Shin's Korean Restaurant serves loyal customers
Family-owned Shin’s Korean Restaurant attracts loyal customers from students to faculty members by offering a unique taste of Korea.
Operated by Joy Jung, Tom Shin and their daughter Makayla Shin, Shin’s
Korean Restaurant sways away from traditional food catered to the American
taste by using family recipes.
“The
food we serve is very authentic food where a lot of other Korean places have an
Americanized menu,” Makayla said.
The Shin family was drawn to the area after visiting a family member. In the summer of 2010, they fell in love with Mount Pleasant and decided to open the restaurant, located on 1620 S. Mission St.
Ordering from a Korean menu is sometimes difficult because the names of dishes are not spelled consistently in transliteration and their descriptions are often rudimentary. There also are no directions on how to eat the unfamiliar foods.
Because the Korean alphabet contains sounds that are not similar to those of the English alphabet, there are often several ways to spell the same word. For example, bulgogi, finely shaved slices of tender beef marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and garlic, can be spelled six different ways.
The two most popular dishes are bulgogi and dolsot bibimbob, rice and vegetables served with an egg that is cooked while stirring.
Each customer
is known by name because of their loyalty, creating a more
personalized experience. A studio group of students for music composition come
in each Friday after class.
Graduate student Stephen Lounsbrough heard about the place from fellow
students and wanted to check it out with his studio.
“It’s a cool place
and more people should come and check it out,“
Ionia junior
Ryan Elvert came with the studio class for his first time experiencing the
authentic Korean cuisine.
“They
said it was really good,” Elvert said. “It’s a lot different than home-cooked
casseroles and the usual hamburgers.”
Essexville
senior Bianca Henika’s first time coming to Shin’s Korean Restaurant was last
year. She noticed the difference in taste compared to Chinese and Thai food, which she said is a mixture of bits and pieces of both.
“I
wasn’t sure about Korean at first,” Henika said. “It has the right amount of
kick to it and those who don’t like spicy food can have it.”
