Earlier this month, the owner of Pardon My Sub on Bell Boulevard in Bayside opened Tyger’s Bowl and Kimbap, a new Korean fast-casual eatery right next door.
Chris Kim has been in the food business for almost a decade now, but this is the first time he’s been able to fully highlight his Korean roots and experiment with creative twists on traditional classics.
The wide-ranging menu offers bowls, burritos, tacos, and quesadillas that fuse Korean ingredients with Mexican styles. The house signatures include the Jeju Island with pork belly, rice, glass noodles, sauteed peppers and onions, pico de gallo, kimchi, spicy cucumber topped with seaweed, a fried egg and drizzled with ssamjang aioli, which can be made in a burrito or bowl Chipotle-style.
But so far, the most popular menu item is a common breakfast in the city transformed into a beloved Korean classic: a Bacon Egg and Cheese Kimbap.
“Everybody loves Bacon, Egg, and Cheese. That’s a New York staple,” said Kim, who had the thought to turn it into a KimBap, sometimes called Korean sushi, drizzled with ketchup. “I made it, and it tasted amazing.”
He said that the combo initially confuses people, especially his Korean customers. But once they try it, they love it. He’s even considering a Sausage, Egg and Cheese option next.
However, Kim’s vision for the establishment was motivated by a desire to bring affordable Korean BBQ to the area. It can be pricey at sit-down restaurants, even those that offer an all-you-can-eat option. So he crafted a menu that offered meat without the barbecue.
The meat options, which the menu dubs as “prey,” include LA galbi (marinated short rib), Bulgogi (thinly sliced ribeye), Chadol (Brisket), and Samgyupsal (Berkshire Pork Belly). To “devour your prey,” you can choose a rice bowl, salad, taco, quesadilla or kimbap.
Each option comes with five toppings from the salad bar, and the menu jokes that “due to tigers going extinct, inflation forces us to charge extra” for additional toppings.
Connected through an interior passage, Pardon My Sub has been open for two years and has become a popular destination for traditional sandwiches and unique twists. It’s where Kim first experimented with Korean fusion menu items such as a Kimchi Burger and a Pho Real sandwich.
“When people like the food, it makes me feel like I’m on the right track,” said Kim, who noted that working nineteen-hour days seven days a week as a business owner can take a toll. “I just wanted to do like a Korean Chipotle and offer Korean food at an affordable price.”
As a new business working to stand out on the food-centric Bell Boulevard, Kim is currently offering free soup or rice cakes with any order at Tyger’s Bowl to thank customers for their support.
He says it’s a way to repay the Queens community for supporting his food ventures.
Tyger’s Bowl and Kimbap is located at 39-35 Bell Blvd. on the corner of 40th Avenue in Bayside. It is open every day from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
