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At 73 years old, Dong Hye Kim is working her first job, making kimbap out of a ghost kitchen in San Mateo with her daughter, Chihee Kim.
“I never thought that I could work or sell something,” Dong Hye said.
The now grandmother of four grew up in Korea, and although she has a degree in food and nutrition, she spent most of her life raising her two children and supporting her husband through his career as a cardiologist. Now, she’s finally pursuing her passion for food and nutrition by making kimbap (Korean rice rolls often filled with pickled vegetables, egg and meat) “in the healthiest way possible.”
The Kims opened yumkimbap in San Mateo Food Mall, a branch of CloudKitchens, on Feb. 19. The restaurant sells five flavors: fishcake (named “The OG”), beef, Spam, veggie and vegan, and all kimbap rolls come with egg, marinated and cooked carrots and spinach, fresh cucumber and Dong Hye’s special recipe of pickled radish.
“My mother used to make it when I grew up, and I made it for my kids, so Chihee thinks that kimbap is special,” Dong Hye said.
Every element of the kimbap is specially curated by Dong Hye to be as nutrient-rich as possible. For example, she cooks the carrots to boost vitamin A intake, pickles the daikon in beet juice to improve cardiovascular health and uses garlic and onion as seasoning to boost metabolism.
“I think it’s good for kids and good for the American people,” she said. “I am so proud to help my daughter…and introduce my Korean dish.”
In 2010, just out of business school, Chihee had the idea to start a fresh kimbap business, but the timing just wasn’t right. After working on Wall Street and selling her fintech company early last year, she wondered what was next for her. When she saw Trader Joe’s frozen vegetarian kimbap going viral online, she knew it was time to execute her longtime kimbap dream – a dream inspired by childhood picnic memories with her mother.
“I just felt that Korean kimbap is not a frozen thing,” she said. “It’s something that should be enjoyed fresh with homemade ingredients.”
Kimbap, while convenient to eat, is extremely time-consuming to make. Chihee said it can take hours to prepare one roll of kimbap due to marinating and preparing all the individual ingredients that go into it. Because kimbap is so complex to make, it wasn’t made often, making the childhood memory of this picnic treat that much more special to Chihee.
Kimbap, Chihee said, is especially popular with kids, who love the multicolored bite-sized pieces. Last summer, her 6-year-old son encouraged her to open a kimbap business, she recalled.
After looking for suitable locations within her hometown of Burlingame for six months, Chihee decided to open yumkimbap in a ghost kitchen in San Mateo because she “wanted to move quickly” so people could “understand what fresh kimbap is like.” According to CloudKitchens’ website, a traditional restaurant takes 12 months to open, whereas a location at CloudKitchens takes about six weeks. To streamline the complicated kimbap process even more, yumkimbap uses machines imported from Korea, which Chihee calls her “robots,” to roll and cut the kimbap.
“All the other things that I’ve done in my life feel like work, but doing this doesn’t feel like work, which is interesting,” she said. “I think that’s a good sign.”
Although the kimbap preparation is different from Chihee’s childhood, she said the end result tastes the same – especially “The OG,” a roll made with fishcake, which is high in protein, rich in omega-3 fatty acids and a good source of vitamin B12, according to yumkimbap’s website.
Dong Hye said at first she was worried customers wouldn’t like kimbap, since it’s neither extremely spicy nor extremely sweet, like other Korean food you might find in America. The taste is “simple,” perfect for children and those who are health-conscious or on-the-go, she said. But after receiving so much customer support, she realized she needn’t have worried.
Chihee said she and her mom make a good team. While Chihee loves to cook as well, she let her mom lead the recipe development while Chihee worked on the tech and business side. The yumkimbap team currently includes Chihee, her mother and one other employee.
“It helps us to spend time together,” Chihee said. “It’s kind of funny because when food is flying and orders are coming in, our skills are very complementary. And so that actually works out really well.”
Dong Hye says she’s tired but very happy, with a renewed sense of purpose.
“Physically I can’t stand it,” she said. “Mentally, I’m very interested.”
Both Chihee and Dong Hye said they hope to expand yumkimbap, envisioning it as a healthy fast-food option. Chihee said they’ll likely soon start experimenting with additional flavors of kimbap as well.
“Every day my daughter says, ‘Are you OK? I’m sorry to make you work hard,’” Dong Hye said. “But I’m proud of her for letting me introduce the Korean kimbap roll to the world. She gave me the chance to make it even at this age, and I will support Chihee’s challenge, and I also will try to make the best food in the world for the people. That is my goal.”
yumkimbap, 66 21st Ave., San Mateo; 650-209-0409, Instagram: @eatyumkimbap.