Gochu
A head’s up: I was studying (hard) for my specialist exams so the long form restaurant reviews were few and far between and for that I apologise.
This one has been sitting in my draft box since September which is a travesty, because Gochu is a place everybody must go to. Period.
They take bookings, so that’s the first thing you should do. It’s located in Commercial Bay with windows overlooking the waterfront and ferry building, and now that the sun sets at 8.30pm, the views are likely to stay gorgeous throughout your dinner.
My friends and I were celebrating the end of lockdown level 3, and pushed the boat out with a bottle of Pyramid Valley Cabernet France. Natural wines are their specialty here and Pyramid Valley, a biodynamic winery from Canterbury, has long been a favourite of mine. I came for Gochu’s spicy pork milk buns (off menu at the time) and stayed instead for their charred chicken with comte.
The crew behind Gochu have taken the best things about Korean food, thrown in some unsuspecting ingredients and flavours not native to Korea, and made something magical out of it. The best you could hope to expect from that dreaded term ‘fusion’.
The charred chicken, covered in a spicy marinade, arrived on a searingly hot cast iron plate; our waitress then proceeded to pour molten comté cheese sauce over the top that hissed and spluttered with the vigour of my primary school baking soda and vinegar volcano. The savouriness of the green leek oil and pickled onion petals that bedecked the dish beautifully counterbalanced the richness and funk of the comté and chicken. It comes with a bowl of rice which you must tip in at the end so those orange, cheesy juices don’t go to waste.
Simon and Lee are the OG purveyors of Korean fried chicken in this town, and although there be many posers, their K-fry is still the best in the business. Juicy, extra-crispy and not greasy. And tasty obviously.
A surprise crowd favourite was the crispy eggplant, cloaked in a thin, crisp batter, and served with a moreish, silky sauce of, wait for it, tofu. Tofu and yuzu, the latter lending a sharp and subtly sweet brightness to the dish. It was hard to be polite when it came to sharing this dish with the rest of the table.
There was a special they were pedalling that night, and I’m pleased to say the crispy lamb ribs with black bean glaze, perilla gremolata and witloof has graduated to the permanent menu now. I love perilla leaves; that warm herbaceous aroma is hard to describe and also hard to ignore. Perilla leaves is a common accompaniment to Korean dishes such as bo ssam and barbecued meats and integrates wonderfully into this decidedly Italian-originating sauce.
A riff on the Dominion Road staple of smashed cucumbers with vinegar and chilli oil was the cucumbers, ssam sauce and cashew cream: slim batons of cucumber dressed in a sweet, spicy sauce which was balanced with a soothing cashew cream.
The only disappointment of the night was the Korean pork XO noodles. A concoction of spicy pork and thick noodles, the overall effect was gluggy and heavy, a bowl of slow monotony that even the pickled daikon on top couldn’t lift out of tedium.
Of the new openings to come out of 2020, Gochu is one of the best. You’d be hard pressed to find a better meal in Auckland city.
Gochu
Commercial Bay, 1 Queen Street
Auckland CBD
Ph. 021 090 52396