Beer to Go (02-591-5595) is a bar in Banpo, Seoul, and as the name implies, it specialize in take-outs of some 160 foreign and domestic draft and bottled beer varieties at a 30% to 50% cheaper price than regular bars. In addition to the traditional take-out items such as coffee and sandwiches, restaurants now even offer Korean dishes to-go including Bibimbap and Kalguksu.
The first take-out Korean cuisine, Han's Bibimbap (02-797-9077) has expanded to some 20 chain stores in less than a year, since opening its first restaurant in March 2001. Ingredients are prepared in advance and rice is added upon order to maintain freshness. Han Gi-jeong, the owner of the trendy chain, says that the dishes appealed mainly to younger generation, as the majority of the customers are in their twenties and thirties.
Customers can choose ingredients they desire at the fusion noodle shop Pamian (02-753-1918), Myeong-dong, opened in October, and noodles are packed in leak-proof bowl with soup.
Chinese restaurants, Chinese-to-Go (Gangman, 02-536-1001) and Puyi Express (Ewha Womans' University neighborhood, 02-393-1661) provide 'American style' paper box take-out orders.
The popularity of take-out restaurants is translated as part of mobile generation's convenience-oriented culture. However, as packaging materials do not maintain temperature and freshness of the food, take-out dishes need to be consumed immediately, and environmental concerns arise since the use of disposable items will inevitably increase.
(Lee Ja-yeon, achim@chosun.com)
