| rev:text
| - This was my first time dining in Toronto's new Koreatown up north of Sheppard. I was told the culinary center of gravity had left Bloor & Bathurst and that this place in particular was one of the best, so I had rather high hopes.
This place is definitely cramped: if you don't get a booth, you may end up sharing a long table with two other parties, and it's hard to get in and out of your chair to use the restroom. In fact, it's so crowded that apparently not all the cooking is taking place in the kitchen: the pajeon griddle is set up out in the hallway! Kind of cute, this level of disorganization quite reminded me of many small restaurants in Seoul. Despite being crowded, it feels airy (nice high ceilings) and bright.
On the appetizer front, it's all good. We all know that Toronto Korean restaurants hold back when it comes to panchan. Most places give you 3 or 4 (compared to 8-12 or more in Cali!). And where are my tiny dried chewy fish and fermented tofu strips?!? Here, you get at least 6 -- including sweet potato kuroke & ggakdukgi (essentially kimchi made from chunks of daikon: my fave) -- and they're of decent quality. They throw in a small spring onion pajeon (pancake) as well, which is customary in Korea but unusual in N. America; nice touch. (Mugubuka in SF's the only other place I've been to that does it.)
I'm sad to report that the main dishes were disappointing across the board. The haemul (seafood) pajeon was uncooked in the middle, with little unpleasant pockets of batter around the seafood pieces. The dough was too sticky, and underseasoned.
The LA style (cut across the bone) kalbi was not especially flavourful, and a little greasy. The kimchi chigae (stew with tofu, pork, and kimchi) was a big letdown. It was quite watery and not sufficiently pungent. This stuff is really supposed to knock your socks off with heat and umame but it really just tasted like sour water. I actually thought of asking for some gochujang (hot pepper paste) to mix in, which I've never done at a Korean restaurant in all my life.
I wanted it to be better, especially since they have some neat stuff (including ja jang myun -- thick noodles in black bean sauce) that I haven't seen elsewhere in Toronto, but it didn't live up to my hopes.
The search for plentiful panchan and delicious non-BBQ K-food continues!
|