An Evening with Chef Esther Choi of Mokbar

Esther Choi, owner and chef of Mŏkbar, will share her remarkable and entrepreneurial journey from pharmacy student to restaurant owner. Winning the Village Voice
Readers’ Choice Best New Restaurant in 2014, Mŏkbar has become one of New York’s go-to Korean noodle shops since opening in Chelsea Market a year ago.

Chef Esther is a young and talented chef on a mission to popularize Korean food. She fuses authentic Korean ingredients and old family recipes with a New Jersey
twist to create her own unique style of Korean soul food. The result is Korean flavored ramen noodles inspired by traditional dishes such as kimchijigae, bibimbap, naengmyeon, and miyeokgook. Renowned for her homemade kimchis, she even coined the term “kimchify” as she can ferment almost any vegetable in the Korean style. Chef Esther’s kimchi is essential to many of the menu items offered at Mŏkbar, providing the “soul" in her cuisine.

She will be joined by moderator Leiti Hsu, the producer and host of WORD OF MOUTH with Leiti Hsu on Heritage Radio Network, who eats and networks for a living. Chef Esther will also demonstrate how to make her version of tteobokki (spicy rice cake), followed by a tasting. A not-to-be-missed event for young professional foodies.