“The main dish section of Korusin’s menu is divided into chicken, beef or duck, plus noodles and rice. Within each category, various sauces are available. Continuing along on my Asian tour, I ordered the beef in coconut milk and green curry…” Rachel Wagner checks out how Glatt kosher and Asian come together at Korusin in Ramat Gan.
It’s not every day that a devotedly secular Tel Aviv-centric restaurant critic finds herself at a Glatt kosher Chinese restaurant in Ramat Gan. The very idea sounds like the premise for a Jewish-style farce.
In actuality, my visit to Korusin, was, rather, a thoroughly edifying experience. Not only did I learn that, more than just a Chinese restaurant, Korusin also offers Thai-style dishes and sushi, I am also now at least partially versed as to the definition of Glatt kosher.
As it turns out, Asian food is quite a suitable culinary concept for kosher cooking, being as its almost exclusively dairy free. Like most Asian restaurants in Israel, Korusin’s kitchen is populated with Thai cooks, the difference here being the regular presence of a mashgiach (the kosher supervisor).
Taking in the elegant black and red décor (black chairs and tables offset with bold red napkins and a single red wall), I started with the sushi platter for one. Dining alone (I’d inadvertently chosen the night of the massive Depeche Mode concert for my visit, and was therefore companionless) I was going to have to pace myself to take in a broad sampling.
The sushi platter was lovely looking. The heavy square glass plate was adorned with 3 types of maki rolls (tuna, veggie, and smoked salmon) as well as 2 salmon nigiri. Along with the holy trinity of wasabi, soy and pickled ginger, I quite enjoyed the spicy mayo that arrived without having to request it.
The deep-fried spring roll wrappers I’d been munching on since the start of the meal had put me in the mood for something fried. Unfortunately, the waitress informed me that they were ‘all out’ of the actual spring rolls, so I instead went for the Wonton soup, also up there on my ‘nostalgic Chinese dishes’ list. From Japan to China I traveled, biting into the thick dough dumpling and sipping the clear broth in which it swam.
The main dish section of Korusin’s menu is divided into chicken, beef or duck, plus noodles and rice. Within each category, various sauces are available. Continuing along on my Asian tour, I ordered the beef in coconut milk and green curry, which had a chili pepper beside it, indicating spiciness.
Not in the mood to battle the chilies in my dish, I found the dish to be just the right side of spicy. The thin slices of beef were tender and tasty, but the green peas were on the crunchy side and could have done with a bit of parboiling. With sushi and wonton soup already under my belt, I got through about a third of the generous beef dish before requesting a doggy bag (the leftover beef would be the following night’s dinner for 2).
It was time to see what the dessert menu had to say. Not in a sorbet mood, and steering clear of the parve ice cream (the ‘real thing’ is just a personal rule of thumb) I distinctly heard the fried banana beckoning me.
A whole banana was coated in soft, waffle-like batter is a somewhat amusing image for the immature among us – but just delicious once cut up into bite sized pieces. The accompanying fruit salad provided nice contra to the sweet melting banana and maple sauce.
Well, well, well – a good meal at a Glatt kosher Chinese/Thai/sushi restaurant and a yummy dessert to boot. I may not have fit right in amongst the young orthodox couples or the suited business men, but I did have myself a nice little night out, enjoying the vaguely pinging Chinese-style music and calm atmosphere from my quiet and elegant corner table.
Korusin
1 Jabotinsky St., Ramat Gan
Tel: 03-7526222, 03-7524111
