finally- korean cuisine coming to mchenry county!

(edit- they listened to a bunch of us- they're gonna do some korean! see my other post below)

i have an interesting dilemma. nearby is a small chinese restaurant. the food is fresh and good. simple of course, and americanized..... but it sure beats mcdonald's.

anyway, these folks are ethnicly korean, with korean sirnames. in fact i think they are from korea. i've suggested to them that they offer a few korean dishes experimentally, to see if there's a market for this. we're here in mchenry county, there are no korean places for 20+ miles. and yet, these good people hesitate.

is there anything anyone could further suggest i say to them, in order for them to at least give it a shot? thanks.

this reminds me of that one episode of seinfeld where jerry tries to get babu to change his restaurant from international food to pakistani food... well maybe start by asking for korean spicey wings? i don't think there's a chinese equivalent.

For the most part, Korean restaurant owners see other Koreans as their bread-and-butter patrons. So Koreans typically open up Korean restaurants only where Koreans live or work in large numbers. Of course, you'll always have a handful of Korean restaurants targeting non-Koreans, but they tend to be in urban areas where restaurant-goers tend to be a bit more sophisticated. This may explain the hesitation you encountered.

Try to convince them that there might be a market for certain kinds of Korean food in McHenry county. Bulgogi and bibimbap come to mind. If you have Korean friends in the area that could help you make your case, even better.

good news! this chinese restaurant will begin serving a few popular korean dishes, starting in about two weeks! finally, korean comes to mchenry county!!

woo-hoo!

more details later, after they begin serving!

where is this place?

okay, okay- it's yen ching express#1, 2409 w. algonquin rd., in algonquin. there's a second location farther south, yen ching express#2, in carpentersville i think- i am not sure if this other location will be doing korean, though.

right now they're working on the menu printing, photos, etc.- they may also do some thai or vietnamese later on, as well. in two weeks or so, i'll be having me some bulgogi, just two blocks from my home!! woo-hoo!

yen ching express #1 phone number is 847-854-3300.

i'm making a penang curry with chicken on friday- i think i'll bring them a doggie bag!

never did get that penang curry made- sick with a really bad cold.

good news though- about one more week and there's korean cuisine in mchenry county.... hopefully i'll be able to taste it by then, LOL.

i stopped in last night- it'll be another two weeks or so before the korean menu is available. problems with the printer doing the menues.

How is their chinese food? I just had the impression they weren't very good, but no idea what I'm basing that on!! I'm about a 1/2 mile from there, and my husbands work PO is in the UPS next door!

i happen to like their chinese. better than most of the chinese places out here, IMO. the twice cooked pork is my fave.

jleblanc05 wrote:How is their chinese food? I just had the impression they weren't very good, but no idea what I'm basing that on!! I'm about a 1/2 mile from there, and my husbands work PO is in the UPS next door!

Good to know!! I've been ordering from China Dragon near Butera, but mostly because they deliver...

yen ching delivers too. i've got to give them a holler to see what's up with the korean menu. getting hungry!

Let me know when they start with the Korean, please!!

this weekend, i hope! i will post here!!

I called them and they said about two weeks, they're waiting for pics. How did you end up on this board, btw?

jleblanc05 wrote:I called them and they said about two weeks, they're waiting for pics. How did you end up on this board, btw?

i'm a google monkey. i like food- cooking, dining, and eating it. ergo, it was only a matter of time before i located this fine forum.

oh, sorry, i meant on the other culinary chat instead of eating out in chicagoland..

jleblanc05 wrote:oh, sorry, i meant on the other culinary chat instead of eating out in chicagoland..

the admin threw me in here. they reposted my initial post here, 'cause they said it wasn't specifically about eating out- only about maybe being able to eat korean in mchenry county in the future.

this coming tuesday is supposed to be the day yen ching express begins serving bulgugi, bibimbap and galbi.

korean food is almost here! woo-hoo!!

fyi, she had the signs up yesterday - Saturday

cool, i am so there later today, thanks!

ah, closed today. there's always tomorrow.......