Asia’s 50 Best 2024 Collaboration

"The Moment That Sharpened My Direction"

– Chef Yongjun Shin’s Reflection on Asia’s 50 Best 2024

Exactly one year ago today, the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants awards ceremony took place in Korea for the very first time.For me, it wasn’t just a global culinary event—it was a milestone that stirred something deep inside.

Through a collaboration with CJ CheilJedang and their brand Bibigo, I had the opportunity to present four bite-sized dishes at the celebratory “Welcome Ceremony.”Each one was designed to express Korean flavors in a refined, globally resonant format.

The first was inspired by Korea’s beloved K-style fried chicken and pickled radish.We created a crisp potato “crystal chip” with beet, fruit radish, and kohlrabi, topped with a delicate dongchimi blossom.

The second was a reinterpretation of shrimp mandu, paired with a squash and gochujang purée, fresh herbs harvested from our partner farms, and a translucent zucchini film to finish.

The third bite was based on Korean tofu kimchi, reimagined as a plant-based creation: a biscuit made from soy pulp, layered with vegan kimchi jelly, chickpea tofu, and a garnish of marjoram and Minus Letters flowers.

The fourth represented the rocky texture of the sea, flipped on its head.A gamtae (seaweed) biscuit, light as air, was topped with crispy laver, gracilaria, salmon roe, and a seafood gel—delicate yet deeply marine.

Each dish was paired with a non-alcoholic drink curated by our sommelier, Jaehyun Shim, featuring HAVN’s “Banger” and an herbal flower jelly infused with “Eden.”Together, they brought out the nuance of every bite.

For a long time, I had dreamed of being part of this stage.To witness it firsthand—to see the chefs I admired take the spotlight and receive their awards—was emotional and humbling.I couldn’t help but ask myself: How much study, sacrifice, and relentless refinement must it have taken for them to stand there?

In that moment, I found clarity.

It wasn’t about chasing the award itself. It was about becoming the kind of chef who could rightfully earn a place there.That night, I went home and wrote out a three-year plan: what to study, what to refine in the kitchen, how to build a stronger team, and how to make our food more precise—both in flavor and intent.

Today, I’m still following that plan, step by step.

If I hadn’t been at that ceremony, I might have continued to view such chefs with distant admiration—thinking only “how inspiring” or “how cool.”But standing there among them, seeing it up close, flipped something in me. It made the goal feel real, and within reach.

Now, here at Joo052, every dish I serve carries a piece of that realization.This space is still a work in progress. So am I.But I wanted to begin recording this journey—so that those of you who visit us can understand not just what we cook, but why.

Thank you for walking alongside us.We promise to keep growing, one honest step at a time.

– Chef Yongjun Shin, Joo052