The story below is from our July/August 2019 issue. For the full issue Subscribe today, view our FREE interactive digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!
Patrick and Jessica Ohpark are blending their Korean roots and American upbringing into several delicious dishes with their popular food truck.
What happens when a budding lawyer and artist chef fall in love? Hanu Food Truck in Roanoke, Virginia.
When Patrick and Jessica Ohpark met six years ago, they couldn’t have been on more dissimilar journeys. Patrick, a Los Angeles native and classically trained chef with over a decade of chef experiences across the country, was thick into his latest venture—a Korean-fare food truck. Jessica, a Raleigh, North Carolina native, was a young lawyer studying for her bar exam. The two were introduced through mutual friends in Raleigh.
As they spent time together, Jessica found herself wanting to help Patrick with his food truck more than she wanted to practice law. She says being around Patrick’s food truck energized her in ways law could not: she enjoyed working with her hands, the artistic side of social media and connecting with other people. Jessica started putting herself on Patrick’s food truck until one day she found herself fully immersed.
“Having Jessica as part of the food truck wasn’t really the plan,” explains Patrick. “We didn’t make the leap into partnership until we decided to get married.”
Leap is the appropriate word here. In February of 2018, Patrick and Jessica were married. In March, they moved to Roanoke and began the work of establishing Hanu Food Truck. It has been full-on ever since.
The Ohparks say they considered several southern cities to move to and start their business. In the end, Roanoke won. Why? Simple. The people.
“People ask us why we moved here,” says Patrick in a way to suggest the question is asked with consternation. “We chose to move here. The people in Roanoke are amazing. They wanted us here. And the longer we’re here, the more it confirms this is where we are meant to be.”
This truly speaks to the big heart of Roanokers. Because the truth is, starting a food truck here in Roanoke has had its challenges. In big cities like L.A. and Raleigh, or towns like Asheville where the food truck market is mature, people are well-versed in the particulars of food truck dining: social media is how you find your favorite food trucks each week, menu changes per outing are to be expected, and running out of food happens (it’s a food truck; there are limits). Here in Roanoke, the Ohparks say there’s been an education process, helping people understand the unique aspects of food truck dining.
The other thing the Ohparks say has been both challenging and exciting is introducing Korean fusion fare to Roanokers. Jessica says one of the most rewarding things she’s witnessed is recognizing the change in customers’ approach to trying new menu items.
“When we first opened, people would have to see others try something before they would try it,” says Jessica. “But now, after a year of being here, people will come and say, ‘What new thing are you making? I want to try that.’ This means so much to us.”
Hanu (think Han Solo) Truck, named after Korea’s most prized cattle breed, is the couple’s expression of love for their native roots fused with their American upbringing. Add Patrick’s years of varied chef experiences, and you have an haute cuisine experience, food truck style.
Patrick begins each dish with a Korean base, whether it’s noodles or rice bowls, rolls or steam buns. He then combines between 10-12 ingredients and up to four different sauces (all made from scratch) to create Hanu’s menu items.
This is where the fusion begins: kimchee, Brussel sprouts, fish sauce, pickled vegetables, pulled pork, soft boiled eggs, on and on. Patrick layers these the way a master painter layers paint on a canvas. The final dish is a work of beauty, indeed.
The day I tried Hanu, Patrick and Jessica were offering three different bowls: their Beer Belly Bowl, KFD (Korean Fried Dumpling) Bowl and an Arbor Day Bowl (a vegetarian option with Brussel sprouts). One might think with so many ingredients and sauces, individual flavors would be lost or masked.
It was the opposite. Each bowl, with its combination of ethnic and American ingredients, and Patrick’s way of layering flavors, was unique and delicious. I especially appreciated how each bowl was chock-full of vegetables. And unlike most carbohydrate-heavy dishes, I felt satisfied, but not stuffed.
I admit to a bit of a learning curve when it came to keeping up with Hanu Truck on social media. But it wasn’t hard and now I’m hooked. Beyond the reward of Hanu food, is seeing Jessica and Patrick. Truly they are a delight. I’m thrilled they chose to make Roanoke their home. And I’m proud—but not surprised—of my Roanoke for welcoming them and their Korean fusion fare with open arms.
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