Food Blog | Kojaki Korean Cuisine | Expo 2020 | Dubai
Kojaki is a brand new Korean-Japanese concept popping up in the Expo by highly distinguished chef Chef Kim Jin Chul (Jimmy). This is one of many pilot restaurants looking to open a branch in Dubai after the Expo concludes at the end of March.
Where it Is
You can find Kojaki in the Opportunity District at Expo 2020. One good landmark to look out for would be the Vietnam pavilion - it is just around the corner of the Vietnam Pavilion.
Operating Hours:
Sundays to Thursdays - 10:00 - 23:00
Friday & Saturday - 11:00 - 01:00
What it Costs
Price-wise, this isn’t one that you want to go to if you’re on a budget. I ate here with my party of 4 and the bill came up to AED688 (~AED172 a person) and I think that’s probably on the lower end, assuming you want a more complete meal including their banchan.
I think that this place is definitely a place to go with the intention of sharing dishes, rather than having individual dishes. The cheapest main is the Pa Bul-Dak (AED160, shown in the blog), which is just the chicken dish, without rice and I’m almost surprised that each banchan dish is roughly around AED35 (like your kimchi, pickled radish, etc.).
Normally the banchan is treated as a service charge or a “free service” in most Korean restaurants, so I’m surprised that they charge a flat fee for it (especially because I’m not sure how it works with refilling).
Our meal for 4 looked like this:
Kimchi (Banchan) : AED35
Korean Fried Chicken : AED75
Haemul Pajeon (Seafood Pancake) : AED85
Black Cod : AED170
Pa Bul Dak (Grilled Spicy Chicken Thigh) : AED160
Spicy Tuna Kimbap : AED75
Still Water : AED28
Total: AED688
If you want to take a look at their full menu, you can take a look at it right over here. My personal thoughts are that it is on the pricier end - even with the Expo premium in mind.
How it Tastes
Now that my gripes over the pricing are over, onto the actual food. With the food, I have no complaints. the food is fantastic.
Starting off with the KFC (Korean Fried Chicken), I was actually surprised that they used boneless chicken for this dish - because normally Korean fried chicken refers to the chicken wing/drumstick - and this makes it a simple dish for everyone to enjoy.
The sauce is sweet and the fried chicken crunchy & juicy, and I would say that this is a great dish to start your meal off with because it really is so delicious.
The kimchi is neither here nor there, nothing too much to write home about but if I went back, I wouldn’t order it again because I think it isn’t worth it.
The seafood pancake is beautifully cooked and you can almost see it glistening as it arrives. I would say it is definitely really crispy as compared to most of the other pajeon I have tried - and I appreciate that you can actually taste the seafood component (which sometimes other seafood pajeon dishes lack).
I would personally give a pass on the tuna kimbap. I think that other dishes on the menu are probably better choices because it was very ‘meh’ for me.
I actually enjoyed both of the main dishes offered at Kojaki - I think they’re seasoned great, but I do think they are more on the salty end of the spectrum (this is just in case any of you guys are wary of your salt intake).
Starting off with the Doen Jang Black Cod, this is a very classic fusion kind of dish - the basil miso gives the dish that bit of saltiness, whilst the plum sauce gives it that little bit of acidity to bring out all the flavors from the dish and overall, I think it’s a great combination of the 3. The black cod is cooked to perfection and I would definitely recommend this dish.
The Pa Bul Dak also follows a similar for success - using a yuzu miso sauce. I definitely think that is the sauce that is really shining in both of these main dishes. I would say that this is a dish to order that is very simple to share and something suitable for most people to eat (it being chicken), and I think this is another great main dish by Kojaki.
Star Rating
7.5/10. Most of the food is great - I really enjoyed the main dishes and the fried chicken in particular - although I think the price is a little bit steep (even for Expo standards) and the fact that there is not set lunch means that I think this is probably much more suitable for dinner.
Good for sharing between families/close friends - I wouldn’t recommend coming here and not sharing food. The interior is beautiful as well - I’m almost surprised it looks so good for a temporary-ish structure (it being part of the Expo).