EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — If you want a taste of Korean food, Tommy’s Korean Express in Northeast El Paso has what you’re looking for.
Tommy’s Korean Express was founded by Sung Song and Tommy Hwang back in February, who both grew up in Northeast El Paso during their teenage years.
Song and Hwang were both born and raised in South Korea, and they then moved to El Paso, where they would individually gain over 30 years of experience in the restaurant business.
They would meet years later in 2010 in El Paso and partnered up to establish all types of restaurants in El Paso, such as Grove Brunch Cafe, bb.q Chicken, and Border Burger Bar to share the Korean culture with El Pasoans.
“We’re passionate about restaurants, but beyond restaurants, we also believe what’s important to us is people,” Song said.
Tommy’s Koren Express offers two stations, one where you can build your own bibimbap and another station where you can heat up packaged ramen from Korea.
Song explains that the ramen station is found in every corner of South Korea, especially in convenience stores where people pick their own ramen, heat it up, and add toppings.
“It’s like a piece of South Korea in Northeast El Paso,” Song said.
If you decide to choose to build your own bibimbop, you can start off by picking your base, which ranges from white rice, fried rice, or noodles.
Then you’ll pick your protein, which ranges from chicken, beef, spicy pork, steak, and tofu. You’ll then have several toppings to choose from, such as shredded carrots, spinach, mushrooms, shredded potatoes, kimchi, egg, cheese, and more.
After that, you’ll have a variety of sauces to choose from to top off your bowl such as home-made soy sauce, bibim sauce, kalbi sauce, vegan bibim sauce, siracha mayo, or citrus ponzu.
“We make everything from scratch. We know exactly what we’re putting it in, and it’s clean,” Song said.
The business also offers sides such as tteobokki, kimbop, pan-fried yakimandu, and more.
When you first enter the store, you’re also greeted with “annyeonghaseyo,” which means hello in Korean, and “gamsahabnida” when you leave, which means thank you in Korean.
The business also offers an atmosphere with Korean music, decor, and art that was designed by a Korean or Japanese person.
Song says they’re planning on opening up a second location soon on 7277 Paseo Del Norte.
Tommy’s Korean Express is open from 10 a.m. through 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and is located at 9477 Dyer Street.
To learn more about Tommy’s Korean Express, click here.
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