I’ve tried a lot of cuisines in my time and have always been a huge fan of Asian food – but one thing I’d not really had the chance to try much of (until recently) is Korean cuisine.
Apart from one trip to a Korean restaurant abroad about ten years ago, where I had probably the most famous Korean dish, Bibimbap, I’d never really tried Korean food.
So when I saw that a Korean takeaway had opened up right here in Grimsby, I was really excited to give it a go.
Based in the kitchen at The Farmhouse in New Waltham, Mandu Guys launched late last year and serves up an array of Korean dishes, for delivery or collection only.
Browsing the menu on Just Eat one chilly weeknight, we decided to go for the Meal Deal for Two. For £32.95 (not including delivery fee and service charge), we had the option to choose from mandu (Korean dumplings) or fried chicken, served with crispy chicken fried rice and sauces of our choice, along with a small portion of Kimchi, a traditional Korean side dish (banchan) consisting of salted and fermented vegetables.

(Image: Grimsby Live)
As part of the meal deal, we had a choice of either the beef bulgogi mandu or fried chicken, and was planning to get one of each – but unfortunately the app said the fried chicken wasn’t available.
With that we ordered the beef bulgogi mandu, which is essentially dumplings filled with thin and marinated slices of beef. I went for the sweet and spicy Hot Jang sauce, and my partner went for the Ssamjang Mayo.
The food was served within the hour, so we popped a Netflix show on and dug in. Dipped in the spicy sauces, the mandu (Korean dumplings) were very enjoyable – the dumplings were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and the filling was unique to anything I’d ever had before.
I think I probably would’ve preferred the chicken filling, because the beef just didn’t quite hit the mark for me, but this option wasn’t available to select on the app.
The fried rice was garnished with sesame seeds and sliced spring onions and had that lovely tang of soy sauce flavour, without being too overpowering. The crispy fried chicken served alongside it was probably my favourite aspect of the meal, and was just heavenly when combined with the kick of the spicy sauces.
For anyone who’s a fan of Asian cuisine, I’d definitely recommend Mandu Guys just to try something a bit different. It wasn’t my favourite takeaway I’ve ever had, and I wouldn’t order the beef bulgogi again as I just found the texture and flavour a little odd – but that aside, the other elements of the dish were tasty.