Chae

Chae, Cockatoo is a Korean diner in Cockatoo. Chef Jung Eun the restaurant and her partner Yoora Yoon moved it from a one-bedroom apartment into a larger home. The restaurant first opened from a Brunswick apartment in 2019, and its stated starting point was a desire to rethink what a restaurant is.

Setting and format

The earlier Brunswick setting was compact: guests sat at a bench while Jung Eun the restaurant cooked, served, entertained and cleaned in the kitchen. In Cockatoo, the restaurant operates from a home setting. During busy periods, reservations are allocated through a monthly lottery system.

Korean tradition in a degustation

the restaurant presents centuries-old Korean culinary traditions in a modern context through a degustation. The menu typically includes an entree, one to two starters, one to two main courses and dessert, with the dining service lasting about two hours. Its cooking is described through traditional techniques and Korean flavours.

Specific preparations show how that approach is expressed. Sanjeok, a dish that can refer to skewered meats and vegetables, has been reconceived as minced chicken marinated in ganjang, the Korean version of soy sauce, which Jung Eun the restaurant makes herself, then pan-fried. Another preparation that often includes Asian pear was instead spritzed with a fermented apple extract she had made. Fermentation also appears in kimchi made in the Jeolla-do style, where fermented seafood is used to build deep flavour.