Maladaegook captivates taste buds of picky office workers in Gangnam

▲ Maladaegook / CEO Gyeongryeol Sim

[Malatang]
If there is ‘champong (spicy seafood noodle soup)’ in South Korea, there is ‘malatang (spicy flavored broth) in China. Malatang is known to be originated from Sichuan China but it is most popular in Beijing. Mala is flavored with a combination of Sichuan pepper and dried chili pepper used to prevent food from being decayed. ‘Ma’ in Chinese means numb and ‘la’ means spicy and it often means ‘tongue-numb hot’. Also added are various other spices such as clove and star anise. Talking of hot food, Koreans are second to none. Naturally, it is not surprising that malatang is a frequent take away or delivery menu of many Koreans especially in this time of the social distancing. 

[Maladaegook]
A shared kitchen in Gangnam District, Seoul, in lunch time, chefs were busy making, packaging and sending the food on delivery on time. Among many kitchens, one kitchen seemed to be busier by more chefs than others and it was Maladaegook. Within 3 months of opening the business, it has become one of the most ordered foods in the district. The secret of the phenomenon is at its clean broth that removed oiliness and somewhat bothering exotic spice and flavor. Moderately hot also plays a part. “I localized the rather oil and flavor-rich Chinese malatang to Korean taste. The level of spiciness also can be chosen. These two factors, I think, are what make Maladaegook so popular among picky office workers in Gangnam within such a short period of time” says Gyeongryeol Sim, CEO of Maladaegook. 

[Guobaro]
Guobaro, double cooked pork slices, is a good companion of malatang. This starched covered deep fried pork slices require not only quality ingredients but also technique of the chef who knows the right temperature and time to cook as well as the sauce. Maladaegook meets these requirements by using the best quality pork possible and by highly skilled and experienced chefs. Maladaegook guobaro is very fresh that it does not become hard even after a day in a fridge. “Fresh pork as well as fresh frying oil is most important and for this reason we change the oil as frequently as possible.” Sim recommends you to try a meal consisted of a malatang and 4 pieces of guobaro. The Chinese food manias who have tried this meal reviewed “Maladaegook deserves one of the top 3 in the nation and some manias commented “Guobaro here is actually even better than malatang.” Apart from the meal, mala xiang guo and mapo tofu also are good tries.

[Joining Business]
Maladaegook is opening door for partners to join the business. An offline store in Daerim-dong, Seoul, is underway while franchise is highly possibly on the way. You can start in a shared kitchen sized around as small as 13 square meters that costs you less than 10 million won ($8,421) initial capital except the space rental despite. Because the initial capital is low, retrieving the investment also is not that burdensome. The flagship kitchen in Gangnam recorded 45 million sales in the first month of the opening. Help and support are ready to be provided unsparingly until you settle the business nicely with good sales figures. Offline stores, on the other hand, will be running manless to save labor cost and to meet non-contact store trend nowadays. (PowerKorea)

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