Kokodak Chicken in Bethlehem brings authentic Korean fried chicken to Tauranga. The name comes from a Korean onomatopoeia — the sound of a crying chicken — and the kitchen lives up to the playful name with hand-battered, double-fried chicken finished in house-made sauces.
The brand's first branch opened in Ormiston in March 2021 after a year of preparation, launched by a team with twelve years of hospitality experience, and Kokodak has since grown to branches across New Zealand. The Bethlehem store serves the local community every day from 10am to 8pm. According to director John Song of Kokodak NZ Ltd, nothing is imported: all ingredients come from local NZ suppliers, and the powders and sauces are made fresh every day at the company's distribution centre and delivered to each branch.
The menu covers all the Korean comfort-food bases — Original fried chicken or sauced versions like Seasoned, Soy Garlic, Honey Soy, Hot Spicy, White Onion and Supreme, in bone-in or boneless cuts — plus chicken bowls with steamed rice and coleslaw, tteokbokki, burgers, Cheese Dogs, seasoned chips and family-friendly combos. Order at the counter, ahead online, or via Uber Eats.
Kokodak Chicken's Bethlehem store, at 19 Bethlehem Rd in Tauranga, brings one of New Zealand's homegrown Korean fried chicken brands to the Bay of Plenty. Open every day from 10am to 8pm, it serves the same menu that has earned Kokodak a loyal following at branches across the country: hand-battered, double-fried chicken finished with house-made sauces, built on fresh New Zealand ingredients.
"Kokodak" is Korean onomatopoeia — the sound of a crying chicken — a playful name for a brand that takes its chicken very seriously. The first branch opened in Ormiston in March 2021 after a year of preparation, founded by a team drawing on twelve years of hospitality industry experience. Their goal was straightforward: to introduce authentic Korean fried chicken to New Zealand as the popularity of K-food grew in Auckland and beyond.
Authenticity runs through everything. According to John Song, director of Kokodak NZ Ltd, the brand uses no imported ingredients — everything is freshly supplied by local NZ suppliers, and the powders and sauces are made fresh every day at the company's distribution centre and delivered to each branch. The chicken itself is hand-battered and double-fried, the classic Korean technique that builds a shatteringly crisp crust while keeping the meat juicy inside. The brand's stated values back that up too: authenticity, quality ingredients, innovation, community, customer satisfaction and sustainability.
Fried chicken is the heart of the menu, and it comes with choices. Start with the Original Fried Chicken — golden, crunchy and unadorned — or order bone-in or boneless, whole or half, and have it tossed in one of the house-made sauces: Seasoned, Soy Garlic, Honey Soy, Hot Spicy, White Onion or Supreme.
Bethlehem locals have their favourites. One regular reviewer says she adores Kokodak and has found it fresh, tasty and in perfect serving sizes on every visit since her first, recommending both the soy garlic chicken bowl and the seasoned chicken bowl. Those bowls are the easy one-dish answer to lunch or dinner: boneless fried chicken pieces over steamed white rice with coleslaw on the side.
Combos make feeding the family simple. The Seasoned Chicken Combo, Chicken Burger Combo, Tteokbokki Combo and Chicken Cup Combo all appear among Kokodak's favourites, and the chips combo — chicken with a pile of hot, seasoned chips and a drink — earns repeated praise from customers. The Chicken Cup, chicken served cup-style for eating on the go, is especially popular in the Hot Spicy flavour.
Beyond the fried chicken there's a wider K-food and diner line-up: tteokbokki for a taste of Korean street food, a crispy chicken burger, classic beef burgers, Cheese Dogs that reviewers call worth trying, and coleslaw to round things out.
Visitors describe fast, friendly service and food that comes out fresh. It's a genuinely family-friendly spot — reviews from across the brand mention whole families, eight- and ten-year-olds included, happily working through Seasoned and Honey Soy chicken — and the flavour range runs from mild and sweet to seriously spicy. Staff have been known to offer a giggled "it's very hot" warning when you order the Hot Spicy, and customers confirm it is not an idle one.
Because it opens seven days a week from 10am to 8pm, the Bethlehem store works for late lunches, after-work dinners and weekend treats alike. Order at the counter to eat in or take away, order ahead online, or get it delivered through Uber Eats.
Whether you're a Korean fried chicken devotee working through every sauce, or a first-timer starting with the Original and a box of seasoned chips, the Bethlehem branch serves up the same crunch, flavour and generous portions that have made Kokodak a favourite since its first branch opened in 2021.