Off the beaten path and down an alleyway is where you can find a toothsome vegan paradise of soy chicken, housemade drinks and sleek, modern design. I loved everything about CORI except for the slightly challenging navigation required to locate it.

After spending a good 5 minutes walking about what looked to be regular apartment buildings, I finally saw their store sign. It was all worth it though… I have zero regrets for the trouble it took!

Inside, it was completely empty save for a few employees. Maybe we really did happen upon a secret restaurant 😂

The first thing I ordered were a few drinks (it was blisteringly hot at the time we went!), and then onto the main event! The food took as little as 15m to come out, and the staff were super nice.

Soy Chicken Namban Burger

Saucy, juicy and full of flavor: this is the best way to describe this sandwich with words, and it still doesn’t cut it. The soy chicken, buns and tofu tartar sauce are all housemade, and it shows! I thought the chicken looked like a meatball but had a more premium gardein-chicken type consistency. It wasn’t stringy or rubbery, rather, it was easy to bite through and sheathed in a sweet-and-sour-soaked breadcrumb shell. The creamy tofu tartar sauce paired perfectly with the tanginess of the namban meat, and tbqh, I could’ve probably drank that tartar sauce, it was that good. The burger came with a side of tato wedges, which were fried to a light crisp and flecked with salt, but they were small and we were only given 4 (ration much?!) little wedges. That was no bueno. Everything else was muy bueno, though!

Sweet and Sour Soymeat

The soymeat was very much like seitan, except a bit more soft. It comes coated in the same sauce as used in the burger. I hate zucchini and didn’t know it came with zukes but it was cooked to the point where it wasn’t a huge bother.

Soy Chicken Namban Platter

Pretty much the same chunks of protein as the burger, this dish is a bit more filling due to the extra veggies and fiber-filled brown rice. I wasn’t a huge fan of the rice (I typically do not like brown, even though it’s techinically healthier than white.. let me live!), and didn’t think there was too much difference to warrant ordering this dish versus the burger. Still tasty though!