Korai Kitchen (NO DINE-IN WITHOUT RESERVATIONS!) — Restaurant in Jersey City

Celebrated part two of a special anniversary here, and after spending years collecting digital dust on my "Restaurants to Try" list, I'm happy to say Korai Kitchen's weekend Dawat delivered.

First, it's $90pp (gone up since a few months ago). However, you get about $200+ worth of food, so it's a steal any way you look at it.

Second, when Nuri Jr says in the beginning not to fill up on rice and the courses will get bigger: LISTEN TO HER! You'll start with essentially large appetizers, that then progress to full-sized entrees, that then evolve to Auntie-sized entrees--and anyone who's ever had an Auntie cook for them knows what I mean by how big they are!

Third, the menu varies every week depending on what Chef Nuri feels like cooking (and has on hand). So you can come back multiple times and never have the same meal.

Fourth, you're encouraged to eat with your hands--that's the proper Bengali way. But cutlery is provided if you need it, and there's a never-ending supply of wet wipes.

Here's what we gorged on in Nov 2024:

Portas (mash) sampler: Pumpkin, peanut, eggplant, potato. Not to sound like a basic b*tch, but while they were all good, the potato was the best.

Daal with five spices: Tasty, but hard to eat with your hands, so don't be afraid to use your spoon.

Labra: Mixed veggies with green papaya. Comforting.

Begun Bhaja: Eggplant fritter. One of the most perfectly fried and spiced fritters I've ever had. Huge too.

Chingrir Lotpoti: Shrimp with okra and green chilies. Perfectly flavored, though okra haters might find it hard to enjoy.

At this point, our hostess Nuri Jr announced that we still had 5 courses left (of our 8-course meal). And I died a bit because I was pretty sure we'd already had at least 5 courses (I was noting all of them), so how could we have 5 left? THE FOOD MATH AIN'T MATHING!

Mach Bhaj: Fried rohu fish with green chilies. Another perfectly fried piece of food, but of which I could only enjoy a bite because the most was yet to come.

Murgi roast: Roast chicken, and their most popular dish. I can see why--rarely has chicken been so tender and juicy and perfectly sauced. Oh, and cardamom reigns supreme in the spice mix, which is just the cherry on top of a perfect plate. Unfortunately, this was enough food for a village, so I could only hold down a few bites.

Kala Bhuna: Here comes the bef in ghee, and boy is it tender!

Chicken biryani with tuna kebab: A fantastic combo of flavorful rice and grilled fish that makes me wish I could visit Bangladesh (okay, there's nothing actually stopping me, so I should just make this happen).

Mishti Doi: Dessert from Amma's hometown! Think solid yogurt meets cheesecake for texture, and a mildly sweet flavor that would please any palette. I didn't think I'd finish the large bowl they gave us, but lo and behold--I did. You always have room for dessert.

Oh, and they definitely pack up the courses you can't finish, so you eat what you can, then enjoy leftovers for days.

For once, the five-star reviews don't lie....

A friend invited me to try this place. I love south Asian cuisine. I came without any expectations. From the outside, seems like the typical mom/pop shop.

Within my first step into the restaurant, we were so warmly welcomed by the owner and staff. Felt like visiting aunts who can’t wait to feed you the best foods.

We signed up for the 8-course 3-hour dinner service. This wasn’t a service. This was an out of this world experience that I was not at all prepared for. I expected small bites x 8. No. Far from it. You get 8 meals one after another with unlimited rice. Eight DELICIOUS full meals that felt like I was being taken through the times and spaces and ancestries of Bangladesh.

I felt every emotion. Everything was delicious and cooked to perfection. I actually felt angry at how delicious everything was. Lolol. I could taste every ingredient. Angry that it took me 42 years of living to realize this kind of food and the warm love that I felt from the food and from every single personnel in the restaurant. It truly felt like I was at home. I felt love. I felt kindness. I felt overjoyed. I felt guilty. I felt blessed. I felt belonging. My tastebuds were dancing. So many flavors in every single plate. So many textures. So many temperatures. So much everything.

I’ve never felt so full in my entire life. We were fed beyond limits. Fed high quality ingredients and cooked with sincerely love for cooking and love for caring for others. The owner and her mother spoke with every table and every guest. I usually hate hate hate this “protocol,” but I looked forward to speaking with them. I needed to sing praises about their food and the overall experience. I’m rarely emotional about food. I was an emotional mess (in a very good way) from beginning to end.

I rarely write restaurant reviews. This place more than deserves it. The experience cost about $90 per person. I would have happily paid double that, maybe even triple.

Top 3 restaurant experiences in my 42 years. Thank you for the wonderful experience. I can’t wait to eat my leftovers tomorrow and I will certainly keep coming back even though you are 1.5 hours away from my home, lolol.

Best wishes and...

Korai kitchen is absolutely fabulous. The entire experience was fantastic. The mother/daughter team is so sweet and personable; you feel welcomed from the moment you walk through the door. We started with a small serving of mango lassi. It is BYOB but they have soda for purchase. The ambiance is very cozy and welcoming. It’s mostly tables for 2 but we saw one 4-top. The daughter is the MC for the evening and she explains the sequencing of courses that come out. The dawat menu varies from night to night, but ours was so delicious. The first 3-4 veggie courses were amazing. We started with a giant bowl of white rice and 4 different mashes: pumpkin, peanut, potato, and eggplant. You can eat with utensils but the traditional way is with your hands. We alternated through the night but ate mostly with our hands (they give you lots of wet wipes!). After that, we had a veggie curry, a shrimp curry, and a lentil soup. The depth of flavors was great. Then we had fried eggplant and fried white fish. The fried fish changed my life, I could eat that every day. The coating on both was light and just perfect?? Then we had chicken fritters and chicken biryani (fire), a beef course (melt in your mouth tender), and chicken roast (the peanut sauce was delectable). You end the meal with a mango lassi-esque “cheesecake” that’s sort of like a cross between Greek yogurt and custard. It wasn’t heavy and was the perfect end to the evening. The best part? You get to take leftovers too! (And you will have leftovers, it’s sooo much food). I definitely want to come back another evening for the dawat experience and I really want to try the takeout menu! I wish the owners...