Customers dine at the newly opened Mala Baek restaurant in Tokyo, Japan, Monday. Courtesy of The Born Korea
Theborn Korea, a major Korean restaurant franchisor and food distribution company founded by celebrity chef and entrepreneur Paik Jong-won, is making a calculated push into Japan’s fast-growing "mala" market — a spicy, tingling seasoning blend originating from Sichuan cuisine — by opening a specialty restaurant in Tokyo tailored to local tastes.
The company said Monday it has launched Mala Baek, a Korean-style mala soup restaurant, in Shin-Okubo, a district known as a hub for Korean culture.
The move comes as interest in Korean-style mala dishes gains traction among younger consumers in Japan, prompting the company to position its first outlet in a neighborhood frequented by fans of Korean food and entertainment.
The restaurant introduces what the company is calling “K-mala,” offering variations of the spicy flavor tailored to Japanese preferences. Its signature mala soup features a broth based on beef bone and chicken, delivering a cleaner and more savory profile than the heavier, spice-forward Chinese style.
The menu also includes spicy dumplings and crispy sweet and sour pork, alongside Korean-inspired options such as mala tteokbokki. Customers can further customize their meals with toppings like deep-fried seaweed-wrapped noodles and kimchi dumplings, expanding choices for diners, particularly the key target demographic of younger women.
The company said it plans to expand Mala Baek across Japan, with Osaka and Kyoto under consideration for future locations. It is also preparing to introduce its coffee brand Paik’s Coffee within the year as part of a broader strategy to build its brand portfolio in the Japanese market.
An official at Theborn Korea said the brand was developed with a focus on Japanese consumer preferences in mind across menu, store design and operations.
“As mala soup rapidly spreads among younger consumers in Japan and gains attention as a high-growth market, we will use Mala Baek to validate our competitiveness and refine our expansion strategy,” the official said.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.
Source: Korea Times News
