We’re sitting at Cook Boo, huddled in a poky corridor, and we’re sure there must be some kind of mistake. Our server proudly presents what looks like a raised bun instead of the salt-crusted steak we’d ordered. When they ask if they can carve it, we’re sure it must be some elaborate practical joke. But, in actual fact, the ‘bun’ is a huge golden mound of salt that the beef is baked into. And despite the prodigious amount used, the meat somehow manages to stay tender.
The restaurant does its best to make everything as kooky–they flip expectations on their head whenever they can. Cook Boo is an izakaya, a kind of casual Japanese gastropub that hits the sweet spot of drunk eating. There are plenty in this area–especially in the Japanese frequented district north of Sanlitun–but Cook Boo manages to distinguish itself with a wide variety of casual bar bites that expertly tango with a motley crew of culinary traditions.
On the entrance sign, Cook Boo advertises itself as a ‘meat bar’. They don’t really back that up with a huge selection of protein, but what they do have is tasty. All of their grilled marinated chicken skewers are tops – the basic bird cubes grilled with scallion are particularly munchable. But it’s the neck segments that we love: they’re like the meat popsicles we’ve always wanted. By shaving the meat off the bony segments, the reconstituted skewer serves deliciously juicy flesh from the neck without the usual pain required to get to it.
Most of the menu wanders between culinary influences while nary missing a beat. Crisp mushrooms are served ajillo–sizzling with heaps of garlic in olive oil–their stems replaced with a coil of uncured ham for a savoury burst. The cabbage au gratin has a one-two fatty punch of cream under a golden baked crust of cheese and breadcrumbs. Needless to say, that one is for times when you don’t give a damn about the diet. Japan also enters the party with hearty dishes like ochazuke: slivers of salmon and a mound of rice soaked in a bowl of fragrant green tea, which combines to make what feels like a bowl of delicious savoury cereal.
The mad flailing between styles could easily result in Cook Boo being a jack of all trades, master of none. But, in fact, several dishes are something memorable. A ‘mille-feiulle is made of breaded pork cutlets glued together with cheese, a playful success made even more moreish with basil and marinara. It’s got more in common with chicken parmesan than the iconic multilayered dessert.
Address: 1 Xinyuan Xi Li, Chaoyang District 朝阳区新源西里1号
Source: timeoutbeijing.com
