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| - I was really excited when I heard that a Korean restaurant was opening up on the north east end of Markham - I could grab some kalbi short ribs or satisfy my bimbap urges without needing to head to North York... But after several visits, I'm sad to report I'll probably still need to be making those treks.
First, don't be fooled by the sign that advertises it as a "Korean house". Despite the window signage, it's a Chinese diner that has 75% HK diner food. Fine. I like HK diners, but is it any good? After eating here 3x in the week it's been open, I can honestly say: meh.
Let's start with the good: nice modern decor, big tv flat screens, lots of tables, etc. The menu is extensive with familiar items of traditional HK cafes, as well as some "Korean - style dishes". I also like how the booths have USB power outlets so you can charge your devices.
Now the bad: I tried their sizzling steak and chicken combo and it's generous to say it was underwhelming. First, the soup was supposedly a seafood bisque - it would be more accurate to call it Brown water with cornstarch to thicken it. No amount of salt or pepper could ressurect any sort of flavor. The steak and chicken were fine but then the complimentary ice cream was melted upon delivery. Wtf?
On a later visit I tried the bbq pork and egg with rice. Very standard for HK diners: slices of bbq pork laid over rice with a fried egg right? Not here. I got a BBQ pork omlette, which was fine, but a kind of surprising take on a classic.
And in all time there, service has been abysmal. I'm use to Chinese level service trust me, but I practically have to beg them to get a refill on my tea, check on the status of my dish, or bring me the bill. They're not busy either! They just aren't trained to care.
My final conclusion? This place has a lot of potential. The food is fine and the prices aren't bad...unless they serve melted ice cream again. I'm going to make the generous assumption that the fubars I experienced are growing pains. I'll give it another go in a month to see if they got the bugs worked out.
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