Jinmi Restaurant

there specialty is Korean sausage and pig feet, which food is pretty good. Other Korean foods are average or below, there are better place to eat Bibimbop or soft Tofu then here. I don’t care about appearance as long as food is good. So if you like Korean sausage or pig feet this is the place in Seattle

I’m usually pretty generous with the star ratings. But since I enjoy Korean food very much, I’m rather picky. Nonetheless, this will be a more than adequate review.
I’m not much of a fan of Korean BBQ. I do, however, love bibimbap. And I LIVE FOR sundubu jigae (soft tofu soup). So when I chose a Korean restaurant that didn’t specialize in BBQ, I chose Jinmi because it’s close to where I’m living at the moment, and everyone here on Unilocal seems to have enjoyed themselves there. I also chose it because I thought that they would serve very good sundubu jigae.
I was right.
As at any Korean restaurant, the sundubu jigae came in a stone pot. I ordered it with kimchi, among the pork, beef and seafood options they have. Even though I ordered it with kimchi, there are bits of seafood (cod roe and clams), which is standard for an authentic sundubu jigae, and was perfectly fine with me. And AUTHENTIC is the operative word here. What I particularly like about most Korean restaurants in the area is that they don’t dumb down the true flavors of their food for the Western palate.
I had been feeling under the weather, so this particular sundubu jigae did the trick in warming me up, and filling me up as well. The spiciness and the saltiness of the seafood bits was perfect, and not too overpowering. The waiter was nice enough to also bring a refrigerated carafe of water to my table in the event that a bite or two may have been too much. (They weren’t. I’m just a big water drinker by nature.)
Now comes the part where I impart my disappointment. The banchan (side dishes) were what kept me from giving Jinmi five stars.
I was given five side dishes; cabbage kimchi, radish kimchi, burdock root, bean sprout salad, and an ordinary salad. The flavors of the first four were wonderful, but the flavor of the last was ordinary. In fact, I’ve never been given only a plain salad as a side dish at any Korean restaurant.
Since this was my first time at Jinmi, I really don’t know if the change the number of, or the variety of, banchan each day. I dined alone so maybe if I had been with more people, the amount and selection would be bigger. But I know that further north on Aurora, there are places which offer a better amount and variety of banchan, and I’ve eaten alone at those places as well.
Nonetheless, the main focus for which I went to Jinmi, the sundubu jigae, was very good, and I would definitely go back at a later time. Perhaps I’ll try the bibimbap then.

Soon dae here is very good. I tried soup on a separate visit, but it was really bad. Stick tot he soon dae, no prob.

Great place to get your Korean blood sausage and pig’s feet fix! For the amount of food you get, it’s very affordable. The restaurant doesn’t have a nice décor, but the food is so great that I don’t even care. It’s usually dead so the service is fast and great.

Great food (had the Bulgogi) and very friendly staff. I will definitely come back.

When I first arrived in the parking lot I was thinking to myself, «Where in the hell did my friend take me to?!» But as they warn, don’t judge a book by it’s cover. Jinmi may be lacking décor but the food does not lack yummy-​ness. I live by the U-​District so I know what not good Korean restaurant food tastes like, but I never really had good Korean restaurant food until I came here.
I ordered some spicy beef stew and my friend ordered the soondae. At first I was hesitant to try the soondae but the more I tried, the more I liked it. I mean, looking at it is pretty intimidating. The spicy beef stew was delicious! I needn’t say more, you’re just going to have to eat it yourself. The side dishes here are ok, beware of the jalapeño side dish if you are not a spicy food person. Overall, I left full and happy for only $ 20. I’d definitely give this place another visit when I’m fiending for Korean food.

