we paid about $ 45. A little pricey but we had left overs and was extremely food afterwards.