At Chinatown wine bar Sunn's, banchan steps into the spotlight - Review - New York - The Infatuation
"Whether you refer to the area just south of Hester as Dimes Square or Chinatown, you can’t deny it’s changed. A luxury hotel has arrived. So has an omakase spot. Home goods store Coming Soon, with its vintage dressers and $70 martini glasses, has drifted east from Soho. Sunn’s, a pop-up-turned-wine bar, isn’t here to save the day, but it does provide some soulful relief. The six-table spot with a single induction burner has a scrappy feel that’s going extinct in these parts. As legally required, the restaurant does have natural wine (and soju)—courtesy of neighbor Parcelle—but it also has an uncompromising Korean menu that splits the difference between comfort and creativity. photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte Of their nine or so rotating dishes, roughly half wouldn’t feel out of place in a home kitchen. A pot of glistening chicken soup with mandu big as rabbit ears, say, or silky sliced pork belly glazed with coffee. Even the showstopping Pyrex of tteokbokki under a blob of stracciatella reads like a feral midnight snack. Other items are more controversial. A set of banchan, free at your average Korean spot, costs a little over $20. But these aren’t your usual specimens. Kimchi and acorn jelly aside, the selection is as disparate as the playlist featuring SZA and Steely Dan. Sign us up for more tahini-glazed mushrooms, yellow beans in a peanut-persimmon sauce, and oxtail pressed into a tidy terrine. Those misfit sides are the real headliners here. With its idiosyncratic menu and kitchen tools hung up like rakes in a garage, Sunn’s is messy in a way that feels personal. The chef behind the counter? That’s Sunny. The paintings on the wall? From her artist husband. It’s a bold move charging for banchan, even if you have a $200 blanc de blancs to go with it. This skeleton crew pulls it off with unpretentious flair. Food Rundown photo credit: Kate Previte Banchan An appropriate knee-jerk reaction to paying twenty-something dollars for banchan should fall somewhere along the five stages of grief. You’ll quickly get over it. There’s always a daily selection—with items like kimchi, eggplant, and a zippy potato salad—in addition to specials like Korean-style giardiniera and squishy pearl onions embedded in mustard. Always get the specials. photo credit: Kate Previte Hwe There are other things you should try before the hwe. But if you want some compelling introductory bites, absolutely go for it. We’ve had scallops caught by the chef’s dad, as well cubes of Hudson Valley trout dressed with fried anchovies and translucent cloud ear mushrooms. photo credit: Kate Previte Ttoekbokki There’s zero chance you’ll regret ordering these gummy, cheese-smothered rice cakes from Hansol Foods in Flushing. They look like something you’d throw together at 3am, and taste like a cross between Little Italy and K-Town. photo credit: Kate Previte Hobak Chigae The larger items lean traditional, and there are no misses. A little vat of hobak chigae comes with short rib and kabocha squash in nutty, murky brown broth littered with sesame seeds. If it's available, get it for the table. photo credit: Kate Previte Dak Mandu Guk Always order these big, floppy mandu submerged in a shimmering broth with skinny strands of omelet swimming about." - Bryan Kim
