Koreana Restaurant, Dubai

Half the adventure with this restaurant is actually finding the place. Tucked away just behind Sheikh Zayed Road, Koreana is not easy to get to, but it is well worth the hunt.

After spending a year teaching in South Korea we had high expectations. We know the good kimchi from the mass produced sour rubbish, we expect our banchan (the small side dishes that accompany all Korean meals) to be plentiful and refilled often and we LOVE biting into those soft, meaty Mandu (the Korean equivalent of dumplings) that causes a hot explosion of meat juices in your mouth. Our friends still in Korea would be shocked, but I had some serious Korean food cravings. It was going to take a good, traditional Korean meal to satisfy my unexplainable hankering.

Overall, Koreana was pretty close to the mark. The metal chopsticks spoke to the authenticity of the restaurant. We have been to a LOT of Asian countries, but Korea is the only one where we have come across the metal chopstick. Getting that slippery noodle from your bowl to your mouth via a metal chopstick is no easy task to master!

For starters we selected two Korean hangover favourites - the mighty mandu and pajeon. The Pajeon, a traditional Korean savoury pancake packed with green onion and seafood, was spot on. It was light and subtle, but when bathed in soy source and a bit of chilli for good measure, it was like being transported back to Korea. The mandu, however, tasted much like the ones we can pull out of the freezer section at any supermarket and weren't up to the standard of the hand made ones we could find on any street corner in Korea.

Dangerously perhaps, we selected two of our favourites for mains - Samgyetang (Ginseng Chicken soup) and Dolsot Bibimbap (rice served in a hot stone pot with vegetables, chili pepper paste and an egg on top). The Samgyetang was presented as it should be, inside an earthenware bowl full of steaming subtly flavoured broth. What let it down slightly was that the rice stuffed into the chicken was a little cold suggesting that the chicken had been pre-prepared and had been sitting a fridge for quite some time. The Bibimbap could not be faulted - it is a simple, filling and tasty meal. In my opinion, it is the comfort food of Korean cuisine.

When compared to the broad spectrum of food options in Dubai, value for money was not amazing. However, when you consider the limited range of options for authentic Korean cuisine in a desert such as Dubai, the prices were within the reasonable range.

RECOMMENDED

Did Koreana satisfy my craving? Absolutely. Not sure it will persuade me to look past the other amazing cuisine on offer in Dubai anytime soon, but it is good to know that should the urge arise again, there is a good Korean joint not too far from where we are now.


The bill (for 2):

1 x Pajeon - Dhs 50
1 x Mandu - Dhs 35
1 x Samgyetang - Dhs 75
1 x Dolsot Bibimbap - Dhs 60
1 x water - Dhs 10
TOTAL: Dhs 230 (Approx US$60)


Restaurant Address: Al Barsha, Dubai, UAE