Just Open: White Kimchi, Fitzroy

Hot stone bowls. Those three words should be enough to get you into Smith Street's newest fast-informal Korean eatery. For one shiny dollar you can get your bibimbap (that staple dish of rice topped with various pickles, meats and a fried egg for chopping and mixing together) served in a traditional dolsot (heated stone bowl) so your lunch comes out sizzling.

Korean-born owner James Lee has a background in industrial design and has created a great space. It's a tidy little room of polished concrete with bright-coloured panels set in brackets and hand-carved wooden stools shaped like old-fashioned
tractor seats. There are also tables outside if you want to embrace some al fresco eats and beers over summer.

The menu is fairly simple, focusing on hot pots, rice and noodle dishes, although the accompaniments extend beyond your typical spicy beef or pork bulgogi to include seafood and vegetarian options. You can get a lunchbox of rice with baby octopus fried in a spicy sweet sauce, served with shredded cabbage salad, dumplings and fried tofu in a pretty lacquered two-tier box for $17. The seafood kimchi pancake comes packed with enough fermented cabbage and protein to count as a whole meal. They're also serving Korea's other greatest gift to eaters: cheesy rice noodles and fried chicken.

117 Smith St, Fitzroy. 03 8394 3826. Web facebook.com/WhiteKimchi