Snacks with a studious bias

THAIS MAY be totally besotted by K-pop and Korean soaps but there are surprisingly few in the Land of Smiles who know their bulgogi from their bibimbap. Restaurateur Prasop Supawarapong is out to change all that with the opening of the first branch of South Korean chain School Food, a modern take on the nation’s traditional cuisine that combines the concept of a restaurant with casual street food.

Situated on the third floor of Mercury Ville mall, School Food keeps well away typical Korean restaurant fare of barbecued meat dishes with rows of side dishes or ginseng chicken soup. The ambience is different too with an industrial loft style design that boasts walls and floor in bare cement, exposed brick and plain wood and a range of mismatched chairs.

“My family imports the Korean cosmetic brand Dr Jart so I’m constantly travelling between Bangkok and Seoul,” Prasop explains. “And every time I’m there, the owner of Dr Jart takes me to School Food, which is a popular hangout for young professionals. The food is fusion but the taste is pleasing. I like its idea of offering Korean flavours with a cool and stylish twist.” 

School Food now has almost 100 branches across South Korea as well as outlets in Los Angeles, Hawaii, New York, Tokyo, Jakarta, Hong Kong and Singapore.

“School Food positions itself as snack food. The name is to remind people of the good old days when we rushed off after school ended to enjoy our favourite snacks from stalls outside the gates. The dishes served are essentially that same street food but presented with a contemporary twist. Although Thais don’t know much about Korean food, I think food is a universal language that is not too complicated to understand,” adds Prasop.

Koreans are particularly fond of bibimbap – a bowl of rice topped with various kinds of vegetables and seasoned with red chilli pepper paste – and which is considered fast yet healthy food. School Food offers Grilled Butter Bibimbap with Jjang-a-chi (Bt240). Served on a sizzling pan to help retain the temperature, the rice dish is wrapped in a creamy egg dome with jang jo rim (marinated beef), butter and the house’s special pickle jjang-a-chi with a choice of spicy or soy tastes. The ingredients are mixed thoroughly just before eating to harmonise the contrasting flavours.

While Japanese have maki or sushi roll, the Koreans have mari. School Food offers 14 choices of mari roll ranging from spam, crispy fried shrimp, anchovy, kimchi, tuna to squid tempura, garlic and bacon. The signature is Blooming Mari (Bt230) – rice with teriyaki beef stew and mozzarella cheese rolled in seaweed and a thin sheet of egg. Another pleasing choice is Squid Ink Mari (Bt190) – rice mixed with Spanish squid ink and grilled teriyaki squid in rolled seaweed.

The popular street food topokki – soft rice cake and red chilli sauce – comes in a range of fusion presentations, among them spicy topokki with carbonara cream sauce, mozzarella cheese and soy sauce. A favourite is the Pork Cutlet with Spicy Cheese Tteok (Bt340), an interesting chewy rice cake or tteok with spicy chilli sauce and mozzarella cheese and a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet that’s big enough to share.

Prasop recommends the Sour Kimchi Mali Noodle (Bt230), a refreshing dish that’s served cold. The special clear kimchi broth comes over shaved ice with somen – thin, wheat flour noodles – and is topped with pickle jjang-a-chi, sour kimchi and a half boiled egg.

Korean shaved ice dessert Melon Bingsu (Bt350) isn’t just shaved ice with a fruit topping but a whole melon, explaining why only 10 servings are available each day. The flesh of melon is scooped out into balls and the hollowed melon is used as a serving bowl. The thinly shaved ice is flavoured with milk then topped with melon scoops and thin slices of almond, ensuring that it is refreshing but not too sweet.

The drinks menu features a range of Athie (fruit drinks made with soda) for Bt85 a glass. Among the nicest are the Pine Blue with blue Curacao and fresh pineapple and Viva La Kiwi with fresh kiwi and smooth yoghurt.

 

 

AFTER CLASS

>>School Food is on the third floor of Mercury Ville mall on the corner of Lang Suan Road (BTS: Chidlom). It is open daily from 11am to 10pm. Call (085) 484 7373 or visit www.SchoolFoodThailand.com.