KOREAN FOOD FOR THE SOUL Words and photos by Su Ertekin-Taner
When I search for spaces to occupy, I search for untrodden spaces. That is
Finally, the restaurant’s signature Korean corn dog, a dog of fried cheese that
not to say I don’t traverse or find myself in well-trafficked places, I just pre-
can be coated with various goodies like hot Cheetos, sweet and spicy Gochu-
fer those less-trafficked. Spaces uncharted or else well-charted but hidden.
jang paste, and even ramen, enthralls me.
Places not at the center or the crossroads but in the peripheries. I search for the somewhat inconvenient places because there is little reward in the
I had lost myself in this one-sided conversation — the foods spoke and I lis-
convenient.
tened — when my meal arrived. The bowl that was placed in front of me was the comprehensive meal it claimed to be: strips of katsu chicken coated with
I approach my restaurant search process in this way, trying to find a recess
chipotle mayo sauce, sesame seeds and scallions lying on a bed of rice and
from large food outlets and plazas that become congested with patrons. This
glass noodles. The broccoli, carrots, cauliflower and kimchi intermingled with
Monday my search for a culinary nook led me to K-Bop Korean Kitchen off of
the chicken strips, and the mandu adorned the top of the dish. Though de-
Southside Boulevard, the 2022-established restaurant version of the epon-
ceivingly small-looking, the bowl was deep. The meal, I knew, would be filling.
ymous food truck. In contrast to the populated Southside outlet across the street with its sizable Tinseltown and chain restaurants, the outlet that houses
The meal was more than filling: It was full-flavored, imbued with delicious
K-Bop Korean Kitchen is smaller, tree-encircled and hidden — so much so that
taste. I tackled the dish according to its presentation — top to bottom. First,
I miss the outlet’s entrance on my first try.
the katsu chicken. I bit through the crunchy panko fried crust and into the tender chicken, appropriately moistened and permeated with spice by the
When I eventually arrive in this alcove of sorts, my eyes immediately find
chipotle mayo zig zagged onto the plate. The colorful veggies, tangy-spicy
K-Bop Korean Kitchen. The Korean kitchen is the largest establishment in this
kimchi, and pork and veggie-filled mandu provided some respite from the
strip mall, and I recognize the same identifying symbol — a smiling, animated
protein-heavy top of the dish. Then, I approached the carbs. By this point,
bowl of rice — on the exterior that appeared on the website. I walk in, my
I had abandoned the top to bottom approach, mining the rice and slippery
taste buds already primed by this image. On the right wall, I notice a fitting
noodles from the bottom at times to accompany a mouthful of protein.
picture of a teeming Korean street at night, saturated with the colorful lights of signs. On the left, a neon light-up sign of a maneki-neko (or Japanese
A lover of salt, I coated the rice in soy sauce. The noodles needed no such
“beckoning cat”) is framed by a wall of fake greenery. Directly across from the
flavoring, however. The perfectly stir-fried noodles were coated in a salty-sa-
door is a podium and host who reminds me I am here not only to pore over my
vory sesame oil and soy sauce mixture. I accepted them dutifully and grate-
environment but also my impending food.
fully into my mouth. Though I became full at the halfway point of finishing the meal, I did not cease eating until I found the bottom of the bowl.
I have walked in at 2:02 p.m., past lunch special time (11 a.m.-2 p.m.). I ramble some incoherent series of sentences about my said lateness to the host as if
I finally finished. Having completed a lunch of protein, veggies and carbs, I
justifying my tardiness to an employer. I caught a wave of traffic. I missed the
felt balanced. In this sublime state, I didn’t want to leave my booth of one. I
exit. I was trying to park well. The host assures me I can still have the lunch
wanted to stay with my empty plate, to sit in the tastes I had experienced for
special. I’ve decided on the katsu bop, a meal served with panko fried chick-
longer, to not muddle the experience I had just undergone with the separate
en, rice, glass noodles, mandu (Korean dumplings), vegetables and kimchi. I
sensory experience of the outside. So I sat a little in my sphere of silence, in
choose the katsu bop because it is a comprehensive dish, incorporating items
my nook.
that appear elsewhere on the menu — the mandu and kimchi appear in the bites section along with japchae, a dish of sweet potato starch glass noodles,
I left a little while after that, thanking the host on my way out. I was again
for example. I take a number and sit at a booth. It will be a table for one today.
surrounded by trees and small establishments, the untrodden land. Yet today, I had made the untrodden trodden and thankfully so; I would not forget
Even so, I hardly feel alone. I am in the presence of other patrons who have
about the balance of the meal, the comprehensiveness of it. I would not for-
chosen K-Bop Korean Kitchen for their lunch break meal. And I keep company
get about my table of one. Though, I thought as I drove out of the small outlet,
with other items on the menu; they are in the process of wooing me now:
K-Bop Korean Kitchen is at the periphery of a populated area, the restaurant and its rich cuisine felt absolutely central now.
The bites section of the menu, rife with authentic Korean dishes like kimbap, a beef and veggie roll, japchae, kimchi fries and the Korean fried chicken appetizer, all charm me thoroughly. The kimchi ramen dishes of various proteins — chicken, shrimp, and pork chashu — also attempt to win me over.
72 Folio Weekly
