When Sungeun Naomi Park first dreamed of opening a Korean restaurant, it was based on a memory of people flocking to her childhood home in Korea and receiving multiple helpings of her grandmother’s “love.”
“All the neighbors would wait for my grandmother to make her soy sauce,” said Park, the owner of Taylor Seoul Food, until recently a takeout-only eatery that opened last summer in the former gymnasium of Old Taylor High. “She would never turn away anyone that would come to our house ... She would say one scoop is not enough love. You are going to get a second scoop.”
On Valentines Day, Park’s vision for a homeaway- from-home became more of a reality by opening up a sit-down dining room that holds seating for 40 people in the 600-square-foot former girls’ locker room next door.
“I always wanted to have a place where people would come and feel good about eating my food,” Park said. “Whenever they feel down, and they can come, and that’s the place.”
Kyung Joe, who works on the Samsung site as a translator, said he comes to the restaurant three or four times a week to eat lunch.
“I think it’s light and healthy, and it’s tasty,” Joe said. “It’s different from the food I had in other Korean restaurants here in the United States and Korea.”
Joe said his favorite meal is Bi-Bim-Bop, a traditional Korean dish that Park makes with rice, shiitake mushrooms, lettuce, radish, bean sprouts, zucchini, egg and rice as well as optional beef or chicken.
In addition, Joe said he likes seasonal menu items, such as a recent squid soup Park offered.
“I am getting a little addicted to it (the food),” he said.
Joe said he also likes the new sit-down area.
“The dining room is cozy, and I like the color and tone and the light,” he said. “It makes me feel comfortable and cozy, like I am at home.”
Hutto resident Jim Morris, whose wife is Korean and motherin- law is an “amazing Korean cook,” said the couple also felt at home at Taylor Seoul Food after discovering it through a tip on the social networking site Nextdoor.
“We went over there and were absolutely amazed,” Morris said. “We had about four dishes there, and we ordered four dishes to take home. That’s a true story.”
Morris said his favorite dishes include Pa-jeon, a shrimp savory pancake, Japchae, a dish with beef, vegetables and clear sweet potato noodles, as well as the fresh and slightly spicy kimchi Park makes.
“I can’t think of anything we have had there that wasn’t delightful,” Morris said.
Prior to the dining room’s opening, Morris said he and his wife enjoyed sitting at the staff table in the kitchen area to eat, while watching Park, Park’s mom, who was visiting from Korea at the time, and the rest of the staff cook.
“It’s a very wonderful experience for my wife and myself,” Morris said. “We are not Korean chefs at all, but we know what good Korean food is, and we are very impressed with the food, but I think we are more impressed with Naomi and her mom and the young ladies who work there. It is just a very comfortable environment, and we felt like part of the family immediately.”
