Korean restaurant practices

[Kent Wang]

I've been enjoying Korean restaurants here in the US lately and have a few questions about their practices.

Do most or all good Korean restaurants make their own kimchi and banchan?

Is refilling banchan common? I've been offered refills on my banchan at only a small handful of places.

Some restaurants give you so much banchan it's enough of a meal for one person. Would it be acceptable to go to a restaurant like this by yourself and just offer to pay for only banchan?

Many restaurants seem to only have really big dishes that need to be split with four or more people. Is it more common in Korea to go with larger groups?

Are metal chopsticks common? Being Chinese, I find the disposable wooden ones much easier to use because they're not flat.

Are metal bowls common? I hate the sound of metal spoons and chopsticks scraping against them.

[ZenKimchi]

Do most or all good Korean restaurants make their own kimchi and banchan?

All Korean restaurants make their own banchan. The good ones make their own kimchi. In Korea, there's been a concern over restaurants using imported kimchi.

Is refilling banchan common? I've been offered refills on my banchan at only a small handful of places.

Korean restaurants usually don't offer. They wait until you ask. But banchan is supposed to be complimentary, including refills. Believe me, I went nuts the first time I had raw oysters as part of my banchan. I think I got four refills.

Some restaurants give you so much banchan it's enough of a meal for one person. Would it be acceptable to go to a restaurant like this by yourself and just offer to pay for only banchan?

A simple meal of rice, soup and banchan (and someone correct me if I'm wrong) is called "baekban." Lots of lunch spots offer this in Korea. You're not the only one who is happy eating just the banchan.

Many restaurants seem to only have really big dishes that need to be split with four or more people. Is it more common in Korea to go with larger groups?

That's a complaint that is even starting to get some traction in the homeland. Korean restaurants have a hard time accommodating single diners. In fact, some of them turn them away. Dining is a communal experience with family and friends. It's a big issue I have, and I've put it into my writings and talks.

Are metal chopsticks common? Being Chinese, I find the disposable wooden ones much easier to use because they're not flat.

Metal chopsticks are traditional. Historians debate as to why it came to be. I'm leaning to the idea that the royalty ate with metal chopsticks, and everyone wanted to copy the royals. It also makes sense to use metal over wood when handling food over an open flame. But Koreans also use wooden and plastic chopsticks at home and when eating quick foods.

Are metal bowls common? I hate the sound of metal spoons and chopsticks scraping against them.

But that's the sound of lunch! Heh, heh.

Metal bowls for rice, yes. Everything else is usually plastic or ceramic, unless it's a boiling soup bowl or metal naengmyeon bowl.

[nakji]

Are metal chopsticks common? Being Chinese, I find the disposable wooden ones much easier to use because they're not flat.

Are metal bowls common? I hate the sound of metal spoons and chopsticks scraping against them.

Sounds like you're going to some pretty authentic restaurants, Kent. The metal dishes and chopsticks are de rigueur.

Do most or all good Korean restaurants make their own kimchi and banchan?

All Korean restaurants make their own banchan. The good ones make their own kimchi. In Korea, there's been a concern over restaurants using imported kimchi.

Zenkimchi, do you remember the great Korea-China kimchi trade war of 2005, when Chinese kimchi was found to have parasite eggs in it? Everyone got worried about the restaurant kimchi! Not sure how many people actually stopped eating it, though.

My favourite restaurant in Sinchon, in Seoul, the adjumma made her own kimchi, and would only serve her own kimchi - the aged kind. It was awesome.

[ZenKimchi]

Zenkimchi, do you remember the great Korea-China kimchi trade war of 2005, when Chinese kimchi was found to have parasite eggs in it? Everyone got worried about the restaurant kimchi! Not sure how many people actually stopped eating it, though.

My favourite restaurant in Sinchon, in Seoul, the adjumma made her own kimchi, and would only serve her own kimchi - the aged kind. It was awesome.

Aye? What's that you say, dearie? Speak a little louder! I remembers that back in the olden days. Back in aught five.

HEY KIDS, GET OFF MY LAWN!

Where was I?

Oh, yeah.

There's been a stink, even to today, of people asking the ajummas if they use Chinese products. They reply, "If I didn't I couldn't keep the prices this low."

We're overdue for a new Chinese food scandal in Korea.

[Fat Guy]

Some restaurants give you so much banchan it's enough of a meal for one person. Would it be acceptable to go to a restaurant like this by yourself and just offer to pay for only banchan?

A simple meal of rice, soup and banchan (and someone correct me if I'm wrong) is called "baekban." Lots of lunch spots offer this in Korea. You're not the only one who is happy eating just the banchan.

I haven't seen baekban listed on menus here (USA), except as part of a dish name as in Gae Jang Baek Ban. I have, however, experimented with ordering just the cheapest lunch special on the menu, which is usually a soup, and it invariably comes with banchan and rice for about $8.

[Kent Wang]

What is an adjumma exactly? This page has a funny, but not entirely clear description.

Does that mean that at many restaurants, a woman is in charge? That's quite different from the West.

[Kent Wang]

Zenkimchi, do you remember the great Korea-China kimchi trade war of 2005, when Chinese kimchi was found to have parasite eggs in it?

What do these eggs look like? Because I just ate some kimchi (made in Houston) with a small cluster of egg-like things, about the size and shape of smelt roe (the kind you get with sushi). Should I be worried? Or is it like some kind of crustacean paste that is typical in kimchi?

[Kerry Beal]

Zenkimchi, do you remember the great Korea-China kimchi trade war of 2005, when Chinese kimchi was found to have parasite eggs in it?

What do these eggs look like? Because I just ate some kimchi (made in Houston) with a small cluster of egg-like things, about the size and shape of smelt roe (the kind you get with sushi). Should I be worried? Or is it like some kind of crustacean paste that is typical in kimchi?

You wouldn't really be able to see these parasite eggs. They are typically identified under a microscope.

[Soup]

When I was really young in korea, I remember metal utensil and metal bowls. I don't know if this is the reason, but it could have help keep the rice warm (this is purly conjecture on my part). I remeber living in a house which was heated through the ondol (heating system where the floor is heated from underneath) process. The rice was made one time a day and put into metal bowls. The bowls were then placed on the floor and covered with a heavy towel or blanket. It would keep the rice really warm.

As for the metal chopsticks, I like them. Perhaps silver chopsticks were origionally used. But I like them because I believe they are more environmentally friendly then using wooden disposable chopsticks. The mental chopsticks and spoons were ubiquotous.