If you are a Wimbledon dweller, you may have noticed the recent opening of Korean street food restaurant, Myungrang Hot Dog. Or if you haven’t, you may have noticed the large blow-up hotdog, playing the drums, that now lines Wimbledon High Street. However, the slightly bizarre concepts of the new food store do not stop there; the house special is a hot dog on a stick filled with anything from sausage to mozzarella and dipped in corn, potato, more cheese or even a squid ink batter. Based on the giant hotdog outside and the experimental menu, this unique restaurant seems to have a fresh new take on Korean food or even food in general, that I think most people would be apprehensive, yet intrigued to try.
However, whether you want to try it or not, I am sure you are curious as to how such an iconic idea came about - I certainly am! Myungrang Hot Dog first began in a small market near Korea’s Pusan National University. In 2016, the company was launched by its founder Sangwoo Kim and since then it has sold more than 80 million corndogs, becoming the Number 1 Hot Dog brand and a household name in Korea. Currently, Myungrang Hot Dogs has more than 650 shops internationally, from the USA and Mexico to the Philippines and Indonesia and now Wimbledon!
Myungrang means cheerful, playful, and bright in Korean; a meaning that epitomises the goal of providing a cheerful and delicious experience when people eat Myungrang’s signature snacks.
Wimbledon local, Matt LeMarquand, who has never strayed far from a traditional pub fish and chips, declared to me, after recently branching out and trying a Myungrang corndog, “It was surprisingly delicious. And what’s more is, when I was eating it, I felt like I was having a really authentic Korean street food experience. I would recommend that everyone in Wimbledon goes there - it truly is one of a kind!”
