BTS drives fresh boom in Korean food

"Cafe in the City," a pop-up restaurant at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, serves a menu of Korean dishes specially curated with BTS' favorites in celebration of the K-pop titan's ongoing concert series, "Permission to Dance on Stage ― Las Vegas." Courtesy of HYBE

By Park Han-sol

In celebration of a string of sold-out "Permission to Dance on Stage - Las Vegas" concerts by BTS being staged at Allegiant Stadium until April 16 (local time), the entire city has been awash with shades of purple, the symbolic color for the K-pop titan.

The metropolis has been turned into a "BTS-themed playground" as part of a special project called "The City." One event that has excited the taste buds of die-hard fans there is a pop-up restaurant called "Cafe in the City."

Located in Mandalay Bay, the restaurant serves selected Korean dishes specially designed with BTS' favorites, many of which, have appeared in the group's video content and reality shows, including "BTS In the Soop," "Bon Voyage" and "Run BTS!"

Curated by Michelin-starred chef Akira Back, the eatery's menu presents a variety of meal choices representing Korean street food: "tteokbokki" (spicy stir-fried rice cake), "kimchi buchimgae" (kimchi pancake), "gimbap" (seaweed rice roll with diverse fillings), "bibimguksu" (spicy chilled noodles), "galbijjim" (soy-braised beef short rib), "kimchi bokkeumbap" (kimchi fried rice), "bingsu" (Korean shaved ice) and Korean-style fried chicken served with "gochujang" (hot pepper paste) and garlic soy dipping sauces.

Fans can ― and are even encouraged to ― order their favorite stars' dishes in their original Korean moniker as the menu contains both their names written in Romanized Korean and additional descriptions in English.

Fans appear to be unfazed by a set menu consisting of an appetizer, entree, dessert and beverage costing $60, with all tables having already been booked until its run through April 16, according to the restaurant.

BTS members celebrate the arrival of a Spotify plaque given to artists who have reached 1 billion streams on the platform by eating "bibimbap" (rice mixed with assorted vegetable) off of the plaque in this short clip posted on March 15. The septet became the first Korean group to achieve this milestone last July with their disco-pop track, "Dynamite." Captured from BANGTAN TV

Last month, the septet's name was associated with another Korean dish, "bibimbap" (mixed rice and vegetables), when the members uploaded a short clip to celebrate the arrival of a Spotify plaque given to artists who have surpassed 1 billion streams on the platform.

Titled "A little taste of #BTS_Dynamite on the 1B Spotify Plaque," the clip was posted on the band's official YouTube channel, BANGTAN TV, on March 15, featuring the commemorative plaque awarded for their Grammy-nominated disco-pop track, "Dynamite." BTS became the first Korean act ever to achieve this milestone last July.

Previously, a number of pop icons, including Drake, Halsey and Bebe Rexha, celebrated reaching the 1 billion mark on the streaming service in an unconventional way ― by eating meals of their choice off of the plaque that has a plate-shaped metal logo attached to it.

The K-pop stars followed suit, this time, with bibimbap.

In the video, the members show the quick step-by-step process of making the dish, with each of them adding different ingredients to the plate of rice, including vegetables and herbs, sesame oil and gochujang. After presenting the bowl topped with the egg garnish cut in the shape of the BTS logo, they share the meal together.

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