A new Korean restaurant at the corner of Main and Locke Street will be “welcoming the people” when it opens on March 12.
Manager Bobby Cho inside his new restaurant.
Alirang (pronounced Ah-ri-rang) is Bobby Cho’s second restaurant, but first in Hamilton.
Cho, 58, has been in the food industry since he was 25, and said the name of his restaurant is based on a famous traditional song that describes a touching love story from the Koryo Kingdom 1,000 years ago.
Cho said the original meaning of the word Alirang is “welcome to the people.”
“In Ottawa (where he opened his first restaurant in 2000), most of our clients are from the University of Ottawa and the Chinese Student Association,” explained Cho.“We found out that t here was a bigger membership with the Chinese Student Association at McMaster University, so when we looked to expand, we came to Hamilton.”
It features authentic Korean food and plenty of seasonally based side dishes. Two master chefs from Korea will work in the kitchen.
“These are real, experienced cooks imported from Korea,” Cho said. “The two chefs have been training at the Ottawa restaurant for the past two months but will be arriving (in Hamilton) on Monday to prepare for the opening on Tuesday.”
Along with the two chefs, there will be three other kitchen staff.
Cho has already hired eight students for part-time positions, and expects to hire up to 15 staff to assist in the front.
“We’re looking to hire more students because it’s all part-time positions since they’re all studying at school,” he said.
One of the most popular dishes that Cho believes Hamiltonians will enjoy is gamjatang, which is a spicy pork stew with vegetables.
Alirang will be open seven days a week, from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Originally posted in Your Hamilton Biz.
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