Tag Archives: Korean food

Korean triple meat platter for one @ KOKO! Share Bar

Now, we’re not big on sharing here on Triple B. Dude, if I’m sharing food, it means that someone else is going hungry — cuz Imma eat most of it, bro! So when I heard about KOKO! Share Bar, this Japanese/Korean joint bringing some underground funk to Yorkville, I was like, yeah, I’ll check it out — as long as I don’t hafta share. 😉

Actually, you don’t really need to share most of the stuff on their menu. You could just order your own appetizer, main course, sushi, sashimi, etc. But they do have a couple Signature Share Platters that were meant to serve two…but are more like a nice, light snack in Flavourtown!!!!

So, I went with their Bossam platter, which is giving me a little BPC — that’s beef, pork and chicken, son, along with rice and lettuce (I can’t call them lettuce wraps when only two out of seven pieces of lettuce were big enough to wrap the meat in). And man, this bulgogi beef was the star of the show. Super-tender, with a nice chew… I could eat a triple meat platter of just bulgogi, bro!!!!

Now, if bulgogi’s number one, then this spicy chicken is number two with a bullet, bro. It’s got a nice little kick, enough to let you know it’s there, but doesn’t melt your face off. And it definitely works better with rice than lettuce…

That means I would hafta put the sauteed pork in third place on this platter. It’s not that it was bad, just didn’t have a ton of flavour. Adding some ssamjang sauce helps a bit, though.

Like I said, this was just another dinner for one in Flavourtown. All that was left behind was some green stuff, and maybe a couple onions. And dude, I’m not even full yet — you KNOW I’ve still got room for dessert, bro!!!!!!

Now, at KOKO, dessert is either green tea cheesecake or mochi ice cream, and if I had known how small this piece of cheesecake was, I mighta asked for both. You do get a few nice, creamy bites, though, and the green tea isn’t overpowering. But if this is one serving of cheesecake, then I could easily mow down a triple cheesecake platter, bro!!!!!!!!!!!

Pan-Asian flavour explosion @ Superfresh

I can’t say I remember much about the Annex Food Hall — I ordered an outta-bounds breakfast hot dog from a place in there during First Lockdown, but that’s about it. So when I heard they were turning the food hall into more of a night market, with an infusion of Asian flavours, I was all over that like white on rice, bro! Superfresh is serving up funky fresh food from across the continent, with six different vendors and a full-service bar… So you KNOW I had to get something from all of them, right?

Now, I wasn’t sure that I could eat a buncha fried chicken along with five other things, so I just went with the skin — we’re talkin’ chicken chicharrones, homies! And man, after all that tasty seasoning on this super-crunchy skin, I think I’m gonna need to get the full chicken from Bao Bird next time I’m here… if the skin was that good, the chicken’s gotta be dynamite!!!

Next up, it’s some funky Japanese-Canadian fusion courtesy of Katsupan. This Japanese Poutine is packin’ curry sauce, scallions and bonito flakes on top of nice ‘n crispy fries — but man, I really wish they used cheese curds instead of shredded cheese here. 😦

But now it’s time for the highlight of the night, son! These Indonesian grilled chicken skewers (Satay Ayam) from Jajan are sooo outta bounds, bro! Chicken is super-tender, and you could put that peanut sauce on a rice-farmer’s hat, and it would still taste good!!!!

Now, it probably goes without saying that when ordering from Big Beef Bowl, you should get a big bowl of hand-pulled noodles, with some beef in there. But since I was eating five other things, I went with an octopus skewer instead — and I wasn’t disappointed. This classic street squid has just the right amount of tenderness, but it was pretty spicy (for a white guy). I’m definitely gonna be feeling it in the morning…

Now this is a dish I’ve never seen before — it’s called Sae Woo Hobak Jeon, a Korean egg fritter with shrimp, zucchini and a side of onions. Funny story, the server tried to take my plate away when I still had two left, cuz he thought it was just the garnish, haha. Hey, it’s no breakfast hot dog, but I wouldn’t mind starting my day with a few of these bad boys!!!

And on that note, it’s time for a couple beers. This Common Good Ronin Rice Lager has a cool backstory, but I don’t really taste the rice, here. It’s pretty much just a basic lager beer…

On the other hand, this Louis Cipher Coconut Lemongrass Thai-PA is kicking it up a notch, injecting some Thai flavours into a stronger beer. Now, they might not have a Thai food stand here, but this one goes pretty good with the chicken satay, bro!

