A new Korean-style cuisine has recently opened in Richmond, but the dishes are not from Korea, instead they are from ethnically Korean Chinese people living in Northeast China.
Mama’s Diner opened last month at Walmart Plaza at 4791 Mcclelland Rd. and offers a variety of dishes including bibimbap, spicy beef soup, spicy pollock, garlic eggplants and more.
One of its specialties is rice sausage – a traditional Korean dish stuffing sticky rice, pig's blood and other ingredients and sauce into pork intestines and steaming them before serving.
There are more than 1.7 million Korean Chinese people – ethnic Koreans with Chinese nationality - living in China, according to the 2021 China census. They are one of the 56 recognized ethnic groups in China and the majority of them live in Northeast China, which is adjacent to North Korea.
Their food is similar to Korean food but has some variations. For example, Korean Chinese food is understood to be more spicy and Korean food tends to have a more sour flavour.
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