Brewda brings taste of Korea to The Terrace
AKorean eatery in Christchurch is aiming to showcase a cuisine to Kiwis that’s permeating palates around the globe. Brewda owner Cian Curtin has plated up Michelin star meals in Europe, cooked in Australia and in New Zealand fine dining restaurants – but at his own establishment he’s creating five-star food “without breaking the bank” for customers,.
“We try to do the food at a high standard - it’s still casual, but we want to do it at an affordable price point, so people can try Korean food,” he said.
Curtin said the cuisine “hasn’t really fully taken off New Zealand yet, but I feel like it will ... pretty soon”. “We decided to do the plates we do so it’s more approachable for Westerners”.
Brewda opened in December, tucked in the courtyard of The Terrace down the laneway next to Westpac.
Despite growing up in Ireland and still having the dulcet accent, he’s been immersed in Korean culture and food, having lived in Seoul for a year and marrying a Korean lass.
To keep the food authentic, Brewda’s head chef, Jaehyub Jake Lee, has 12 years’ experience as a professional chef in Korea and ran his own company selling banchan (side dishes) to restaurants.
Curtin said Brewda served modern Korean “because all the recipes and flavours are super authentic”, including a squid pappardelle, house-fermented kimchi and fish cakes.
The popular Korean street food tteokbokki was given an Italian twist at Brewda, served with gnocchi instead of the traditional rice cakes, but it still had the signature Korean flavours, he said.
And he likened the restaurant’s galbi jjim dish to a “short rib roast dinner” with mash and shallots, except it included Korean sauce, galbi jjim, on top.
Brewda aimed to bridge the gap between restaurant and bar, being a place where punters could grab a quick bite and a brew, or settle in for a meal.
“I want to create the atmosphere where people can come in during the day, grab a beer and a couple of small snacks, or come in for dinner, or a brew. I don’t want to define it as a restaurant.”