Shorteats like kimchi, squid rolls, yoghurt smoothies, and pork belly cutlets have landed in Chennai. Ride the Hallyu wave and step into these Korean cafes in the city.
Cafe Dokebi, InKo Centre
Dokebi, in Korean mythology, are prankster spirits with supernatural powers that surprise humans. Like its playful namesake, the cafe promises its patrons a delightfully similar menu and atmosphere. Nestled quietly in the left corner of the InKo Centre on Adyar Club Gate Road, the recently opened Cafe Dokebi offers visitors a refreshing menu of Korean beverages and short eats, along with a colourful shelf filled of popular Korean snacks. With its cosy ambience and shelves decorated with souvenirs, it is the perfect gateway into Korean cafe culture.
Meeso Ryoo, who set up the cafe in April 2023 says, “Indians love spice , but Korean food is spicier .” Noodle dishes, like ramen, are one of Dokebi’s most popular dishes, although Ryoo laughingly notes that not everyone can handle the heat. “I try my best to serve authentic food, all from Korea. Most things we serve are firmly rooted in Korean cuisine, and a lot of the ingredients, like plum and citrus syrups for the drinks, are from there.” Another popular dish is their triangle-shaped gimbap, a dish made of cooked rice, vegetables, fish, and meat rolled in seaweed, which comes in vegetable, chicken, and pork variants.
Cafe-goers who don’t enjoy spice can indulge in the newest addition to the menu: bungeo-ppang, a fish-shaped bun filled with sweet red bean paste. The bun’s familiar sweetness, combined with the taste of the slightly nutty Korean red bean, makes it a pleasantly surprising treat that is best enjoyed with a cup of coffee. But what truly sets Cafe Dokebi apart from other Korean cafes is its beverage menu.
Along with a range of hot coffees and teas, Dokebi also offers a refreshingly crisp, cold matcha tea, Korean yoghurt smoothies, and various fruity drinks, with flavours including the wonderfully tart yet sweet Korean green plum, which comes mixed in cold soda. These iced drinks are more popular than their warm counterparts and are perfect for combating Chennai’s sweltering summer heat.
Another Kitchen, Adyar
As you step into Another Kitchen, the tantalising aroma of classic Korean barbecue wafts through the air, inviting you to indulge in a symphony of flavours that will transport you to the streets of Seoul. Another Kitchen, Adyar, is a restaurant that specialises in Korean dishes, baked goods, and barbeques. Spanning over two floors, it offers visitors various kinds of seating, including special tables embellished with chimneys designed especially for their famous Korean barbeques.
“This is our favourite Korean restaurant,” says Sujie Lee, who recently moved to Chennai with her family from Korea. “Seeing authentic Korean food being served here makes us feel at home, and there is no bad day that a big bowl of jjajangmyeon can’t fix!” Jjajangmyeon is a noodle dish made of black bean paste, diced pork, and vegetables and has its own unique, earthy and decadent flavour. It remains one of Another Kitchen’s most popular offerings, thanks to its homely taste and delicate balance of seasoning.
But while it boasts a wide variety of Korean cuisine, what to look out for here are the side dishes that come with your order. Packed with flavour, banchan, or side dishes, are served alongside every main dish and are an essential part of the Korean meal, meant to be shared by everyone at the table. You’ll rarely get the same side dish twice, and they make for a refreshingly sweet and spicy break between the otherwise rich entrees. Among our favourites were sweet potato browns, pork belly cutlets, kimchi, squid rolls, oi muchim (a spicy cucumber-sesame salad), and a sweet and tangy apple cider-pineapple sauce served with shredded cabbage.
Straight like a still out of a K-Drama, Another Kitchen’s in-house bakery is definitely worth visiting. Visitors can choose goodies to enjoy with their meal — be it a savoury goroke (a bun filled with fiery Korean glass noodles) or indulging in the quintessential sweet red bean and fresh cream buns. Other popular baked goods include turtle bread, soboro, matcha soboro, and walnut cheese bread.
These pastries are mildly sweet, not too overwhelming, and are best served warm. Many items on display, like the soboro and the walnut loaf, are popular Korean snacks, giving patrons a taste of Korean street food culture. The restaurant and bakery find themselves busy with regular customers who cannot get enough of the cuisine. “Initially, it was my interest in K-Pop and K-Dramas that made me want to try the ‘K-Cuisine’ as well, but the dishes are so distinct from the usual Indian & Indianised western cuisines that kept me coming back to it.”, says Anusha Kumar, a student.
Another Kitchen’s quaint charm as the ‘Korean restaurant next door’ lies in its novel and peaceful ambience where people can share a meal over conversations with friends and family. It invites us to be in the heart of Korean dining – even if it’s just for a few hours. Sure enough, this is not just another kitchen.
