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| - Joons is a short walk from the Christie subway stop. The Koreatown area gives a nice atmosphere and there are plenty of stores to check out before and after your dinner, giving a whole "fleshed out" feeling to the entire trip. Despite the area's brevity, one can easily spend a few hours here.
Upon entering the restaurant we were quickly greeted by the host/cook and the worker behind the counter. We were asked whether we wanted a regular table or one with one of the burners on it. Going in, I knew I wanted to order the Dak Galbi. If you know you want this dish and are not asked which table you would like, I advise you to ask for one of the tables with the burners on it. We were seated and brought a pitcher of water and cups and were promptly brought refills the first time we went. The second time I had to go to the counter and ask, but seeing as the place was far busier than the first time we came, with a heavy amount of dinner patrons AND a large party there for a birthday, this was easily forgivable.
You initially order two servings of Dak Galbi (only chicken and cabbage) and then add on what you wish to add onto it. Because of this, your final price for the Dak Galbi can range from about 18 dollars to 32 or so. The first time I ordered sweet potato, extra vegetables, two sides of rice, and mozzarella cheese. The second time I decided to add the rice cakes in, which I will never do without again. You can also have the option of adding noodles (ramen-type) into the mix. They bring out a pan with the vegetables and chicken and continue adding things throughout the cooking process. At the end, they bring out the cheese to sprinkle on top until it melts. At this point, they serve you your rice and banchan.
One thing that was to become one of my favorite parts of Korean dining is the ample amount of free side dishes, known as banchan, given to you alongside your meal. There are a wide variety depending on the restaurant you go to, but the two times I went to Joons I received kimchi (spicy fermented cabbage), Korean potato salad, bean sprouts, and fish cakes.This was my first banchan experience and I had been wanting to try kimchi for quite some time. I tried the kimchi at two other places and Joons was by far my favorite. The beansprouts were the standard cold dish fare and what one would expect (delicious). The Korean potato salad is quite the treat. Essentially, it is mashed potatoes made with apples, mayonnaise, and various vegetables. and served cold. The fish cakes were quite strong of fish flavor, but had a pleasant overall taste. You can get refills of these dishes as you please.
I couldn't help but salivate while I watched and waited for the Dak Galbi to finish cooking while catching whiffs of aroma from the gochujang-based sauce. After having eaten it, I can't imagine going to Joons and ordering anything else. If I were to live in Toronto, I would make a weekly pilgrimage to Joons for this dish. The layers of flavor within the dish, supplemented by the wonderful banchan and moist white rice, keep your taste buds working overtime and discovering something new with every bite. The amount of food and the balanced nature of the ingredients left me feeling satisfied and full both times. Take the advice of many reviewers and please do not skip out on the rice cakes, sweet potato, and mozzarella. These ingredients are essential in making the dish the bountiful, stomach stuffing, stratum of flavor experience that this dish is. I would advise the extra vegetables as well to soak up the wonderful, full-flavored, slightly sweet and mildly spicy sauce.
I've yet to find another place that serves Dak Galbi in this full, fleshed-out manner. I can't speak for the rest of the menu and probably never will be able to, but I do know that Joons is a unique food treasure which offers a mostly overlooked dish here in North America and they do it very, very well. Joons has helped open a new world of culinary adventure for me. It also gave me a great reason to visit Toronto again in the future.
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