Novo Santokki, in Vila Madalena, does Korean restaurant cosplay

It is necessary to make it very clear: Santokki is not a Korean restaurant. Nor Japanese. Chefs define it as an “Asian without rules” in the Instagram profile. But the result is a kind of cosplay, leaving lost those who want to know more about South Korea, today so high in pop culture.

The house was opened in Vila Madalena by the same owners as the second and first -time at the beginning of the month, surrounded by Hype and with a full hall. The restaurant surfs in the wave of popularity of cuisine and Asian culture, especially Korean, with a cool aesthetics.

The name is Korean and means Coelho da Mountain – it is also a reference to a children’s song from that country. The menu comes written in Korean. At the entrance, there is a refrigerator stored from Soju. But the main one misses: Korean food.

One of the few options that refers to a Korean recipe is Bibimbap (R $ 52), which goes far from the traditional scrambled rice dish. In the version served by the house, rice, ground beef, kimchi, dashi and preserves (such as mushroom and maxixe) are mixed and fried in the wok and dumped in a cumbuca, which is mere ornament. They still end with mayonnaise Kewpie and Katsuobushi, Japanese ingredients.

In the original preparation, Bibimbap arrives at the table with cooked rice and toppings, which include meat, egg and vegetables, such as carrots and beans sprouts – but no preserving – accommodated in Cumbuca. The dirty moves on the spot, following its own taste. GOCHUJANG, fermented pepper paste, usually served separately, is indispensable. In place, chefs serve a jalapeño peppers sauce, pout, chilli and finger-finger.

The main attraction is Korean barbecue, prepared on coal grills installed at the tables. The combo (R $ 168) brings side dishes and three thick raw cuts – the opposite of the Korean barbecue, with thin slices. More looks like the Brazilian. But then they give scissors to cut the meat and that’s it, it becomes an experience of the K-Dramas-Doramas is the productions of Japan.

To make matters worse, the side dishes are Japanese. They use seaweed to assemble the bundle. The rice is “Gohan” instead of “Bap”, and takes Furikake. It also has cabbage salad with sesame sauce, preserves of the day, mushroom tempura and Teriyaki eggplant. The only one who is saved is Kimchi.

The typical fermented preserves of South Korea is made by the chefs themselves, who ferment the vacuum chard for a week. Kimchi’s essential cunt is missing, and the taste resembles one more pickles.

The only dessert is lost in the menu. The scraped (R $ 20) consists of crushed ice that turns stone and in a few minutes melts over the yogurt cream with white chocolate, jabuticaba paste, strawberry pieces, coriander olive oil and coriander.

The portion of guioza (R $ 32), which took 1h30 to arrive, after several charges, has three guiozas of pork dripped with chili Oil and peanut sauce. On top, a chamuscated chariot sheet. The portion exemplifies the dishes that look like a mix of spices and ingredients, which are barely differentiated in the mouth.

The logic of the address, which compiles different references in the menu, can even work in the other three trendy restaurants of the duo Julia Tricate and Gabriel Coelho, who blend chef touches with bar recipes.

But in Santokki, who had no consultancy to create the menu, is lost, as was the public.