.jpg) Sichuan House, formerly Red Pepper Republic, thrives to provide the authentic cuisine of China’s Sichuan province. / Korea Times |
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
When Red Pepper Republic opened in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul last year, its name gave off a vague impression of a trendy Chinese eatery.
Sun@Food, the company that owns the restaurant, has decided to change its name to Sichuan House and it will re-open on Sept. 1. Ryan Shin, chief operating officer of Sun@Food, said the name change aims to attract more customers with the unique Sichuan food concept.
``We don’t want customers to come here just to eat Chinese food. We want them to come if they want to eat real Sichuan food and experience the Sichuan atmosphere. When we first opened Red Pepper Republic, we appreciated customers coming to our restaurant but they just came here not for Sichuan food, but because they liked the interior or the service,’’ Shin told The Korea Times last week.
While there are many Chinese restaurants all over the country, most serve ``jajangmyeon’’ (black bean noodles); ``jamppong’’ (spicy noodle soup) and ``tangsuyuk’’ (sweet and sour pork).
Shin said Sun@Food, whose other restaurants include Mad for Garlic, Via di Napoli and Bistro Seoul, intended to introduce a new concept of Chinese cuisine from the Sichuan region to Korean consumers. Sichuan food is known for its bold, spicy flavors from the use of garlic, chili peppers and peppercorns.
``At our company, we are always trying to find a niche market and so we wanted to get ahead of the other Chinese restaurants. There is no other restaurant serving Sichuan food at the moment,’’ he added.
Sichuan House still offers most of the dishes on Red Pepper Republic’s menu, but with a more authentic Sichuan taste. The new menu includes Sichuan specialties: spicy chili hotpot with beef, tan tan noodles, chili chicken, chili prawns and mapo tofu.
``Not many people know that tan tan noodles and mapo tofu are actually Sichuan dishes, but they are served at regular Chinese restaurants here,’’ Shin said.
Sichuan cuisine is currently a hot trend in Tokyo, New York and Los Angeles. Apparently many young women, especially in Tokyo, believe that eating hot and spicy cuisine will help them lose weight.
``Spicy food is our main selling point. If there are some people who don’t like spicy food, it doesn’t matter. We are targeting people, especially women, who love spicy food,’’ Shin said.
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