The four-plus-mile stretch of Havana Street between Dartmouth and Sixth Avenue in Aurora is home to the most diverse array of international cuisine available in the metro area. From restaurants and markets to take-and-go shops and stands, food lovers of nearly any ethnicity or interest can find a place that will remind them of home or open new culinary doors. In Eat Up Havana, Westword contributor Antony Bruno will visit them all, one by one, week by week.
Previous stops:
Next Up: Shin Myung Gwan Korean BBQ
Some of us who toil away at “normy” jobs, stuck at a desk and clocking in day after day, have a secret dream of leaving the nine-to-five grind behind to open a restaurant. For most of us, that’s all it will ever be — a fantasy to briefly visit during late, sleepless nights.
But a brave few make those dreams a reality, including Hannah Cho, owner of Shin Myung Gwan Korean BBQ.
Cho moved to the U.S. from Korea in 2000 to attend college at Regis University, where she graduated with a degree in finance and accounting. For ten years, she took that degree and dutifully worked at a bank, like those with degrees in finance and accounting often do.
Eventually, however, Cho hungered for something more. She had traveled the world and tasted many cuisines across multiple continents. Soon, the culinary itch became too much, and she decided to scratch it.
“I was very interested in seasoning and ingredients, you know?” she says. “I enjoy food. I like to taste food. So I think because of that, it really made me jump into the restaurant industry.”
How It Began
That jump came in the form of buying the twenty-year-old Sea Jong Kwan Korean BBQ restaurant in 2017 and changing its name to Shin Myung Gwan (which, according to Cho, means “fun restaurant with high standards”). At first, the change was a bit of an adjustment as the intricacies of front-of-house versus back-of-house staffing, procurement and customer relations were an instant reality check in the initial months.
“I thought, ‘What have I done?’ Because I realized I don’t know the business,” she says with a laugh. But a solid foundation in finance and accounting helped her weather the rocky onboarding. In 2018, the year after she took over, Shin Myung Gwan was our Best of Denver pick for Best Korean Restaurant.
A finance background wasn’t the only secret to success. Along with the location, kitchen equipment, and vendor relationships, the previous restaurant’s two chefs, Seong Nam Park and Seil Kim, stayed on board, each bringing over a decade of experience.
After all, diners don’t eat receipts or come back for invoices. They’re here for the food. And at Shin Muyung Gwan, that food is Korean BBQ.
What You’re Eating
Entering the restaurant, it’s immediately clear that there’s something different going on here. Hanging from the ceiling over each table are long metal tentacles of ductwork dangling inches away from metal grills embedded into each table. These grills are heated by propane tanks below the surface to a don’t-graze-your-arm temperature on which diners sear piles of raw and marinated meats that, without the vents, would quickly cloud the air with steam and smoke.
Sure, you could have the kitchen grill your meat to order and have it served with the rest of your meal. But what’s the fun in that?
For first-timers, it might be a bit intimidating. After all, you don’t want to ruin the well-seasoned, tender cuts of beef and pork by fumbling around an unfamiliar grill. But the staff at Shin Myung Gwan are happy to step in if they notice anyone struggling. “Pay attention!” Cho encourages the table. “Don’t overcook!”
This isn’t a restaurant catering to the American palate, fears or expectations. This is a place made to bring back the comforts of home. In addition to the traditional recipes and techniques used, Cho has a special blend of seasoning and powdered chile shipped directly to the restaurant from a farm in Jin-Hae, Korea, where her mother is from. (The fresh chile is sun-dried, cleaned, then ground into a powder.)
“We like to deliver our Korean food the way it is, so we keep our authentic food,” Cho says. “We are one of the Korean restaurants that all the older Korean people come to.”
That, of course, starts with the meat. Familiar-ish items like beef bulgogi and bibimap are available. The spicy pork is a must-have. And the most popular item is gal-bi, a marinated beef short rib served in a long strap, grilled, and then cut up with scissors.
The Star of the Show
It can be argued that the highlight of the Korean BBQ experience is the array of side dishes, called banchan, that accompany most meals. These small, veggie-forward plates are not listed on the menu. You don’t choose which you receive. They just appear as part of the meal, surrounding the circular table grill.
The most recognizable to nearly anyone is kimchi, the spicy, fermented cabbage staple of Korean cuisine. At Shin Myung Gwan, you’ll find it not only as a banchan but also as the base of several soups and stews, as well as an optional addition to the scallion pancakes.
From there, other banchan include a spicy chilled cucumber; broccoli with gochujang; bean sprouts; pickled shredded daikon radish and carrots; dried whitefish cut into strips with stir-fried vegetables; a white seaweed salad; seasoned lettuce; pan-fried tofu; and vegetable tempura. One standout was mook, a Jell-O-like dish made with acorn flour and a scallion-soy sauce.
All are either spice or soy-based, and most are fermented (sometimes a mixture of both). They provide a pleasing contrast to the grilled meat in flavor and texture and also aid in the digestion of the meal thanks to enzymes in the spices and the probiotic elements of the ferments. It’s a surefire way to stave off the meat sweats.
Given the volume of food, the best way to experience Korean barbecue is with a group. Cho recommends ordering one of the combo options on the menu. Made to serve around four people, these include anywhere from two to four meats and a stew of kimchi, soybean paste, or spicy soft tofu plus a scallion pancake and a choice of soda or soju (a sake-like rice wine in various flavors).
Generations of Fans
Although eight other Korean restaurants are located just a mile north of Shin Myung Gwan’s location (all of which will be included in the Eat Up Havana series soon), Cho is not concerned about oversaturation or competition, as each focuses on a slightly different element of the country’s cuisine.
What concerns her more are the same pressures that confront any restaurant operating in the metro area — and the entire country — including high costs, economic uncertainty and clientele.
“I want to ask people, to place love on Havana street restaurants, the mom-and-pop restaurants,” she says. “I see customers who say they first came here when they were in their mother’s belly, and now they bring their baby. Generation after generation, they keep coming back. So we need a lot of support from the community to maintain our restaurant. Because for a restaurant being there twenty or thirty years, that means a lot.”
Shin Myun Gwan is located at 2680 South Havana Street in Aurora and is open daily from 4 p.m. to midnight. For more information, visit ordershinmyungbbq.com.
