Mika

I’ve been here a few times for lunch but never for dinner. The first few times the office called in advance and so we had a special lunch that was actually on the dinner menu. So I’ve had the chance to try both menus but limited.
The place looks run down and awful. It’s right across the metro stop Van Boshuizenstraat. On the outside it’s even worse! It’s a triangular standalone building with a roundish side. It’s across BCC on one side and Kruidvat on the other side. Is it an abandoned building?! Is it a community center?! No! It’s a restaurant! And they’re open from noon to 2 PM for lunch and from 6 PM for dinner!
And guess what?! The food is pretty good! Amsterdam has a few, very few, Korean restaurants but they’re not owned by Koreans. They are more fusion restaurants like Yokiyo which is supposed to mean «over here» but they spelled it wrong since it should be «Yogiyo». Anywaywho. The other real Korean restaurants, where all the Korean expats go to, are deep within Amstelveen. Mika is at the edge, close to the VU (Free University) which in turn is close to the World Trade Center. So it’s technically still in Amsterdam.
I highly recommend you come here in the short two hour window and try their lunch menu. Per person you pay € 10 and before anything else, when you sit down, you immediately get a glass of water! That’s so very Korean. The Jjambbong or Jjamppong (however you wanna spell it) is highly recommended by any Korean I know who regulates the place. No, this is not Kim Jong Il’s nicer cousin. Jjamppong is Korean spicy seafood noodle soup! Koreans like to eat spicy food and by Dutch standards, this soup is very spicy. By my standards, I don’t even sweat yet when eating this awesome dish.
They also have Jjajangmyun or jajangmyun or jjajangmyeon or however you wanna spell it! Jajangmyun is a noodle dish where the noodles are sautéed in black bean sauce. Sounds weird? It’s not. It’s awesome.
Extra white rice and side dishes are always free and unlimited.
By Korean standards, the side dishes you get here are fairly limited but the ones you do get are good!
I’ve tried their Bibimbap and it’s actually quite delicious! Bibimbap is my favorite Korean food and it’s very iconic, actually. It’s steamed white rice with several seared vegetables and mushroom strips on top, some marinated fried meat (usually beef mince or chopped steak), one fried egg on the whole lot and some spicy pepper paste (gochujjang). You’re supposed to mix the whole bowl before digging in. I love it. However, they don’t have this dish on their lunch menu, unfortunately. So definitely try it for dinner!
The place is always filled with Koreans around lunch time. They also have a few Japanese dishes for lunch so there are the occasional Japanese people who visit for lunch too but in my observation they too order Korean dishes because Korean food is amazing. This is a fact. It has been scientifically proven. Don’t look it up. Just believe me.
Anyway, Try the lunch! it’s only € 10 with unlimited free rice and side dishes. Then work your way to dinner.