I first discovered via a London restaurant of the same name. I went there loads of times over the years before I left the city (here's my first and frighteningly brief review of the place). Everyone I've ever introduced to the joy of bibimbap (the dish or the restaurant) was an instant fan. Bibimbap (the restaurant, not the dish) opened a second restaurant, which closed in short order when the pandemic took away its City clientele. I remember walking past the shuttered restaurant during lockdown, wondering when the next time I'd be able to share a meal with people in a restaurant would be.
It ended up being a long time before I got to eat bibimbap in a restaurant again - years, in fact. I moved down to Brighton, where Korean restaurants are harder to come by and Korean restaurants that cater for vegans (or so I thought).
Then I discovered Soju, which describes itself as a 'Korean dining pub', has a whole section of Korean vegan dishes, including plant based versions of all the Korean classics. Want vegan japchae? That's there. Vegan spring onion or kimchi pancakes? They're available. Vegan tteokbokki? Yep, all good. And - joy of joys - there's bibimbap too.
We started off with vegan tofu and veggie dumplings, because vegan dumplings are always a good idea. What made these an even better idea was a) they were fried and b) they were covered in a spicy sauce that made them even more delicious.
And then we moved on to two more Korean classics - bibimbap for me, vegan Korean chicken for Mr Flickingthevs.
I mentioned before how much I love bibimbap. It's deceptively simple - some rice, some veggies, some tofu, but it all adds up to something wonderful. It's served in a hot stone bowl for a spot of theatre and so the rice at the bottom goes delightfully crispy and chewy. And there's the spicy sauce - a hearty, warming shot-in-the-arm of gochujang, served on the side so you can choose your own spice level. I whacked in all the gochujang, because why wouldn't you?
Mr Flickingthevs' fried vegan chicken was also a hit. The vegan chicken had a great texture and crisp-fried finish, and a small vat of lightly curried sauce to dip everything in.
There are a few other vegan Korean delights to flag up at Soju Melona are the ice creams of vegan creams: slabs of melon sorbet that's so rich and thick you wonder if something so good can actually be legal. There's also lots of different flavours of soju - the Korean spirit that gives the restaurant its name - on offer. I didn't know that the Jinro brand of soju is vegan, and I've taken great joy is making my way through their stocks.
Soju
135 Western Rd, Brighton and Hove, Brighton BN1 2LA
Phone: 01273 983482
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