WanderWhim

Arirang

Kampala, Uganda

Korean & Chinese

Arirang is one of my favorite Kampala restaurants, and this is not just because I desperately crave Korean food on the nights I visit.

Arirang is enormous. They have a brightly lit hall chockablock with tables that are a quarter full on a good night. However, on the opposite end of the restaurant is a still spacious, yet less expansive, hall with rooms partitioned off for larger parties. While the point is to sit on the floor with a crowd of friends or family, I’ve sat in these rooms as a group of two and three and did not feel at all uncomfortable. The waiters traverse the space barefoot, closing the sliding doors behind them to allow for more privacy. While the isolation is an asset of sorts, this part of the restaurant rarely seems quiet. Voices from next-door rooms carry over in a steady hum often punctured with laughter. Most wonderful, however, is the background music of screeching, heart-felt karaoke. Private rooms are actually rented out for karaoke purposes, but that does not mean their wonderfully awful singing remains private as well. I love dipping into a plate of spicy, cold kimchi to the sound of full grown men with no musical talent belting out songs I know but can’t recognize.

Whim Rating:
A5	Q5	V5
AQV = 15	AQV =	AQV =
★ ★ ★ ★	★ ☆	#/6 stars

This restaurant is an ideal place for someone with a maddening hunger. The servings are incredibly large, particularly the appetizers. Not only that, but you get a good quantity of food for the price. I’ve never been able to finish everything I’ve ordered. This is partly due to the fact that the portions are so huge, but also because everything on the menu looks so tantalizing that I can never commit myself to just one dish. Indulgent ordering does not hurt the pockets at Arirang as it does at some restaurants. As I mentioned the quantities are quite generous for the price, so it is rare to finish a meal at this restaurant feeling guilty about how much you spent.

From the Bibimbap to the noodles lathered in a bean paste sauce (Jajangmyeon) I’ve never been disappointed in a meal at Arirang. The food is certainly up to par with my amateur, but growing, conception of Korean food. The appetizers are piled onto plates until they can barely fit. Such was the case with the dumplings, which will satisfy a craving, but are not the best dumplings I’ve ever had. There is something about a perfectly fried dumpling where the insides are soft, but not watery, and the outside roughened, but not overly crunchy or burnt. Arirang’s dumplings fell somewhere closer to the better end of the dumpling scale, but they did not have the essence of a pristine dumpling. Fried vegetables are another endless appetizer that overloads the stomach without you even realizing what just happened. While the vegetables are well battered (tempura style) and salted, a majority of the pickings are actually potatoes. So if you are not in the mood for a load of fried starches, you may want to avoid this dish. Every sprout, vegetable, and grain of rice in the Bibimbap was so warm and soothing that it quickly climbed the ladder in my mental list of comfort foods. If your mouth is itching for tofu, I recommend the Sundubu Jjigae (tofu soup). The chili in this dish deals a solid kick that tastes amazing with the soft, squelchy tofu. For those craving meat the fried pork is crunchy, plentiful, and as delicious as anything fried should be. There are also a number of noodle, rice, and soup dishes that come with different varieties of meat.

What I recommend: Most Korean food connoisseurs know this, but we all have our weaknesses. Ask your waiter for the Korean tea with your meal. It’s free.

Did you know: You can rent out private rooms for drunken and boisterous karaoke

Hours:	Home Delivery: No
Address: Plot 15 Kyadondo Road, Nakasero	Specials/Discounts:
Contact: 0414346777	Price Range: 10,000-30,000 VAT included
Directions: Arirang is located on Kyadondo Road in Nakasero. Go up Nakasero Hill Road and make a left onto Kyadondo Road.