Pyongyang Okryu-gwan in Deira, Dubai - Restaurant Reviews

Pyongyang Okryu-gwan

Discover some top-secret North Korean food in Deira 4 Reviews

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is renowned for its secrecy, which might explain why it took me two attempts to find Pyongyang Okryu-gwan Restaurant, Dubai’s only North Korean eatery. Armed with a newspaper article and the knowledge that it was somewhere near the clock tower, I roamed Deira for an entire evening before giving up and eating at socialist neighbour China Sea. With a lot more research (asking directions) and a little luck (spotting two ladies clad in traditional Korean dress), my second attempt to find the restaurant proved more fruitful.

The restaurant was empty save for two other diners hunched over their noodles, and we were soon mobbed by waitresses clad in colourful hanboks, who welcomed us shyly in broken English. All the waitresses hail from Pyongyang – ‘You’ve heard of it?’ asked one, sweetly – and are wonderfully attentive, not even allowing me to pour my own Fanta.

Disappointingly, there were no portraits of jumpsuit enthusiast Kim Jong-il’s beaming face adorning the walls – only drawings depicting bucolic mountain scenery. However, the culture of North Korean secrecy was upheld by signs prohibiting photography (though what state secrets we’d be able to uncover at Okryu-gwan, I don’t know). We discovered that the small stage at the end of the restaurant often hosts live performances by the waitresses, though on the night we visited it was occupied by a lonely electronic keyboard. The only form of entertainment during our visit was provided by the Korean karaoke videos playing silently on the flatscreen TV.

There may be an ideological divide between North and South, but there’s little difference in attitudes to food, which is similar to the standard fare you’d expect from any Korean venue. We started with complimentary sweet rice cakes, followed by a huge pile of kimchi. A plateful of raw beef arrived thereafter; our waitress promptly placed the red slithers onto the table’s barbecue grill. After she piled them onto our plates, we ate the beef wrapped in dewy lettuce leaves and a dollop of soya bean paste (doenjang). The Okryu-gwan ‘special dish’, meanwhile, featured thick, slippery noodles, crunchy raw vegetables and shreds of marinated beef. Last to arrive at the table was a hotplate of yellow tofu triangles, covered in fiery red gochujang. The food was good – in particular the pillowy-soft tofu – and we even managed to finish the mountainous pile of kimchi.

At the end of the meal, the waitress asked if we liked the food and the ‘drew-rings’. Drew-rings? Ah, the drawings. Yes, we liked the drawings. She then did her bit for the state by asking if we would like to buy said drawings. Not today, thank you – just the bill.

Say what you will about the dubious DPRK regime, but we couldn’t help but be enamoured by Pyongyang Okryu-gwan. I dare say that there was little to set it apart from other Korean restaurants around Dubai, but we liked the place for its quirky uniqueness, the promise of live performances. and the charming waitresses. Dear Leader would be proud.

The bill (for two)
1x Kimchi Dhs25
1x Beef Dhs50
1x Okryu-gwan Special Dish Dhs75
1x Tofu and gochujang Dhs50
Total (excluding service) Dhs200