Don’t judge the Aurora 99 strip too harshly folks. There is actually quite a wonderful smattering of very decent Phở and Korean restaurants that lie in wait for someone to find.
Discard the ghetto-​like building and walk on into a small Korean mom n’ pop shop ready to serve some spicy kimchi n’ bulgolgi.
Though it took our food awhile to arrive, I was surprised at how voluminous the dishes were. The pigs feet were tender, a bit lukewarm and enough for 3 people. I kid you not! The banchan was at best a mix of okays; nothing really outstanding and the kimchi was actually a bit on the sour side. If I were to come back I would be sure to give the Bibbim Bop a turn.
Decent eating, large portions, but nothing amazing outstanding.

Don’t judge this place on appearances! The food here is actually really good and well seasoned. I highly recommend the Stone Pot BibBimBop! The Korean Tofu is also decent. Definitely above average, but nothing special. I would come back for the non-​soup dishes for sure!
They deserve the business and if the 5-​Star rating helps them with that, then here it comes!

OK, so we weren’t brave enough to try the blood sausage or pigs feet, but the rice cakes and the kimchi tofu stew were both outstanding. The service was great, and the price is very reasonable. There is no BBQ here, but the food is really great, fresh, and hot, hot, hot. Make sure you order the Korean specialties, you can get teriyaki anywhere.

I’M FLOATING!!!
There was no atmosphere here, so not a good date place.
But the food and service are really good so my better half and I will be back.

Wow! great Korean food. Mind you this is not Korean BBQ, so if your looking for that, move along. But if you are looking for Jok Bahl and Soon Dae, pork hock and Korean sausage, this is the stuff. Take a couple/​three of your friends and order the first item on the Korean food menu (not the teriyaki menu), it’s also on a photo on the wall as well, you get a full set of stuff, including soup and sides as well. My wife who has been to Korea, said this was the most close to authentic that she has eaten here.

Very yummy dwang jeong chigae (bean paste stew) and good O jing O (squid). Went here for lunch and skipped the teriaki menu for the Korean stuff. The side dishes are so-​so, with less than stellar kimchi. However the mains were very good.
For less than 20 bucks you can get a good hot Korean meal that is very similar to what you would get in Seoul. Service is pretty friendly and the crowd is largely Korean (meaning you will have at least one guy who talks really loud into his cell phone during your meal)
Be careful parking in front of the restaurant, backing out onto Aurora can be a little tricky.

Even though this place has undergone a change to a teriyaki, the food is still the same. I LOVE their spicy chicken!
They are always very friendly and the food is just like home!
Go check this place out!

Trotters and Boudin Noir!
Okay, so Jok Bahl and Soon Dae translate to Pig Feet and Blood Sausage, why does everything sound more appealing in French?
This little shack is one of those places I wonder how they stay in business? Even more curious is if they actually have a liquor license?
That aside, the pig feet is bomb. I believe they’re steamed and then sliced and served up with some lettuce, fermented garlic soy bean paste, jalapeño’s, a radish/​pear spicy slaw with oysters and some other side dishes.
The blood sausages are tasty here as well. Steamed and sliced, you just dip them in a little salt and proceed to think about anything else aside from the fact that you’re eating blood.
Prices can be a bit steep, but you gotta pay to eat at this specialized restaurant. It’s usually just drinking snacks here. If you’re going for dinner, best to go a bit earlier before the places gets packed with drinkers.
Or you could go late and start drinking. I can usually destroy ridiculous amounts of pork and blood sausages when drunk.

only place i go to eat soon dae (korean blood sausage) and then hit up the karaōke bar right next door.

this is the penultimate hole in the wall as far as i’m concerned. it’s on aurora by 145^th and is a stand alone shacky hole in the wall. i would never have gone inside-​but my roommate raved about their beegee hot pot. so i had to try.
i think of their bee gee (a soybean grainy stuff that they add to a dish that is really yummy) because my sister ordered it yesterday when we ate korean at hmart. her beegee sucked compared to my memories of what jin mi used to give me.
i dont know if the same owners/​staff are still there, but i had many great korean meals there without fuss, muss & quick service.