Tucked away in a small Redmond shopping mall is an eatery serving up some tasty "KFC," as some of the locals call it.

This isn't the Colonel's Southern fast-food chain with a secret recipe locked up in a vault.

It's Stone Korean Restaurant, which opened just a few months ago, and has been gaining a following for their Korean fried chicken.

The fried chicken is lightly battered and seasoned delicately with "finger-licking good" Asian spices. It can be ordered coated with a thick, sweet and spicy sauce or simply plain.

Stone is also noted for its tofu soup, which came bubbling to our table and is served nonspicy, mild, medium, spicy and extra spicy. Choose from 13 varieties of tofu soup stuffed with a choice of kim chi, vegetables, pork, beef, dumplings, fish roe and seafood.

The menu: Prices are somewhat on the higher end of Korean fare, but you won't be disappointed. There's a wide range of appetizers (some that are large enough for a meal) including hot chicken wings that get rave reviews. On the main menu is traditional BBQ like kalbi and bulgogi along with bibimbap, and cold buckwheat noodles or sauteed dishes. The lunch specials are moderately priced, and range from $8 to $11.

What to write home about: The crispy seafood pancake was stuffed with baby shrimp, calamari squid, baby octopus and a tangy dipping soy sauce. The stone-pot rice was a complement to the small side dishes of cabbage, seaweed and daikon kim chi, an Asian potato salad and bean sprouts lightly seasoned in sesame oil and spices. A 12-plus-piece order of marinated Korean fried chicken was more than enough for our family, and be prepared to bring home leftovers.

The setting: Modern décor with brightly painted beige and brown walls adorned with Korean characters. There are about 25 tables and ample seating.

Summing up: Four of us had more than enough food with the seafood pancake ($13), gyoza ($6), kim chi pork tofu soup ($9) and marinated fried chicken ($18), coming out to $50.27 with tax, tip not included.

Mark Yuasa: 206-464-8780 or myuasa@seattletimes.com