The Sydney Morning Herald logo
Advertisement

Ko and Co

Rachel Olding

Keeping it simple: The vehicle is Mexican and the passenger is Korean.
Keeping it simple: The vehicle is Mexican and the passenger is Korean.Sahlan Hayes

Korean$$

Fusing Korean and Mexican in the confines of a 40-seater could go seriously wrong, but Ko and Co is a testament to keeping it simple, very simple.

There are just a handful of dishes, three cocktails and a smattering of cow-hide stools in this blink-and-you'll-miss-it cafe-bar.

Husband and wife duo Frank and Sarah Lin, along with business partner Jae Jung, waited patiently for years to see the Korexican flavours of southern California reach Australia.

Advertisement
The Korean fried chicken taco.
The Korean fried chicken taco.Sahlan Hayes

When it didn't happen, they did it themselves and started playing around with kimchi and quesadillas.

Aesthetically, it's a fashionably minimalist Surry Hills cafe. Gastronomically, it's a party in your mouth.

The vehicle is Mexican, but the passenger is Korean, making for a neat combination of flavours and fun.

A margarita with honey yuzu tea.
A margarita with honey yuzu tea.Sahlan Hayes
Advertisement

Tacos, burritos, quesadillas and sliders are injected with spicy pork belly, Korean fried chicken and kimchi slaw.

A margarita ($16) is spiked with honey yuzu tea - one of just three house cocktails - and shots of soju are mixed in large tumblers with freshly squeezed juice ($9), using whatever fruit is in season, whether it be mandarins, green apples or nashi pears. If watermelon is on the menu, I advise you to order it.

Beers take a few from both Korea (Cass, Hite, OB Golden Lager) and Mexico (Dos Equis, Pacifico) and there's talk of introducing tasting flights of soju and mezcal. It's the antithesis to overkill and it works.

''If you blend too much together, it ends up being a horrible mish-mash, so we're quite conscious that if you're talking fusion, you don't want to go too far,'' Frank Lin says.

''Avocado doesn't work too well with Korean elements, so you're not going to see a huge guacamole with kimchi. We're just trying to find the right balance of each cuisine.''

Advertisement

The best picks are tacos with beef short rib or Korean chicken and, if the latter is too good, there's a whole basket of it - deliciously battered, tender pieces to dip in kimchi mayo and picked radish.

Skip the sliders (snore) and go for a burrito packed with kimchi fried rice and either spicy pork belly, beef short ribs, Korean fried chicken or spicy tofu packed in tight and ready to overflow spectacularly on its way to your mouth. That's a whole lotta Korexican coming at you.

Dessert shouldn't be ignored either - sticky rice ball ice-cream ($5) and a dessert tortilla that plays on a Korean classic with brown sugar, cinnamon and pistachio sandwiched in a toasted tortilla ($7).

Little touches bring personality to what could otherwise be a run-of-the-mill space. The owners are quick to greet you with a bowl of corn chips and there's a brightly coloured mural on one wall by local tattoo artist Mr Sprinkles. Like the bear-tiger creature depicted, this place is a fusion that's just right. Simple.

THE LOW-DOWN
YOU'LL LOVE IT IF … you want a low-key, easy spot for drinks and snacks.
YOU'LL HATE IT IF … you're sick to death of Mexican joints.
GO FOR … Korean fried chicken taco, yuzu margarita, soju with fresh watermelon juice.

Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox.

Sign up

From our partners

Advertisement
Advertisement