One to watch Eating Out
English while my parents lived in New Malden and ran a Korean supermarket. It was such hard work for them, though, and my father often talked of opening a restaurant. He’d worked as a chef in the past and both he and my mum are great cooks. They opened Su La and when I came over to stay and saw how hard they were working, I felt it was my duty to help.
Did working ‘front of house’ come naturally to you? I didn’t think I’d be this involved, but the more I worked, the more I got to know the customers and the more I enjoyed it. My role evolved until I was manager. There are about 10,000 Korean people living in New Malden and most of them have been to us. I always try to welcome people with a smile. Creating a positive atmosphere so people can relax and enjoy their food is really enjoyable.
How do you juggle work with having young children? It works well because we live with my parents, so I have their support. I work from 7pm to 11pm and live near the restaurant. Work can be tiring, but I have lots of energy so it suits me, and I spend my time either with family or customers, so I’m happy.
We noticed people sitting on the fl oor at low tables. Why is that? Again, it is tradition. Men cross their legs and women sit sideways with their legs folded beside them. If they are wearing a skirt, we provide a little apron to preserve their modesty. We have the usual tables too, so people can choose.
Has being an English teacher helped with managing Su La? Yes, the Korean community is very close and quite a few people don’t speak English. Our waitresses would never be rude, but if someone doesn’t speak Korean, it can be hard to answer questions. As this way of eating is very diff erent for some customers, I can explain what the food is and make sure they don’t order too much or too little.
What plans do you have for the future? I would like to improve Su La’s image and we’ll be giving the interior a facelift soon. I’d like us to feel a little smarter and to look at doing some more outside catering. I want to introduce more people to Korean food. People always ask us if we’ll expand, but my parents aren’t greedy about money so we’ll see. We all just feel very lucky and privileged to be in the position we are.
Su La, 79-81 Kingston Road, New Malden, Surrey KT3 3PB 020 8336 0121
GRUBMAGAZINE.CO.UK JULY 2011 13
to sh‘We feel very proud to able Hannah Paek
are Korean food with a wider audience’
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