A new Korean chicken joint on Wharf Street

THE CHOOK NOOK

Cuisine: Korean, chicken-focused 

Address: 15 Wharf Street, Tauranga

Phone: 07-571 2000

Website

Drinks: small list of beer, wine & "Korean Special" 

Reservations: probably unnecessary

And so it came that, unsurprisingly, Momo Teppan-Yaki has gone from Wharf Street. It was always hard to see how the teppanyaki concept was going to work on a street now geared towards al fresco dining. In its place, next to Pho Vina, comes The Chook Nook, self-described as "A Korean Chicken Kitchen".

I must confess to little knowledge of Korean chicken kitchens but this wasn't exactly what I was expecting. First impressions were good: the service was courteous and efficient and the room bright and clean with a couple of funky touches, including a light at the door which will surely look groovy at night.

The menu itself is very short. There are three types of deep fried chicken, which each come in one size with sides, and a platter of all three with sides. There's also braised chicken, spicy chicken stew, and spicy stir-fried chicken. Each of these come in sizes for 2 or 4 people. And there's Bibimpap (described as "rice mixed with vegetables") and Korean Chicken Soup. That's it. There's a menu pic at the bottom if you're curious.

I have no issues with a small menu done well, though to be honest I was actually expecting something more like Nandos or suchlike with many options to order pieces of chicken in various-sized portions... But, like I say - not a Korean food expert! Cohen and I shared a couple of things to introduce ourselves to the food...

• Sweet & Spicy Fried Chicken     $21.50
• Korean Chicken Soup     $19.50

And being, as stated, inexpert, I don't think either of us had quite grasped the nature and extent of the sides. For the fried chicken they were: potato salad, pickled daikon/carrot, green chilli, cornichons, chips with 2 sauces and a bread roll. It also came with salad and coleslaw. 

 

 

The verdict (from two avid fried chicken lovers)? The pickled veges were very perky, the egg salad was very mild, the chips were better than the chips at KFC and the chicken... well, kinda fantastic really! Crispy as all get-up with a solid crunchy coating, slathered in a sweet sticky slightly spicy sauce (we went medium). It was really first class chicken. I got to take home the few leftovers and can confirm that it's pretty damn good cold too!

 

chicken soup and sides (no egg pancake!)

the missing egg pancake!

The soup came with its own sides: rice, kimchi, potato salad, and egg pancake. Actually they forgot the egg pancake and brought it later and I'm glad they did because it was very good. The kimchi was remarkably mild (which I rather liked) and the soup itself was very black peppery and felt restorative even as you ate it. It also brimmed with healthy vegetables and noodles though the chicken was of the riby-boney variety that some might struggle to want to eat.

So there we go. I think we should probably reserve judgement since the restaurant has been open less than a week. They seem to be doing pretty well so far and I wish them every success. I really liked the chicken but I can't help thinking that an option of just fried chicken without the extras might be what punters are hoping for...

outside!

inside!

The full menu...