Scary!

Kim Kardashian was physically assaulted outside Mr. Chow in Beverly Hills Sunday night after she dined with friends following the LA Fashion Awards at the nearby Sunset Tower, where she was a presenter.

Kim left the iconic restaurant, arm-in-arm with a friend, as her bodyguard attempted to manage the paparazzi outside so Kim could make her way to a waiting car.

A guy wearing a large backpack was getting a little too close, according to one of our photographers, so Kim's security detail grabbed him by the back to restrain him. Someone nearby -- apparently working in tandem with the attacker -- yelled out, "Let him go; he's just a tourist!" Kim's bodyguard let the guy go but the young Asian man made a beeline for Kim, much to her surprise. As he got close, he leaned straight into her, shoving up against her breast and breathing heavily in her face.

He wore sunglasses and seemed to tip them downward as he made contact with Kim, as if to look her in the eyes.

Kim stared back in horror, shocked that she had just been physically assaulted and probably having flashbacks from her robbery and attack in Paris last October.

The bodyguard again grabbed the guy to make sure he didn't come back to Kim, but baring calling the police, there wasn't much the muscle-for-hire could do.

Kim rushed to her car and went home visibly shaken. Our photographer tells us, "Kim was just shocked; she was horrified. The fact that the dude touched her breast and was so in her face made her terrified. Even us photographers couldn't believe what was happening."

By-standers apparently first thought it was a prank, not unlike Vitaly Sediuk's "gag" on Kim in Paris or in Gigi Hadid in Milan. But in the end, it was unclear what the guy's motives were. Watch the video and decide for yourself ...