New York street food lands in Korea
An image of Combination Platter at "Jil'Hal Bros" / Korea Times
Finally, the wait is over as New York City’s famous street food lands in Korea. Chicken and rice might be unfamiliar in Korea, but it has been loved in New York City since the 1990s.
Chicken and rice is to New Yorkers as “tteokbokki” or spicy rice-cake and “sundae” or blood sausage is to Koreans. Now you do not have to board a plane and travel 13 hours to try this exquisite meal. A vendor, “Jil’Hal Bros,” has opened in Cheongdam-dong selling the same chicken and rice you can eat in New York.
The menu includes chicken, gyro, combo (a combination of chicken and gyro) platters, and chicken and gyro wraps. Coke, Sprite and beer are among refreshments available.
The people at “Jil’Hal Bros” have managed to recreate the famous “white sauce,” which is the special ingredient in chicken and rice.
Recent trending on Facebook showed that Ok Taecyeon, the famous idol rapper from group “2PM,” has visited the store several times. The store is in the long alley that hosts JYP Entertainment and more broadly Cube Entertainment. Many students that have studied abroad and tasted the original chicken and rice are going viral on the Internet about this shop.
So why not stop by this weekend? It might give you an inside look at the streets of New York.
The "Jil’Hal Bros” in Cheongdam-dong
Origin of chicken and rice
Chicken and rice was made popular by Mohamed Abouelenein, from Egypt. He started as a hot dog vendor but decided hot dogs were too common on New York streets and switched to chicken over rice. Since then, many imitation carts have opened in New York City and hot dogs are going out of fashion.
The menu is not complicated, mainly a rice section and a wrap section, with the lowest price starting at 6,500 won for rice and 3,900 won for a wrap.
Here is some basic info:
Phone number: 02-542-1422
Open from:
Monday-Saturday
11 a.m. to 10 p.m.