Ask for a side menu at KPOT and you will get a confused look. There is no mac and cheese, no fries, no coleslaw and nothing to order à la carte. Sides at an all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue mean two entirely different things: the banchan the staff set on your table for free, and the vegetable and noodle list that comes with the hot pot. Both are included in the AYCE price, and most first-timers underuse both.
The banchan
KPOT sets a small banchan selection on every table and refills it free. It is typically four dishes — kimchi, seasoned bean sprouts, pickled radish and a cold cucumber dish — served in shallow saucers rather than bowls. The exact lineup varies by location; this is not a fixed printed menu item, so what lands on your table in Philadelphia may not match what lands in Houston.
Ranked by what they actually do for the meal:
- Pickled radish — the most useful thing on the table. Cold, sharp and sweet, and it resets your palate between rounds of pork belly better than anything else there. Ask for a refill early.
- Kimchi — eat some cold, then put a few pieces on the grill. Grilled kimchi alongside samgyupsal is the classic pairing and it costs you nothing to try.
- Cold cucumber — the lightest of the four, and the one to lean on if you are running the spicy miso broth.
- Seasoned bean sprouts — pleasant, forgettable, fine in a lettuce wrap.
Banchan is refilled at no charge. It is also the one part of the meal that is genuinely free of the all-you-can-eat calculation, so unlike the rice and noodles, filling up on it slightly is not the house winning.
The hot pot vegetables
This is the real side menu, and it is all included: enoki mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, napa cabbage, baby bok choy, firm tofu, sweet corn, lotus root and kabocha pumpkin. They go into the pot rather than onto the grill.
| Vegetable | Time in the pot | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Enoki mushrooms | 1 minute | Best in class. Order every round |
| Napa cabbage | 3–4 minutes | Sweetens the broth as much as it feeds you |
| Shiitake mushrooms | 4–5 minutes | Deepens a mushroom or original beef broth |
| Baby bok choy | 2 minutes | Stems in first, leaves last |
| Kabocha pumpkin | 6–8 minutes | Order it in round one or it will not be ready |
| Lotus root | 6–8 minutes | Stays crunchy. The most interesting texture there |
| Firm tofu | 3 minutes | Soaks up whichever broth you chose |
| Sweet corn | 5 minutes | Skip it. It is filler and the house knows it |
The noodles, which are not sides
Udon, glass noodles and ramen are included and they are the most dangerous items in the building. All-you-can-eat restaurants put cheap carbohydrate in front of you for a reason. Order noodles in the last round, into a broth that has had an hour of ribeye, meatballs and mushrooms in it, and they are one of the best things you can eat for $32.99. Order them in round one and you have paid a premium to eat noodles.
What is missing
Two honest gaps. There is no dessert included at most locations beyond soft-serve or shaved ice where it is offered, so do not plan on a sweet finish. And there is no à la carte side ordering at all — if you want something specific, it either exists on the included lists or it does not exist. Everything in the full KPOT menu and price breakdown is either included or a premium add-on, with nothing in between, and the sauce station is where you make the banchan and vegetables interesting.