JinMi Korean Cuisine — Restaurant in Plano

Great little Korean spot! So far everything I have tried in this little shopping center has been a win, and JinMi is yet another little slice of culinary heaven hidden away in a nondescript strip mall. Upon entering the restaurant it seems a bit small and dated, but don't let that stop you from finding your way to the counter to order. The older gentleman behind the counter was busy getting orders together to go to tables and for take out, but got to us before we had even decided what to order. Thankfully he cheerfully told us to take some more time and he went back to work putting orders together. We decided what we wanted and he quickly took our order telling us to sit wherever we liked.

We picked a table near the front, gotta get the window seats for better pictures you know. It was a pleasantly short wait before our appetizer of fried dumplings came out, with a dipping sauce of course. Those dumplings might have had the best fry ever too! Crunchy and light, not oily at all, and the filling was delicious, the accompanying sauce was light, sweet, salty, with a hint of citrus, and a perfect accent to the dumplings.

The seafood pancake was fabulous. Maybe, just maybe my favorite item we ordered. The pancake had a great consistency, not too light, but not dense, just right to carry the generous amount of green onion, and seafood mix. Every bite was fresh, and flavorful, the squid and octopus (I'm pretty sure it was both) had both perfect texture and taste. The dipping sauce was the same as for the dumplings, and I found it to be a great accompaniment, especially with a little of the gochujang to give it a pleasant kick.

The Bulgogi was cooked well, the flavor was as you would expect, and thankfully not drowned in the sauce, allowing the beef flavor to come through nicely. Some places serve Bulgogi floating in the marinade to hide the flavor of inferior meat, this is not one of those places. I enjoyed it with a little gochujang and some of the accompanying pickled and fermented veggies, the sprouts, and zucchini in particular as they had a drizzle of sesame oil that really tied it all together.

The Japchae was very good as well, the noodles had a lovely springiness that you expect, and the flavors were once again spot on. There are vegetables and meat, the menu says noodles with vegetables, but there is some of that wonderful Bulgogi beef in the dish as well.

I would love to tell you that I found the hot stone bowl bibimbop delicious as well, unfortunately my daughter devoured it with the voraciousness of a wild thing. My wife did get a bite out of it, and said that it was, "really good", sadly I am left taking her word, and the fact that my daughter normally eats very little, as indicators that I definitely need to order that on my next visit!

Overall, this spot is definitely going to see my business again, and again. We are a family of four, with three large appetites, and one nibbler, but even the nibbler was cleaning plates, or bowls as it were, at JinMi. Y'all come...

Absolutely LOVE this place for lunch. It's a small little store tucked away in the middle of a shopping center -- right between a questionable pharmaceutical compounding facility on the left, and a Pho joint on the right.

The staff here is friendly, though they speak extremely limited English. Now would be a good time to bust out that Korean drama and learn a few basic phrases like: "Can I get more water?" "I'll have one of [insert food here], please!" Otherwise, be prepared to speak English with a Korean accent. It helps. Sort of.

Anyway, the reason why I love Jin Mi so much is because of the following reasons:

1. They have a wicked lunch special that goes from 11pm-3pm Monday-Saturday, that recently expanded!
2. It's so darn cheap! $5 for an amazing meal!

You get to choose from a lunch portion size of Seafood Tofu Soup, Beef Tofu Soup, Fried Rice, Fried Mackerel, and Spicy Sauteed Squid. (I apologize for not knowing the Korean names -- I just didn't want to butcher them). I've had everything on their lunch special menu except for the Fried Rice, and everything else is spectacular.

The Seafood Tofu Soup (Soonduboo?) is by far my favorite thing on that menu. They bring a boiling bowl of soup stocked with tofu, squid, shrimp, and a poached egg. Absolutely perfect for cold weather. It also comes with a bento box of rice and an assortment of sides. Definitely filling. This dish is absolutely delicious!

The Beef Tofu Soup is similar to the above, except that it has pulled beef in it. I would have thought the beef would be overcooked, but boy, was I wrong. Absolutely spot on. Still tender and still flavorful. Well done, guys. Well done.

Next up, I'd get the Spicy Sauteed Squid. It comes in a bento with those side dishes, but the main dish is really what's worth writing about. The squid isn't too rubbery and is accompanied by an assortment of vegetables, all expertly flavored in their spicy (yet somehow kind of sweet) sauce. Love it.

Lastly, the Fried Mackerel is very well fried. The skin is crispy without coming off as having an excess of oil. There are bones in the fish, so be careful. Though if you chew well enough, the little bones can be eaten. I think it adds a nice texture to the fish!

Overall, for $5, you can't really go wrong. Better than going to the Wendy's and getting a #3 combo, I can tell you that much. During the weekdays, this place fills up real quick, so...

Lifelong residents over the age of 30 in Plano like myself know this strip mall used to be the "China town" in Plano. Jin Mi, Pho Que Huong and Taiwan cafe were there. The Dollar General used to be a asian grocery store, and if i recall correctly the Christmas warehouse or next to it used to be a Discovery Zone which was a kids play place like Kid Mania. Basically this strip mall is old and used to be one of the few places in Plano to get Asian food that wasn't Americanized Chinese takeout.

I used to eat at Jin Mi a lot and while it is just ok, it has suffered the same fate as Pho Que Huong next door. The food is decent and consistent but there are just so many better options around that have popped up in the years since this placed open that Jin Mi has sort of achieved average ness, now that it doesn't have a monopoly on Korean Cuisine in Plano. Much like Pho Que Huong next door is to Vietnamese food , Jin Mi is a gateway to the world of Korean cuisine and worth a stop for lunch if your in the area. But I wouldn't drive out of...