On a Quiet LIC Block, Little Banchan Shop and Meju Collect the City's Top Food Honors

A Michelin star, three New York Times stars, No. 4 on The Times's 100 best list and a James Beard Award: the chalkboard outside Little Banchan Shop on 49th Avenue checks out.

On a tree-lined stretch of 49th Avenue near Fifth Street, there is a wooden bench in front of a small brick storefront and a chalkboard on the sidewalk. "Congrats to our staff," it reads. Below that: "NYTimes 3 stars." "NYTimes Top 100 No. 4." "James Beard Award Best Chef New York."

We checked each line, and they all hold up.

The storefront is Little Banchan Shop, at 5-28 49th Avenue. Behind it is Meju, a counter restaurant with only nine seats. Both belong to chef Hooni Kim, who also runs Danji in Hell's Kitchen and earlier ran Hanjan. Kim opened the shop in August 2022. At the time, The New York Times reported that his wife, Catherine, runs the shop while he cooks. Meju, which Kim calls his third restaurant, opened inside it a few months later.

The shop

Little Banchan Shop cooks Korean banchan, the small dishes eaten with rice, in small batches in its own kitchen. It sells more than 50 kinds, along with soups and stews, marinated and braised meats, house-made kimchi and grab-and-go bibimbap, gimbap and dosirak (lunch boxes). The shop says it uses no preservatives and buys from suppliers such as Niman Ranch, D'Artagnan and Norwich Meadows Farm. It is open every day, and you can order online for pickup or delivery.

The restaurant in the back

Meju is a tasting menu built on Korean fermentation. The Michelin Guide describes doenjang, gochujang, ganjang and ssamjang that Kim has been wild-fermenting and aging for about a decade. They are served with silky tofu, fried pancakes, Miyazaki beef and Niman Ranch pork, and the meal ends with a plain bowl of rice and kimchi that honors his mentor. Dinner is $235 a person, plus a 20 percent service charge. Korean and natural wine pairings are $145, and a nonalcoholic pairing is $85. Meju serves dinner Wednesday through Saturday, and you can book through the links on mejunyc.com.

The honors, one by one

Michelin. Meju lists a Michelin star for 2023, 2024 and 2025. Michelin's list of New York City stars announced in November 2025 includes Meju among its one-star restaurants. The red "Michelin 2025" plaque by the door refers to that star.

The Times's 100 best. On May 10, Ligaya Mishan, the paper's new co-chief critic, published The Times's list of the 100 best restaurants in New York City for 2026. She ranked Meju No. 4, just ahead of Jean-Georges, and wrote that its subject is fermentation: "the manipulations of time and how a dance with decay can change our understanding of what food can be."

Three stars. Mishan's full review followed on May 19 and gave Meju three stars, the paper's "excellent" rating.

James Beard. On June 15, at the awards ceremony in Chicago, the James Beard Foundation named Kim the winner of Best Chef: New York State. The chalkboard calls it "Best Chef New York," but the award covers the whole state. Eater NY called it "perhaps the first James Beard for Queens."

For a neighborhood that often hears about its towers and traffic, it is good to see a family-run shop on a residential block receive this kind of praise. The chalkboard thanks the staff, and so do we.

A few practical notes from the door: the posted hours match the website, the shop has an NYC Health Department "A" grade, it has no public restrooms, and pets are not allowed.