It’s 1996 in San Francisco, and a younger Marcus Kim does not need to be “that” kid at school – the one sitting in the corner of the lunchroom with the stinky, vivid-purple kimchi jjigae, a kind of Korean stew.
Desperate to keep away from the humiliation, he runs next door to his buddy Sasha Tran, begging her to help his own family end the kimchi jjigae before faculty the next day. “Nobody wants to take a seat after that kid with thermos soup!” Marcus says frantically. “Only the alternative children with thermos soup, and I don’t want to sit down next to those losers!” Sasha jokingly closes the door in his dejected face before beginning it once more, smiling and laughing. Finally, she agrees to run next door and join his family for dinner: “You’re like my great friend,” she says.
The new Netflix film “Always Be My Maybe” is the tale of the formative years of sweethearts Marcus, played by Randall Park, and Sasha, performed by Ali Wong, who have a falling out as young adults only to reconnect later in life. Loosely inspired using the traditional “When Harry Met Sally,” food plays a crucial function in the film; however, it trades in pastrami sandwiches at Katz’s Deli for shumai, chicken feet, Spam, rice, and kimchi jjigae. Flash forward to 2019 in the movie, and times have been modified. Kimchi jjigae is now an ultra-modern meal being sold at a restaurant run by a superstar chef, who’s none other than Sasha Tran.
The film is fictional. However, Americans developing a taste for Asian delicacies is not. From 2004-2018, income for restricted-provider restaurants specializing in Asian-Pacific delicacies grew 114% within the U.S., in keeping with Euromonitor International. Niki Nakayama, chef and proprietor of the Michelin-starred n/naka, worked as a meals representative for “Always Be My Maybe,” bringing to life the dishes at the film’s fictional eating place, Maximalist. Nakayama, who has been regarded as cautiously tracking her diners’ preferences, said she’s noticed that people are more open-minded than ever before.
“I assume in recent times, human beings are open to attempting the whole lot plenty greater than they were just because of the exposure,” she said. Her award-winning restaurant n/naka is one of the handiest Western international brands specializing in Kaiseki, a conventional multicourse Japanese meal. Diners should make reservations months earlier, even to have a chance of securing a table at her restaurant. Nakayama said Japanese meals could have unexpected textures or tastes to those who don’t generally devour them, but she sees that as a part of their splendor.
