Takeaway review: KimJi Korean, Preston

Uber Eats launched in Preston last year, bringing its brightly-branded cycle couriers to the city’s streets, complete with hulking green bags of takeaway food (and not woven baskets like the Hovis lad of yesteryear...)The delivery method is certainly more eco-friendly than a white van doing the rounds - and with online ordering via the Uber Eats site or app, there are a stack of local takeaways to choose from.KimJi Korean restaurant, which opened on Winckley Street last year, is one of the businesses signed up to Uber Eats, and there was plenty to choose from on their menu.You can choose a drop-down option when ordering to have the courier leave your food at the door, which made me sad to think you can now order and receive food without seeing a single human being! The chipper chap who knocked on my door was very friendly and told me I was his first order of the night (though not the last, judging by his bulky delivery bag). He arrived within the half-hour time slot I selected, and though the food wasn’t particularly hot, I wasn’t too bothered about having to pop it into the microwave.My other half and I shared a starter which was the highlight. The four bite-sized vegetable dumplings were encased in crispy, flaky pastry and full of flavour: even more so when dunked in the accompanying (salty but tasty) soy sauce.I hadn’t tried Korean food before, so we both chose mains from the recommended ‘popular choices’ section on Uber Eats.My beef bulgogi featured strips of beef cooked with garlic and onions on a bed of rice. There was lettuce to accompany it, which somewhat unusually came in a white paper bag (perhaps to stop it becoming soggy in the takeaway tub.) My partner had chicken bibimbap - cubes of chicken breast with sweetcorn, carrot and a fried egg on top. Confusion came over which sauce went with which dish as each were cooked dry with the sauces in separate pots (a bit disappointing as the food was supposed to be marinaded).But the quality of both dishes was good, and the spicy sesame sauce went beautifully with both meats. We didn’t need to order an extra portion of steamed rice as there was plenty included. With a £3.50 Uber delivery charge, the total bill came to £29 - the food was tasty but not enough to justify charging the normal restaurant prices for a takeaway.