Dublin’s Next Massive Food Trend After Mexican Is Seriously Exciting

niallharbison

Most of the food trends that sweep into Ireland come from the USA via London. Burritos, 5 Guys, doughnuts and brunch culture all infiltrated Dublin after making it big on the East and West Coasts of the USA.

You could argue that Mexican is as big as anything in Ireland at the moment, with a burrito shop in pretty much every corner in the country.

Same with fancy burgers. Much as we’d hate to think it, much of what we eat is strongly influenced by America; just like our pop culture and movies.

The latest trend about to sweep these shores over the next couple of years will be Korean food and indeed the early signs of that are already here.

To understand how it became so big and the background to the movement, have a read of how it has been sweeping America.

There are a handful of Korean restaurants in Dublin already. Just like in America though, they were mostly run for Koreans missing their home food or as part of a broader menu offering sushi, Chinese and Asian food as a whole. A watered down Korean experience.

These places are dotted around Parnell Street and a couple of Capel Street, but my own favourite is Hai Lan on Dame Street.

This is a great place to get a taster for surge of Korean food that’s bound to come over the next 18 months. Ignore their sushi and Chinese options and head straight for the Korean dishes. You’ll see big soups, lots of fermenting, Bulgogi, Kimchi, rice, meats and ribs.

You’ll also notice straight away just how big the portions are in Korean food and that the food is often made for sharing.

When Korean food starts making it’s way onto the trendy menus around town you’ll see the prices shoot up. You’ll already see some mentions of Kimchi and Korean elements on menus as chef’s pick up on the trends from abroad. Indeed Bread and Bones is the first of the westernised Koreans spots to pop up in Dublin. Korean food for the masses.

You can expect lots more Korean food and you should be very excited about that, because it truly is delicious. It can also be incredibly healthy with the soups and vegetables (providing you ignore the huge portions of meat).

I’ve also found it hugely affordable which is always a bonus.

It might have felt like Mexican food and burritos happened overnight, but they actually took a good 5 or 6 years to be mainstream. The same will happen with Korean food, but make no mistake about it that trend has already started and I for one am delighted (and that’s before we even get into the whole Korean BBQ subject!).

Just look at some of the these Korean dishes, how could you not be excited about this trend?