But even after all that commotion back there, we’ve still got room for dessert. The Good Goods seemed to be running low on cheesecake all night — I think I mighta got the last slice of Vanilla Cream, which was the only kind they had left. But man, this cake really kicks Uncle Tetsu’s ass and leaves him out behind a dumpster, son! Gonna see if I can maybe get the chocolate one next time, though…

Dude, this is Korean like you’ve never see-an!

Now, you KNOW we’re hardcore carnivores right here on Triple B — but we’re actually not the biggest Korean BBQ fans. (Unless maybe they cook it for you, then it’s a different story, morning glory!) But man, gimme Korean fried chicken and rice hotdogs any day… They’re ain’t fancy, but they shure is tasty, son!!!

Let’s just say that’s a world away from a 6-course tasting menu. But here at Orote, this funky little joint just a couple blocks from Bloor and Dufferin, they’re serving up a prix fixe menu of Korean-infused flavours — and unlike Don Alfonso, it won’t break the bank, bro!

We’re starting off with some jeon, a mung bean pancake. Basically like a latke — I can’t believe it’s not potato!!!

This pumpkin tart is creamy on the outside, crunchy on the inside. Consider my bouche amused.

This lobster skewer is soooo outta bounds, bro! Four tasty chunks of super succulent lobster meat — can’t go wrong with that!

Raw fish is not really my thing, but this yellowtail was pretty tasty. I could do without the gritty greens, though.

Scallops with ginger, mustard greens, eggplant — nice combinations of flavours. Scallop is super-tender and the eggplant and ginger kicks it up a notch.

Branzino with roasted cabbage and kimchi — this fish just melts in your mouth, bro! Cabbage adds a nice crunch… it’s like Korea meets Germany. Whaaaa????

They call this Rice & Chan, and it’s like a Korean kitchen sink in Flavourtown! You’ve got barley tea infused rice, miso soup, kalbi beef, kimchi and pickles, turnip, daikon, kale and potato salad… And this is all one course, bro!!! Beef is super tender, clam adds a nice bite to the miso, kimchi has a good kick. Even the cauliflower rice doesn’t suck!!!!

Dessert is a black sesame rice cake with roasted rice ice cream and miso caramel sauce. Basically ice cold vanilla ice cream on top of rice. Don’t knock it till ya try it, eh?

And they’ve also got some pretty decent beer here, like La Bretteuse, a strong wild beer from Trou du Diable in Quebec. They age it 18 months in pinot noir and zinfandel barrels — basically, it’s the closest thing to wine I’ll ever drink!!!!!!

This Korean BBQ joint actually cooks the meat for you…

Now, I don’t always do Korean BBQ, cuz I’m like, why go to a restaurant that makes you cook your own food, dude? But we’re hanging out at Mapo Korean BBQ, right in the heart of Koreatown, where the servers actually slice and cook the meat for you — I can go for that! Man, this place has got autographs on the wall from all the big Korean baseball stars like Hyun Jin Ryu, Ji-Man Choi and Alek Manoah…who might not be Korean, but I’m sure he can destroy a whole buncha grilled meat, boi!!!

We went for Combo D, which combines beef brisket, ribeye, pork neck, mushrooms and two kinds of pork belly — this here’s the skinny kind. You also get complimentary cheesy corn, egg, and a whole lotta banchan (side dishes) like kimchi and macaroni salad.

While you can’t go wrong with pork three ways — Pork Three Ways was the name of my Primus cover band, bro! — the ribeye steak is what makes it. They blowtorch this baby with propane and propane accessories, then cut it into pieces so you can serve yourself. Mine was still a nice medium-rare…

But there wasn’t quite enough beef to go around, so we also ordered some short ribs a la carte. Unfortunately, the place got really busy, so we were left to grill them ourselves, and they came out extra crispy. But I would still put that on a flip-flop…because even burned beef ribs taste better than a sandal, son!!!!!

TORONTO’S TOP TAKEOUT: Bibimbap, you don’t stop!

Now, I’m a pretty big fan of Korean food, whether we’re talking fried chicken, rice hot dogs or toilet-themed desserts. But the last time I had bibimbap was actually at a Japanese joint…so you know I’m overdue for some real-deal Korean comfort food, bro! And Kimichi Korea House, this funky little joint on Dundas, is doing it up right, with 13 different bibimbaps to choose from!!!

