Linda is a 57-year-old Korean woman who came to the state in 2015 to establish a clothing manufacturing company, but the pandemic changed her mind and she had to change her life. Currently, she reproduces succulent dishes of the typical food of her country to delight the people of Puebla in her restaurant Huwon (in Korean: 후원).
Kind and generous, Linda welcomed us in her restaurant where the stoves give off intense aromas that awaken the senses: “My Korean name is Jeong Jihyun (in Korean: 정지현), I am single and my entire family lives in South Korea.”
“There is nothing more beautiful than feeling at home where you are doing something you enjoy doing,” says the chef who opened an Afro-Mexican food restaurant in Angelópolis.
Linda said that “Huwon” is a term that refers to a royal or imperial garden. In Korean history, these gardens were private spaces within palaces, places full of nature with traditional pavilions, ponds and serene paths created to offer harmony and tranquility.
In 2000, Linda left her home country in East Asia to come work at a maquiladora in Atlixco. At a certain point, the company moved to Nicaragua and she went with them. After a short period she returned to South Korea where it didn’t take long because she soon returned to the city of eternal spring in Puebla.
The first time I came 25 years ago (…) I came back in 2015, because a colleague (Korean) called me to open a maquiladora. The company was doing well, but the pandemic came and it was very difficult because she had many employees and there was no work,
she lamented.
As a good Korean, she is very hard-working and kept the maquiladora while looking for other options, she even tried selling insurance, but it didn’t work out for her. It was not until 2023 that his compatriots, Mr. Lee and Mrs. Hong, handed over the restaurant they had founded in 1997.
Korean tradition on the table
“The restaurant already had customers who keep coming, the employees are also the same. The menu remains the same, but I added new dishes, it doubled (…) The most traditional Korean food is rice, which is like our omelette, and kimichi (fermented cabbage). Every two weeks we prepare 150 kilograms of kimichi and keep it in a special (Korean) refrigerator,” he explained.
As Korean history tells about Huwon, Lindo made it a serene space full of harmony with its aromas and gastronomic flavors that it offers in each of the dishes that preserve the tradition of eating in his country; as is the case of the side dishes that are served as a courtesy as starters and are called “banchan,” something very distinctive in that East Asian country.
“Banchan is what most distinguishes the tradition of my country, here we offer zucchini in soy sauce, broccoli, kimchi, peanuts in soy sauce and chicory salad (lettuce),” he explained.
The dishes that sell the most are Bibimbap (rice mixed with vegetables, ground beef, fried egg and spicy sauce), Bulgogui (beef with soy sauce and grilled mushrooms), and a very traditional dish, KimchiChigue (kimchi soup with pork and tofu). People come and share, for example, three people come, order three dishes and everyone tries them,
he pointed out.
In addition to soft drinks and beers, the Huwon Linda restaurant sells typical Korean products such as aloe, pear and grape drinks, as well as rice liqueurs, traditional coffee, snacks, cookies and ramen.
At Huwon, the food is very healthy, almost everything is steamed or grilled, accompanied by protein such as pork or tofu. Korean food is distinguished by the use of condiments and spices, the use of the product, the taste for intense flavors, the preference for spicy food and spoon dishes, all of which integrate a wide range of healthy recipes for the body that you have to try!
Puebla is her home
Although Linda does not speak Spanish very well, she makes herself understood perfectly, in addition to Korean friends who also live in the state, she has Mexican friends, from Puebla who she says are very kind people.
“There aren’t many Koreans anymore, there used to be more, I think they left because of the pandemic or many went to Monterrey to Hyundai because they needed a lot of people,” she said.
Yes, I miss my family, but I’ve been living outside the country for a long time, it’s normal. I’m more comfortable here now, I have my business and my house here. When I go to visit Korea and come back, when I arrive at the airport in Mexico I feel relief because I’ve already arrived home,
she concluded.
If you want to enjoy all the flavor and seasoning of Korean food, visit Linda’s Huwon restaurant located at 29 Sur 718, Col. La Paz. Its service hours are Thursday to Tuesday from 12:00 to 20:30 hours. Phone: (222) 231-6922, Facebook: Huwon, Instagram @huwon_korean
Source: oem
