The Western part of downtown Montreal – officially known as Shaughnessy Village – has long been a haven for Asian restaurants. More recently, it also welcomed an explosion in fried chicken, echoing an overarching trend across all North America. Today, I picked up some takeout from a spot checking both those boxes – Asian and fried chicken – from Sainte-Catherine Street West's Cocodak.
tagged: TAKEOUT
The three-year-old eatery's menu features a prominent section of fried chicken in several permutations followed by other Korean staples such as bibimbap and other rice bowls followed by various noodles. An abundant choice of made-to-share appetizers is also on offer, from imperial rolls and dumplings to tteok-kkochi (rice cakes) and gimbap (Korean sushi).
With an entire menu page dedicated to fried chicken, I had my hopes up. Alas, Cocodak's is quite dry on the inside, overly crispy and frankly tasteless.
A loaded handful of tofu cubes were fried to a semi-firm consistency while remaining soft on the inside, and swam in a mildly-spicy, sweet vinegary sauce.
Five shrimp fingers were encased in a beautifully-crispy batter and retained their natural sweetness and snappy texture.
A mound of thick, pleasantly-squishy noodles was stir-fried with tasty strips of beef and coated with a sweet/savoury sauce.
While not as famous as its Japanese cousin sushi, gimbap does hold its own. This version satisfied with crunchy veggies and a creamy tuna salad.
tagged: GOOD FOR SHARING
It's hard for any Asian restaurant to stand out in this stretch of Sainte-Catherine Street unofficially known as Chinatown 2, considering the number of eateries on hand compounded by their high turnover rate. With its temporary-looking, barely-noticeable canvass banner in front and its subpar KFC (Korean Fried Chicken), Cocodak might not have enough to rise above the surface.
Granted, I had better luck with the rest of the menu both tonight and on a previous occasion last year; overall, taking everything into account, I would award this Korean eatery a passing grade.
tagged: PLAN B.
Price per person: $24.23
Montreal restaurant and bar reviews brought to you by two regular guys who like to eat and drink. We will go anywhere and we will say it like it is.