It opened last May and is part of South Korean celebrity chef Jong Won Paik's culinary empire, the Born Korea.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 Cheongyang 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.
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 flocking to Paik’s for a variety of Chinese-Korean delights.
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 flavorful and tangier riff on China’s zha jiang mian.