Korean Tapas Restaurant With Unique Latin Influences In East Village Impresses Taste Buds

Mokyo is Chef Kyungmin "Kay" Hyun's (Thursday Kitchen) second restaurant in New York City that features delicious tapas with a fusion of Asian and Latin flavors.

A sister restaurant to Thursday Kitchen, a favorite New York establishment in East Village, Mokyo - which is a playful way of saying "Thursday" in Korean - offers an eclectic array of tapas with flavors from Spain and South America with an underlying Asian influences. The restaurant is helmed by Chef Kyungmin "Kay" Hyun, who infuses her love of Asian and Latin cultures in her food.

CORN DUMPLING

These divine dumplings feature fluffy, almost cloud-like texture of mashed corn wrapped in chewy and soft exterior. The dumplings are topped with thinly sliced fennel and flavorful truffle salsa verde. You might want to consider having a double order of this appetizer!

LOBSTER ROLL

Enveloped in between butter-grilled mini buns are generous portion of juicy lobster meat and celery relish drizzled with creamy truffle whipped cheese. When sharing with two or more people, you can also add another roll for $5, which may very well be worth it.

CHICKEN

Korea is well known for its fried chicken (Korean Fried Chicken is the original KFC!), but Mokyo elevates it to another level. The bite-sized fried chicken is tossed in sweet and spicy sauce, and topped with za'atar, cheese piece, and a side of sesame yogurt.

KOREAN STEAK

The tender steak in soy marinade is prepared perfectly to your liking. Served atop a stone plate, the steak is accompanied by creamy parsnip puree (think of it as a fancier version of mashed potato) and collard greens in the same soy marinade sauce.

DUCK FRIED RICE

Perfect for sharing, the Duck Fried Rice features all the ingredients you love, like the savory Asian sausage, pickled cucumber, eggs, and of course the confit duck. The fried rice is also served with a dollop of black bean sauce, which we recommend "dipping" into each bite rather than mixing all of it in the fried rice.

NOODLE

If you are fond of spicy food, this dish is for you. The thick, chewy, and wavy noodles are doused in spicy Mala oil with celery, basil, and Brazilian nut. You mix up all the ingredients to ensure the Mala oil at the bottom is soaked into the noodles for that nice spicy kick to the taste bud.

INJEOLMI

The Injeolmi dessert at Mokyo is a unique twist on Korea's traditional chewy rice cake covered in soy powder. The dessert features chocolate covered in injeolmi-flavored mousse, and topped with crunchy cocoa leaf, hazelnut, and oat crumbs.