How The Green Onion Street Kitchen became a TikTok sensation

One of their most frequently featured spots? Well, it’s a Korean fusion street food stall housed in an industrial warehouse in Old Kilpatrick, of course.

Glasgow food fans just can't get enough of The Green Onion Street Kitchen and regularly post videos of their pilgrimage to West Dunbartonshire in search of gyoza, corn dogs and Korean fried chicken.

We decided to take the short train journey like many intrepid bloggers before us to see the place for ourselves and catch up with owner Julie Duncan to find out what she makes of her newly found social media status.

Pictured: Julie Duncan owns and runs The Green Onion Street Kitchen

She said: “We’ve been open for around four months now but at first no one knew we were here.

“Our location was actually bit of a problem for us at the beginning because we had no passing trade, so the fir few weeks were a bit touch and go.

“Then social media started to really push us out there.

“A TikToker came in to try out our food and posted a video then all of a sudden it was all over Glasgow.

“Since then, all the Instagram foodies have been coming in to try it for themselves and post about it.”

Pictured: A sign on the gate shows you've found the right place

Its quirky location and the sense of adventure involved in finding the place is a major part of The Green Onion Street Kitchen’s appeal, but it wasn’t chosen for clicks and likes. A local resident and lover of all different types of international cuisine, Julie was keen to bring something new to the village of Old Kilpatrick.

She said: “When we started, it came from the fact that I was feeling frustrated about not being able to find something a bit different to eat nearby.

“Unless you wanted a chippy or a kebab you had to drive into the West End for a meal.

“So really it was to give the local community something new, but because of social media people have been coming all the way from Eaglesham or around Glasgow just to try our food.

“It’s just been absolutely insane.”

What makes the story of the kitchen's success even more impressive is the fact that before this, Julie had never cooked professionally. In fact, she spent lockdown working from home as an insurance claims advisor rather than serving up dishes like rich and flavourful Chicken Karaage.

It’s quite the change in career path, but something that Julie felt was the key to finding a little more joy in her day job.

She said: “When lockdown hit I just thought, I can’t do this anymore.

“I knew if I wanted to be happy then I was going to have to do something that I was really passionate about.

“That situation was what pushed me to get out there and start risking it all.

“I know that I could probably just close the doors to this place and go back to an office job, but it would kill my soul.

“For me, it’s all about the people, especially after spending so much time at home this year.

“When someone comes in and has a chat about our food or even how their day is going it gives me such a lift.”

Pictured: The kitchen space is a converted shipping container

Having made the bold choice to leave her 9-5 behind, it was now time for Julie to figure out exactly what direction she would follow.

Being a keen home cook and using food and travel programmes as a form of escapism meant that she had begun to experiment with different flavours in her own kitchen over the course of the pandemic.

A little encouragement from family members and her newly found ‘carpe diem’ attitude was all she needed to start the Green Onion Street Kitchen.

She said: “I always loved to cook but before now it was just a hobby.

“Then one day when we were out for food in the West End my husband said to me ‘You know, you could do this so much better.’

“It was a throwaway comment, but it started me thinking that maybe it was something I could do.

“So I started making Korean food at home for my family, learning from YouTube videos, and they all said that I should start selling it.

“I knew that it was something that I would love to do and that I could potentially be really passionate about so I just thought ‘why not?’

“It seems to have been the right decision so far.”

Pictured: The star attraction - A Korean Corn Dog

The rave reviews aren’t wrong. As much as the location is a huge part of the kitchen's appeal, the food itself, which is all cooked up in a converted shipping container, is what really tempts people to make the journey from Glasgow.

The star of the show is Julie's Korean corn dogs. Fun, flavourful and oh so indulgent they’re the perfect street food creation and are even available with vegan hotdogs and cheese.

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Julie said: “So technically, it can’t be classed as a corndog because there’s no cornflour in it, but the Korean street food vendors refer to it as that, so we’re sticking to it.

“It’s a frankfurter and mozzarella on a skewer and then we wrap it in a sweet bread dough.

“The dough is made fresh daily and we hand wrap each corndog to order.

“We roll them in our panko breadcrumb and parsley mix and then deep fry it.

“To finish it off there’s a little sprinkle of sugar, honey and mustard mayo and ketchup.

“Most of the people that come in have never tried anything like our food before but we always encourage them to give it a go because there’s nothing too out of peoples comfort zones.

“It’s quite an Americanised version of Korean food.”

Pictured: The corn dogs can be made with vegan sausage

The American influence on her menu has introduced the people of Old Kilpatrick to another exotic delicacy in the form of ‘Hangover Stew’, we’re both intrigued and a little unsure as we ask Julie to explain its content.

She said: “On Sundays, we sell a lot of hangover stew.

“It’s a recipe that goes back to when the American soldiers were in Korea during the war.

“There’s a lot of processed meats. It’s got spam, smoked sausage, frankfurters, Asian mushrooms, Gochujang paste and then ramen noodles and cheese.

“It’s so great for a hangover because it’s full of all this salty, sweet and spicy stuff.

“It’s especially good for dipping a corn dog in.”

Pictured: The makings of a Hangover Stew

If that won’t sort you out after a heavy night, then nothing will.

With such a unique and skilfully executed menu, we’re sure that the kitchen will only continue to thrive even without the added TikTok hype.

Having found success in such a short space of time we’re eager to hear what’s next for Julie and her small team.

Pictured: Gyozas and Seaweed salad are the perfect side dishes

There’s exciting talk of the warehouse or ‘The Depot’ being transformed into the village’s answer to Glasgow’s Street food meccas Big Feed or The Dockyard Social with multiple different vendors selling their own speciality dishes.

Until then, The Green Onion Street Kitchen are the only residents in this massive space.

Far from feeling isolated, Julie says that this is part of what has made opening her own business so special.

She laughs; “There was a comment on social media recently asking when we were going to open up a place in Glasgow.

“But honestly I just thought ‘let’s see how this one goes first, then I’ll get back to you!’

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“I think I would eventually like to open up a few places around the city, but it would need to be on this same kind of small scale to keep it special.

“That’s what’s great about the place we have now, we don’t have any constraints on when we open or what we serve.

“As long as people are coming through the door we’re happy.

“I mean if you had asked me one year ago if I could see myself serving Korean street food from a shipping container I would have said you were talking rubbish.

“It’s been incredible. I’m so, so grateful for the way it’s all turned out.”

For more information on the Green Onion Street Kitchen, click here.