14 JULY 4-10, 2024 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | LETTERS | CONTENTS | Asia Like It BY CYNTHIA BARNES Korean culture is extremely popular right now, and the K-craze shows no signs of stopping. From cult Korean beauty products to the cult of K-pop boy band BTS, Korean everything is hotter right now than Cheon- gyang chili peppers. South Korea has gone all in on hallyu, the Korean Wave promoting the country’s unique pop culture, including a healthy serving of so-called gastrodiplomacy. Which brings us, naturally, to food. The Denver metro area has one of the largest concentrations of Korean diaspora outside of Los Angeles and New York City and is no stranger to Korean fl avors. Aurora’s Silla, for example, has been serving bibimbap, bulgogi, barbecue and banchan for more than fi fty years — but Chinese-Korean fusion has been a little harder to come by. That changed last year with the debut of Paik’s Noodles at South Peoria Street and East Iliff Avenue, a spot formerly occupied by Von’s Chicken. Since May 2023, diners have been fl ocking to Paik’s for a variety of Chinese- Korean delights. While classic Korean cuisine is heavy on funky fermentation (kimchi, any- one?), rice and the myriad of small side dishes called banchan, Chinese- or Sino-Korean fuses ingredients and techniques from the penin- sula’s neighbor to the north, particularly from the ethnic Chinese of the Shandong region who settled in Incheon in the nineteenth century. Paik’s Noodles offers some of the hybrid cuisine’s most popular dishes, accompanied by an assortment of beer, soju and makge- olli, a creamy, unfi ltered beer made from fermented rice that requires a good shake before opening to combine the components of the food-friendly brew. Start your meal with an order of gun- mandu. Every region in Asia has its own take on dumplings, and Paik’s do not disappoint. The thin wrapping on the fried treats is si- multaneously tender and crispy, surrounding a fi lling of well-seasoned pork. First-timers to Chinese-Korean cuisine will want to order jaengban jjajangmyeon. Jaengban means “platter,” and jjajangmyeon are springy, stir-fried wheat noodles bathed in a black soybean sauce that’s both slightly sweet and deeply savory, with shrimp, squid, pork and vegetables. One of Korea’s ultimate comfort foods, it’s among the restaurant’s signature dishes and is a fl avorful and tangier riff on China’s zha jiang mian. Another standout is jjamppong, a spicy noodle soup loaded with pork, squid, mussels and vegetables in a fi ery (but not uncomfort- ably so) red broth. Koreans are famed for their fried chicken, and the deep-fried kkan- punggi here remains shatteringly crunchy despite its glossy hot-pepper sauce. Paik’s Noodles is the latest venture from ce- lebrity chef and restaurateur Jong Won Paik. A household name in South Korea, the 57-year-old entrepreneur is CEO of the Born Korea, a culi- nary empire with 2,000 restaurants worldwide, including Paik’s BBQ, Paik’s Coffee and Paik Boy Pizza. He has more than six million YouTube subscribers, and a bunch of cookbooks and TV shows such as Top 3 Chef King, Food Truck, The Genius Paik and The Backpacker Chef — season two of which is rumored to include BTS singer- songwriter and K-pop heartthrob Jin, who is also said to be developing a line of traditional Korean liquors with Paik. South Korea’s answer to Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver doesn’t show any signs of stopping soon: The Born Korea posted more than $300 million in revenue last year and recently fi led for an IPO. Paik’s Noodles in Aurora is the group’s fi rst offering in Colorado, and nine new out- posts of the brand are slated to open this year in New Jersey, Texas, Nevada and Illinois. To that, raise a glass and say, “Geonbae!” Email the author at [email protected]. CAFE FIND MORE FOOD & DRINK COVERAGE AT WESTWORD.COM/RESTAURANTS Paik’s has been open since May 2023. CYNTHIA BARNES PARK HILL SUPERMARKET High Quality! Huge Variety! Wholesale Prices! Fresh fruit, vegetables, meat & seafood 3770 E 40TH AVE. DENVER, CO 80205 Tel: 303-823-3088 EVERY DAY 9AM-7PM MONDAY, AUGUST 5, 2024 Wellshire Golf Course / 3333 S Colorado Blvd., Denver, CO REGISTER TODAY cmhof.org — Inaugural — Golf Tournament
