"You Were Right"
Excessive Jjajangmyeon and Overfried Sweet and Sour Pork
"Owners, You Shouldn't Do This" Criticized on YouTube Channel
Entrepreneur and broadcaster CEO Paik Jong Won expressed some regrets about certain branches of the Chinese food brand 'Hong Kong Banjeom 0410 (Hong Kong Banjeom)' operated by his company The Born Korea.
On the 3rd, a video titled "Thank you for waiting, you were right" was uploaded on CEO Paik's YouTube channel 'Paik Jong Won PAIK JONG WON.' In the video, CEO Paik personally tasted and evaluated the menus of Hong Kong Banjeom locations nationwide. This is interpreted as CEO Paik directly inspecting the stores to quell the controversy after negative public opinion about Hong Kong Banjeom spread among netizens.
In the video, CEO Paik ordered delivery of Jjajangmyeon, Jjajangbap, and Tangsuyuk from various Hong Kong Banjeom locations across different regions, checking the delivery service, taste, portion size, and overall quality of the food. Ordering from branch A, which has a high number of orders, CEO Paik praised, "If delivery is this good, it means the food is delicious. If other stores can be this good, there won't be any complaints." Along with other staff members disguised as 'mystery shoppers' hiding their identities, they visited Hong Kong Banjeom branches nationwide for about a month and scored them.
Baek Jong-won reviewing the menu of Hong Kong Banjeom. [Photo by YouTube 'Baek Jong-won PAIK JONG WON']
As a result, several Hong Kong Banjeom branches received negative feedback such as "The Jjajang has a strong burnt taste," "The noodles break apart quickly," "There is a pork smell," "It is extremely sweet," and "The egg was burnt." CEO Paik himself, after tasting the Jjajangmyeon from branch B, said, "I have to diss my own product," and criticized, "The noodles have the texture of noodles that have been boiled for some time. It's slightly better than canned pasta texture, but it seems like they pre-boiled it and just reheated it or overcooked it." Regarding the Jjajangbap from branch B, he speculated, "The sauce is light in color but I don't know why it's so salty. Maybe they added soy sauce to save on sauce."
Baek Jong-won reviewing the menu of Hong Kong Banjeom. [Photo by YouTube 'Baek Jong-won PAIK JONG WON']
CEO Paik's passion continued even while on the move. While in the car, after ordering delivery from Hong Kong Banjeom, he was shocked by the Tangsuyuk from branch C. Some pieces of Tangsuyuk were stuck to the delivery container, and the meat pieces were stuck together and did not separate. CEO Paik criticized, "Who am I tattling to right now? Owners, you shouldn't do this. It's not about me getting criticized, but this will ruin your business." He continued, "It seems this store has created its own recipe. They are going their own way, but what on earth are they thinking?" The Jjajangmyeon from that branch was equally serious. When CEO Paik stuck chopsticks in to mix the noodles, the noodles expanded in the shape of the delivery container and came out with the Jjajangmyeon, resembling rice cakes. CEO Paik said, "It's like instant cup noodles, instant cup noodles," and eventually called the Hong Kong Banjeom manager to order an emergency inspection of branch C.
CEO Paik revealed the Hong Kong Banjeom manual, which details everything from the operation method to the cooking process, and said, "The reason Hong Kong Banjeom is 'store by store' (meaning each branch is different) is because they don't read the manual book," and proposed, "Let's start a project so that just by following it simply, the basics can be achieved." A full solution for the Jjajang menu will be revealed in the next video.
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