Now you know me, I had to go with bulgogi! This thinly sliced beef is nice ‘n tender, on a bed of rice and veggies, with some spicy gochujang sauce that I poured overtop. I also paid a buck fiddy to add a fried egg — dude, this is body by fried eggs!

Plus, you get a whole buncha little side dishes at no extra charge, like kimchi, sprouts, miso soup and cold potatoes. You KNOW I’m all about that meat and potatoes, bros!!!

TORONTO’S TOP TAKEOUT: Take me out to the ballgame with some Korean rice hotdogs!

Nobody could go out to the ballpark this year, as just about every game was played without fans in the stands. But now it’s the World Series, and I’m craving some ballpark food, like corndogs, pretzels and stadium nachos. Well, nachos maybe aren’t so great for delivery (more on that later), but when I heard that Chung Chun Rice Dog, this funky joint serving up Korean-style rice dogs, had just opened up a new location on Yonge Street, now I know what I’m gonna chow down on when watching the game, bro!

Now, these ain’t your typical corn dogs, son! While they might be deep-fried just the same, they’re coated in a rice-flour batter, which gives it that extra chewy inside. Plus, they’ve got all kinds of funky flavours like squid ink, ramen, and my new personal favourite, the potato dog:

Now, this dish is some next-level thinking in Flavourtown. Instead of just a hotdog on a stick, you’ve got a hot dog AND fries on a stick, with these crispy little pieces of potato baked right in! The dog itself is super-tasty, maybe one of my top five meat-on-a-sticks, but the potatoes really take it up a notch!!!

But you KNOW I can’t eat just one, bro! This double cheese dog doubles down with all sortsa mozza oozing out the top, and then a more subtle cheddar blending in with the hotdog on the bottom. And yes, there is a hotdog in here — you just gotta take about three cheesy bites to get to it!

Dude, Cheesy Bites was the name of my 80’s only Judas Priest cover band, bro!!!

We’re getting loaded on Drunken Chicken, bro!!!

Now, if I was to add a couple more letters to the name of this website, it would be Triple BFC. Or maybe Triple BBQFC. Cuz man, if there’s one thing I like almost as much as Burgers, Bacon and Beer, it’s fried chicken. And there’s a whole buncha funky joints from the South — we’re talkin’ South Korea, son — waaay up North, up around Yonge and Finch, that do it up right. But when I heard about this joint called Drunken Chicken, you KNOW I had to check it out. Pass me an ice-cold Sapporo, bro!!!

Now, the deal with this place is that you can order a “half” or a “whole” chicken, either with bones or boneless, and then there’s seven different sauces and flavours to choose from. Or you can do what I did, which was get half and half — you save four bucks per order, and you get to choose two different kinds.

So, we started with the Honey Gangjeong, which was a little underwhelming. Don’t get me wrong, this chicken was crispier than a frisky biscuit, but it just didn’t have that much sweetness to it. I was kinda expecting more from something with “honey” in the name…

I definitely liked the Spicy Peanut more, doused in a Thai-style peanut sauce…but it was so not spicy. Normally, when I see something with a pepper next to it on the menu, it means I’ll be hitching a ride home on the Pepto-Copter, but that was definitely not the case here. Still pretty tasty though…

Now, you KNOW I finished off two full baskets of Korean fried chicken, and still had room for dessert…if by dessert, you mean onion rings:

I don’t always eat shit, but when I do… I prefer Poop Cafe!

Now, these funky little Asian dessert joints are popping up all over this city, whether it’s in Chinatown, Little Tokyo or right in the heart of Koreatown, like this joint, Poop Cafe. You know this place is the shit when their seats are made of toilets, bro!!!

And lemme tell ya, you might wanna pop a squat after eating here! They’ve got all kinds of funky, outta-bounds desserts like milkshakes, waffles and this chocolately take on a Korean classic, Bing Poo:

Dude, this toilet bowl is overflowing with shaved ice, almonds, brownie bites, and a great big scoop of Nutella gelato, with a shit-shaped hard candy on top. You might need a courtesy flush after finishing this one, especially when you wash it down with a Unicorn Hot Chocolate:

Dude, this drink is the shiznit — and shiznit is good! You’ve got a toilet-shaped mug, with a swirl of chocolate and Fruit Loops stuck to the bowl. And then on top, you’ve got enough cotton candy to feed a family of four at a fun fair!!! Once you get past all that, then it’s right down to the chocolately, marshmallowy goodness:

Now, I’d hate to be the guy who has to do this dishes here… But hey, it probably beats cleaning toilets?

