What Happens When a Chinese Run a Korean Restaurant? - Yanji London

I have been hearing a lot about Yanji from my Korean friends recently because they were doing a special discount promotion where you can get Korean cold noodle dish, naengmyeon and Chinese lamb skewers. They told me it's a bit Korean style lamb skewers where it's a bit lighter on the seasoning. But why is a Chinese BBQ place selling Korean dishes.

Let me tell you why.

Who Are the 조선족?

So before we get into the skewers, a bit of background. The restaurant name, Yanji is actually the name of a city in Yanbian (연변), which is right on the border of China and North Korea. That whole area has a big community of 조선족, ethnic Koreans who moved there over a hundred years ago.

Some went looking for farmland, some left Korea during hard times, and later, others fled war. They built their lives in northeast China but held on to Korean traditions, language, food, even schools. At the same time, they also picked up Chinese flavors and ways of eating.

That’s why if you walk around Yanbian today, you’ll see shop signs in both Korean and Chinese, people switching between the two languages, and food that’s naturally a mix of both. And that’s exactly what you see at Yanji in Bethnal Green.

How Chinese Skewers Work

Chinese BBQ isn’t like the Korean grill most of us know. Here, it’s all about skewers.

They bring a little charcoal grill right to your table, set the skewers on a rack, and the rack slowly spins them for you.

You don’t even have to touch it, just sit back while your lamb or chicken wings get that perfect smoky char.

And it became popular in Korea through 조선족 (Korean Chinese) communities, especially in Seoul’s Daerim-dong or Wangsimni.

They adapted to Korean's taste with a bit lighter seasoning on the lamb, and giving more variety of sauces.

Why There’s Korean Food Too

At Yanji, skewers sit right next to dishes like kimchi jjigae and naengmyeon. That’s straight out of the 조선족 way of eating, because for them, Korean food and Chinese food have always shared the same table.

It’s not fusion for the sake of it. It’s just everyday life in Yanbian.

What to Order at Yanji

Personally the lamb skewers were really good. I have tried at many Chinese restaurants, but this one by far my favourite. I think it's probably adapted to Koreans' palate. But there were few that was disappointing.