Before we do anything crazy in the big city, we had to take care of some bizness. My older sister-in-law just got herself a new restaurant in Incheon which serves boonshik. Boonshik food is sort of the equivalent of a greasy spoon diner in America. A boonshik place is a Korean's most casual dining spot that serves a variety of quickly prepared yet tasty dishes.
The centerpiece dish of every boonshik is kimbab, which is a roll of bab (rice) in kim (pressed seaweed). It's like a sushi roll without the sushi. They usually contain some pickled and fresh veggies, but always bab and kim - they're mandatory. Basically anything else goes for kim bab: you can make em with cheese, or tuna with mayo, or both...
Big sis's place makes the kim bab to order, which is really the only way these guys are tasty. This makes the process kinda slow, since you have to throw the ingredients on the bed of rice and kim, and roll each one up by hand. Thankfully, the ladies are much better at it than I am.
Now here's the thing, I have to agree in large part with Mr. Seoulfoodyo about boonshik places. I suggest you read his post, since it's detailed and entertaining. The other boonshik places that I've been to have served bland food in a depressing atmosphere. The food is usually kinda processed and cheapo. However, I beg to differ in the case of my sister's place. She really works hard to make everything as fresh as possible. She has several delicious homemade banchan (side dishes) on hand that she serves along with the kimchi - which is also good. In short, she works hard to make this place stand out from the rest of the kimbab joints.
On a side note, Korean consumerism is all about a huge number of similar goods and services that are offered at competitive prices. They usually even cluster up in the same building or store. Many stores will specialize in only one particular good or service, and then strive to provide that with the best possible quality for the price.
To me, this is kinda different from the American style of doing business. Americans businesses typically strive to dodge their competition and find a niche which is most profitable. A little trendy clothing store typically wouldn't want to locate itself next to another little trendy clothing store unless each is part of some big chain (like in a mall). Instead, Korean small businesses actively seek out this competition. They don't even try to differentiate that much from their competition, only to be the best at their operation.
So back to boonshik, it's a crowded marketplace for this business. Not only that, but the profit is pretty small. She makes a good margin, but the prices top out at $4.30-ish for a whole meal. The kimbab are priced at $1.25 - $2.20 per roll. Unfortunately for sis, she has to work all day and night to make it. But she's a good cook, and her food is awesome.
When anyone opens a business in Korea, their friends traditionally will bring them plants for good luck. Specifically, there's a plant called the don namu (which means money plant) that will bring the most good luck for a business. We got one that looks nice, and not too expensive... I guess.
Not only the money plant would do, so we had to decorate the place with some more little guys. Plastic water bottles really can make cute hanging plant holders. I was tasked with cutting up bottles, punching holes, and tying the ribbons. I really suck at arts and crafts, but the spirits of the ancestors were with me today...
Or maybe I'm just proud of the fact that none of them fell off the wall. I wish I had made the cups a little deeper, because the top heavy plants have a tendency to spill if you're not careful. I did that once and dumped dirt all over the counter below. At least there weren't any customers around at that time.
Duk is like the Korean version of cake, except without so much fat and sugar. Not exactly a French pastry, but it's still pretty tasty. At least it won't give you a heart attack. Any celebration in Korea demands duk. The grand opening of sis's restaurant was no exception. She would dole out some duk to all the customers that day. At the end of the day, she sent us out to bring some to the businesses nearby.
We came back later to put up some lights too. Oldest bro bought four and broke one, so we put up three. It works for the little joint. Besides, four is the number of death in Korean culture anyway. Better luck for you, sis.
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