From the unique decor to the comfortable ambience, Suji’s Korean Grill is truly a leading Korean restaurant in Omaha. Their secret weapon is the vibrant flavors that the food brings with the scenery of the restaurant. It is safe to say,restaurant owner, Suji Park, is off to a exceptional start.
Suji’s Korean Grill is located in the very well-known area for restaurants, Aksarben Village. It’s a great place for Park’s mouth-watering genuine dishes to speak to new coming customers.
“The places that we are going to open after Omaha, [will] be in like smaller cities but have potential market like places like Omaha. People these days want to explore more authentic cuisines and so far its been great,” Park said.
Park then presented us with three of her special off-menu dishes, Gimbap, Tamagoyaki, and an all vegetable, vegan version of Gimbap, and explained the process that goes into making authentic Korean food.
“[This is called] Gimbap, “Gim” means seaweed and “bap” means rice so anything with “bap” is rice in Korean. Korean food is well-balanced food, as you can see, you’ve got your vegetables, starch, and some meat. So we believe in different colors, that why all the food is colorful because different colors, also represents different nutrients,” Park said.
Suji’s uses a very common method for persevering foods called pickling. Pickling is the process of preserving or expanding the lifespan of food by either anaerobic fermentation in brine or immersion in vinegar. This is what makes the flavors of her well-known dishes come alive.
Park has also successfully launched a brand of products from her restaurants.
“I started a product business first and then I worked with UNL, at the food-processing center”, Park said. “Also the state has helped us to start our business here. We have products now sold to all these large retailers such as Target and a lot of other places like Costco and Walmart for Korean products.”
So why Omaha? Although I’m not complaining, Park had chosen Omaha to be the first place ever in America to expand her already growing Korean food chain.
“Omaha is a city where people don’t know much about the food-scenes, the very talented chefs, and people are actually very worldly, so there is a demand for real and authentic Korean”, Park said.
Authenticity is key to Suji’s Korean Grill, from the mouth-watering foods to the pleasing scenery of the Korean articulator. This is the place to go for a modern day Korean food experience at.
story by ayan foneag, photos by elliot evans and anna greene
