Oh, Gung Ho.... Where do we start?
Back in 2008, a young cook named Eric, decided to pack up his bags, and pursue a serious cooking career in San Francisco. He left his home state of Iowa, and made his first pilgrimage out west.
He landed his first job at Serpentine, in the Dogpatch. After spending over 2 years there, and working his way up to sous chef, Eric started to look for his next move. Tempted by his friends to try and do his own thing, he took a trip to Korea, to learn about his homeland, and its cuisine. When he came back, he knew that making his version of the Korean dishes he loved, was his destiny.
To show off some of the new things he learned, it was only fitting, to do a dinner, at his home away from home, Serpentine. The dinner would be Seoul inspired American food, and set in the Dogpatch. Boom, the Seoul Patch was born.
The first Seoul Patch dinner was a huge success, and people started to ask, "Where are you going to pop-up next?". Eric didn't even know much about, "popping-up", but he figured, "why not?".
Through sheer luck, Eric found a sushi restaurant in his neighborhood, Rocketfish, that was interested in hosting his pop-up. After a few tastings and meetings, Seoul Patch @ Rocketfish, became a thing; and a neighborhood mainstay, for a whole year.
The first few months at Rocketfish were slow, but it didn't discourage the Seoul Patch crew, at all. They knew how good their food was, and they knew that eventually, it would catch on. Not a group to stay put, doing one thing, the SP crew started tackling other pop-up options. They started popping up every weekend, and eventually joined forces with SF pop-up kings, the Reform Club.
After only half a year, of relentless pop-ups, the Seoul Patch was becoming a San Francisco foodie household name. For almost 4 months straight, SP was booked every day.
Once a full year rolled along, the Seoul Patch crew started plotting it's next move... Would it be a restaurant? A food truck? Just staying a pop-up? It was a difficult decision, but they knew that the Seoul Patch deserved to be in a restaurant.
Luckily once the decision to open a restaurant was made, Eric got a wind of a sushi restaurant closing in the Design District. After a few visits, he knew that's where he wanted to open a restaurant at. The location would be perfect to continue the Seoul Patch lunch, and a challenge to create a neighborhood restaurant for the evening.
Torn, whether or not to keep the Seoul Patch name, Eric decided to name the restaurant, Gung Ho. It is a term he always approaches anything with, and also a direct reflection of the food he makes; Asian American.
Only 4 months after first seeing the space, Gung Ho opened it's doors to the public.
Gung Ho is for you San Francisco. Its for the City who gave us everything. Its for the people who believed in us, the chefs who yelled at us, and the regular customers, who keep coming back. We love you, and we will keep getting better, just to make better food for you.
We hope to see you soon :)
-eric, kinson, marcelle, lisa, and the rest of the Gung Ho family
Back in 2008, a young cook named Eric, decided to pack up his bags, and pursue a serious cooking career in San Francisco. He left his home state of Iowa, and made his first pilgrimage out west.
He landed his first job at Serpentine, in the Dogpatch. After spending over 2 years there, and working his way up to sous chef, Eric started to look for his next move. Tempted by his friends to try and do his own thing, he took a trip to Korea, to learn about his homeland, and its cuisine. When he came back, he knew that making his version of the Korean dishes he loved, was his destiny.
To show off some of the new things he learned, it was only fitting, to do a dinner, at his home away from home, Serpentine. The dinner would be Seoul inspired American food, and set in the Dogpatch. Boom, the Seoul Patch was born.
The first Seoul Patch dinner was a huge success, and people started to ask, "Where are you going to pop-up next?". Eric didn't even know much about, "popping-up", but he figured, "why not?".
Through sheer luck, Eric found a sushi restaurant in his neighborhood, Rocketfish, that was interested in hosting his pop-up. After a few tastings and meetings, Seoul Patch @ Rocketfish, became a thing; and a neighborhood mainstay, for a whole year.
The first few months at Rocketfish were slow, but it didn't discourage the Seoul Patch crew, at all. They knew how good their food was, and they knew that eventually, it would catch on. Not a group to stay put, doing one thing, the SP crew started tackling other pop-up options. They started popping up every weekend, and eventually joined forces with SF pop-up kings, the Reform Club.
After only half a year, of relentless pop-ups, the Seoul Patch was becoming a San Francisco foodie household name. For almost 4 months straight, SP was booked every day.
Once a full year rolled along, the Seoul Patch crew started plotting it's next move... Would it be a restaurant? A food truck? Just staying a pop-up? It was a difficult decision, but they knew that the Seoul Patch deserved to be in a restaurant.
Luckily once the decision to open a restaurant was made, Eric got a wind of a sushi restaurant closing in the Design District. After a few visits, he knew that's where he wanted to open a restaurant at. The location would be perfect to continue the Seoul Patch lunch, and a challenge to create a neighborhood restaurant for the evening.
Torn, whether or not to keep the Seoul Patch name, Eric decided to name the restaurant, Gung Ho. It is a term he always approaches anything with, and also a direct reflection of the food he makes; Asian American.
Only 4 months after first seeing the space, Gung Ho opened it's doors to the public.
Gung Ho is for you San Francisco. Its for the City who gave us everything. Its for the people who believed in us, the chefs who yelled at us, and the regular customers, who keep coming back. We love you, and we will keep getting better, just to make better food for you.
We hope to see you soon :)
-eric, kinson, marcelle, lisa, and the rest of the Gung Ho family
