He says, “I think that Koreans really like Pakistani food. It's very meat-based, as opposed to Indian food, which contains more vegetables, and Koreans who like beef are surprised at how much they like what we serve.” Rana says that to understand and appreciate South Asian food, we need to understand the culture of the area a little better. Much of India is Hindu, and vegetarian, which means that they have centuries of experience in making excellent vegetarian food. He explains, “Pakistani food has never been bound by religion in such a way as Hindu Indian food has been. Where they make much better vegetable dishes than we, they are no experts at making meat dishes. As a Muslim country, Pakistan excels at making food from beef and lamb.”
Alsaba was opened just after the 9/11 terror attacks on the US, and Rana says that culture and politics were the main reasons why he decided to open the restaurant. “I opened Alsaba as a direct result of the attacks, in 2001,” he explains, “I wanted to show people here who Muslims really were, what they look like, and what they eat - so they didn't go around thinking that all Muslims are terrorists.” Authenticity is a key part of the Alsaba experience. While other South Asian restaurants often tend to Koreanize their food, to give it a flavor more similar to local food, Rana says he will not allow the Alsaba taste to be compromised.
“A lot of Koreans who have been to Pakistan and enjoyed the food and the experience have enthused about the dishes they have eaten in Alsaba. Whereas other similar restaurants tend to change their food in subtle ways to make it more commercially acceptable, people who know Pakistani food say they can find the exact same taste in our restaurant,” he explains.
The name Alsaba draws a lot of interest from customers, many of whom think it may be associated with an influential, wealthy Pakistani family of the same name, but Rana explains that the name has a much more personal meaning than this. His wife, a Korean who has converted to Islam, is now called “Saba” in Arabic, so the restaurant is named after her. There is a real family atmosphere in Alsaba - month-old babies sit on their mothers' knees while at another table sits a table of old-age pensioners celebrating one of therir group's ninetieth birthday. They have all come for the unique Pakistani taste of this restaurant. It seems fitting that one of Itaewon's most colourful characters should run a place as diverse and singular as Alsaba.