Seoul Shakers’ got my soul shakin’ with some funky Korean fusion!

So, we’re hanging out at Seoul Shakers, this funky little Bloordale Village dive where they’re mixing up Mexican, Korean and comfort food classics, like kimchi cheeseburgers and gojuchang tacos al pastor in an old dingy diner that’s so outta bounds, it’s got Tom Jones above the Wu Tang on the jukebox!

Now, you may NOT play the Travis Tritt right above the 2Pac here, but you CAN chow down on some sweet ‘n spicy soy-glazed deep-fried eggplant…so I guess that’s good enough???

Now, I don’t always eat eggplant, but if you do it up like this, I would eat it every day. You’ve got sweetness, you’ve got spicy, you’ve got crispy and crunchy, with a side of bell peppers, scallions, and a little chili oil for that extra kick. Kick out the Korean jams, bro!!!!

Now, these signature Seoul Shakers wings definitely kick the heat up a notch. You’ve got a crispy onion batter and a Thai-style chili/garlic/soy glaze, with some sesame seeds, hot peppers and cilantro. And it’s not just spicy hot–I almost burned my digits when I picked this one up!!!

These Roast Kimchi Chopped Cheese sliders might be this joint’s signature dish, and it’s totally funkalicious. You’ve got a chopped ground beef patty topped with roast kimchi, lettuce, pickles, onions, cheese and special sauce. And they’re serving ’em up in two sizes: Biggie (four to an order) and Smalls (two per order). Man, can I do like a Big Pun and get seven of these????

But the hip to the hop don’t stop there, bro! The hits keep coming with this cast-iron roasted Cornish hen served on Korean sweet rice porridge, with sides of pickles, onions and potatoes. And believe it or not, but this chicken’s so tender you can slice right through it with chopsticks — they won’t even give you a knife if you ask for one!

Now, you might be sippin’ on soju and juice at a joint like this, but this is body by craft beer, bro, so I’m going straight for an ice cold Blood Light, an evil pale ale from my Satan-hailing homeboys at Blood Brothers Brewing. Dunno the IBUs on this one, but it’s definitely not too hoppy. Why make it a Bud Light when you can make it a Blood Light???

FLAVOURTOWN OLYMPICS: Wicked awesome underground Korean chicken, bro!

Dude, you KNOW I love the Olympics, bro! You’ve got curling, you’ve got two-man luge–and my personal favourite, the ice dance. So now that the Olympics are underway in PyeongChang, I’m gonna be chowing down on delicious dishes from every country that should win at least a few medals. (No Olympic Mad Eats from Russia, bro!!!) Starting off with this funky chicken from the host country:

Now, if you’ve ever walked down the yellow brick road also known as the PATH in Downtown Toronto, you may or may not have seen this place. Right as you’re about to head out of 121 King Street, there’s this funky little Korean stand on the corner called Hoga–you might notice the lineup. People go nuts for this stuff! Man, they’re serving up all kinds of Korean and Asian eats, from bulgogi to katsu, kimchi to japchae. But my personal favourite is this kickin’ Korean chicken.

It’s got enough heat to wake you up in time for the short-track speedskating semi-finals, but it won’t wipe you out–unlike certain Korean short-track speedskaters. And dude, all this food is still only about seven bucks after tax. You won’t get that kinda screamin’ deal at the athletes’ village!

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Tag Archives: Korean food

Pan-Asian flavour explosion @ Superfresh

Dude, this is Korean like you’ve never see-an!

This Korean BBQ joint actually cooks the meat for you…

TORONTO’S TOP TAKEOUT: Bibimbap, you don’t stop!

TORONTO’S TOP TAKEOUT: Take me out to the ballgame with some Korean rice hotdogs!

We’re getting loaded on Drunken Chicken, bro!!!

I don’t always eat shit, but when I do… I prefer Poop Cafe!

Seoul Shakers’ got my soul shakin’ with some funky Korean fusion!

FLAVOURTOWN OLYMPICS: Wicked awesome underground Korean chicken, bro!

READ MORE: I found this underground Korean food joint in the PATH, and it’s pretty amazing

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