Chef Ji says she couldn't handle two jobs

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Sysco Corp. calls itself a global leader in distributing food to restaurants.

From Chef Ji Cha's Facebook page:

"We are sorry to say, but we are closed! I work for Sysco Foods Metro NY and I cannot handle both. If you need anything let me know. Many hugs to my fans and thank you for your support."

Chef Ji posted that message Feb. 2, 2011.

However, Moon Jar remains open for dinner only, though it is no longer called Chef Ji's Moon Jar and the food is mostly traditional Korean.

Chef Ji held down her day job while managing the Fort Lee restaurant, where she conceived the imaginative Korean-fusion menu and worked in the kitchen. 

In an e-mail, she cited another reason for leaving: She no longer saw eye-to-eye with investors.

She got two stars from Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung on Nov. 5, 2010, in The Record of Woodland Park.

Ung recommended Chef Ji's Korean sliders, bacon-wrapped scallops, spicy crispy dumplings, Asian wings and sake miso-marinated sea bass.

See earlier post, Chef Ji leaves Moon Jar in Fort Lee

Chef Ji leaves Moon Jar in Fort Lee

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Fermented Korean rice wine is called makgulli or moon jar.

Chef Ji Cha, who competed on Gordon Ramsay's "Hell's Kitchen" a couple of years ago until sidelined by an injury, has left Moon Jar in Fort Lee.

The restaurant remains open under the Moon Jar name, but is serving only dinner and drinks. Without Chef Ji's stylish enhancements, the all-white setting seems even more austere than before.

Chef Ji's fusion menu has been replaced by one that hews closer to traditional Korean food, but the kitchen brought back her BBQ beef sliders.

We had dinner there on Saturday night, served by Rocky, who was one of the bartenders when the place was called Chef Ji's Moon Jar, and it was a filling and satisfying meal.

In addition to menus, Rocky brought an iPad that allowed us to review photos of the food.

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What we ate

We ordered fish ball soup ($15), spicy soy chicken ($15), LA kalbi ($19) and seafood vermicelli ($12) -- all suitable for sharing, though I stuck to the meatless dishes, while my wife and son demolished the meat and poultry, plus a couple of bowls of white rice.

We were given a complimentary appetizer -- halves of baked sweet potato dusted with cinnamon. Other dishes on the menu include kimchi soup and a seafood pancake. 

I loved the soup, with its flavorful broth and skewers of fish balls and cakes, and its root vegetable. 

The tender kalbi -- bone-in beef short ribs -- were served on a bed of stones the waiter ignited with a lighter. My wife and son also loved the chicken dish -- chunks of leg and thigh meat in a sweet and spicy sauce perfect for spooning over the rice.

The noodle dish was long on vegetables and short on seafood, but it's made with yummy, translucent, sweet-potato or yam noodles known as japchae. A glass of the house red wine was $7.

Click on the link below for another diner's experience, with photos. Despite the heading of his post, I believe Chef Ji had already left as general manager of the restaurant by the time he ate there.

Wonderful Wednesday at Chef Ji's Moon Jar

I recall one of Chef Ji's minimalist appetizers from my previous visit in October: salad covered by an upended martini glass -- with chopped ahi tuna and caviar mounded on the base.