New Moncton Japanese-Korean Restaurant Settles Into New Elmwood Drive Perch
MONCTON – A new Asian fusion restaurant is hoping to become a regular stop for students and those traveling Elmwood Drive.
Restaurant Big Bowl opened for sit-down dining and take-out orders on August 17 in a berth at Elmwood Plaza.
So far, traffic is steady at the 28-seat restaurant, serving up a combination of Japanese and Korean cuisine.
“Even though we recently opened, we are getting lots of customers – an average of 15 to 20 orders a day,” said Amy Youn, an employee speaking on behalf of founders Eric Youn and Judy Lim, who both hail from South Korea.
“We are getting more customers every day, as well. There’s a lot of traffic on Elmwood.”
Youn told Huddle Big Bowl is usually the busiest closest to supper.
She said Big Bowl is gunning to appeal to students at nearby Université de Moncton – a move that would cut into the market cornered by restaurants like the Mezza Lebanese Kitchen, Subway, Domino’s Pizza and Guacamole location near the UdeM campus at the intersection of McLaughlin Road and Morton Avenue.
“We don’t see a lot of students, since we just opened, but we’d like to have them,” said Youn.
To achieve this, Big Bowl is considering promotions such as a spicy ramen challenge, with free coupons.
Youn said the idea of launching a restaurant had been on the minds of its founders for a while. Both have worked in the restaurant industry for more than a decade, about as long as they’ve lived in Canada.
“People around us kept on asking when we will open our restaurant,” Youn said.
She said Eric Youn, who is also one of the chefs, has a reputation for cooking large portions – so the restaurant’s name is a nod to that.
Youn works with two chefs and another waiter at the 28-seat restaurant.
Youn said Big Bowl is looking to carve a niche for itself, where it faces some healthy competition.
Big Bowl is hardly the first Asian food restaurant to set up shop on Elmwood, with Yanakee Sushi & K-Food down the road, and Spoon (Spoon2) Sushi Elmwood just across the street – and the Hot Rice Restaurant next door.
Youn pegged the tonkotsu ramen, a standard Japanese noodle-based dish, as Big Bowl’s signature dish.
That ramen is a popular, basic dish that’s as popular as it is easy for the chefs to make.
“Everyone enjoys it because it’s not too spicy,” she noted.
Big Bowl serves a vast variety of dishes, from Korean Kimbab and barbecue and Japanese sushi rolls and onigiri to wonton soup – and a variety of plates and appetizers.
Customers who eventually become regulars can also eventually avail themselves of some inside knowledge. Youn said dishes like the Korean Japchae (glass noodle) aren’t on the menu, but are available to customers in the know.
“We can serve it, basically a menu that only people who know can order,” she said.
“However, we do give a small portion to customers so they can eat them while waiting for the main meal.”
Sam Macdonald is a Huddle reporter in Moncton. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].