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| Photo courtesy of Jes Lin |
Finding authentic Korean restaurants in North York isn’t
difficult, every step along Yonge between Sheppard and Steeles presents another
option; what’s hard is choosing between all the choices. If it weren’t for a
recommendation, I would have never stumbled into Kookminhakgyo – the store
front is small and the plaza it’s situated in hidden amongst larger buildings.
Yet, it’s well known amongst locals as the restaurant had a
constant stream of customers in hopes of settling into one of their ten circular
tables, allotted on a first-come-first-serve basis. Kookminhakgyo’s surroundings
is sparse but functional: the stainless steel tables easily cleaned and you can
get messy on; the cushion lifts on the seat to protect coats and bags from
smelling like food; and décor reminds you of a school or teenager’s room but
uncluttered.
Not knowing how long it’d take to receive our food - quite
quickly it turns out – we assumed an order of gaeran mari ($8.99) would be required. The Korean omelette was
essentially just egg with green onions served with ketchup. I would have
thought there’d be something more to it (chopped kimchi, a spicy paste), really
anything to make it more “Korean”. Nevertheless,
as a plain omelette it was still tasty with its many layers and slightly gooey
center.
In terms of the actual BBQ, the Kookminhakgyo set ($57.99)
will make any pork lover’s heart flutter, a large platter of the animal’s skirt
meat, shoulder, jowl (or cheek) and belly (both with and without skin).
Depending on your hunger, it’d be sufficient for three to four people.
It was the ideal dish for a first visit, to allow us to try
everything and gauge what we like. The large slabs of pork belly were too heavy
for me (although the fat renders off on the hot grill) and the jowl desperately
needed seasoning. But, the large shoulder slices were a nice balance of moisture
from the fat and meat and the skirt meat chewier but at least flavourful.
I’m always partial to beef so we also ordered some beef
skirt meat ($23.99), a decent sized portion cut into strips to allow you to
easily wrap in lettuce.
After ordering, a flurry of side dishes, banchan (cabbage and radish kimchi),
sauces (spicy and sweet bean paste), add ons (garlic oil, marinated jalapeno
& onion) and lettuce appear. For our table of six, we received two orders
of the garan jjim (regularly $6.99) a
lovely fluffy steamed egg that would be fantastic with rice and a spicy soybean
paste soup with bean sprouts.
Other than beer and soju, a popular drink diners ordered was
the Bokbunja ($23.99). If you enjoy
ice or dessert wines, you’ll like this Korean fruit wine made with black
raspberries; as one friend describes it tasting like an alcoholic Ribena. It’s
certainly an easy going drink, but awfully sweet to go well with grilled meats,
for dessert perhaps.
Overall, it was a fun meal as meat was tossed on the grill,
small plates passed around and hot meat wrapped in lettuce and topped with
sauce and fixings. Yet, Kookminhakgyo has a limited menu (no kalbi) and the
meat isn’t marinated so you really couldn’t eat it plain. Of course, some items
such as pork belly can rightfully be left neutral, but the skirt meat and jowl
would really benefit from a marinade. The small tables also make it hard for
them to offer additional varieties of banchan;
these small dishes are a highlight to having Korean BBQ! I was certainly
missing the crunchy cucumbers, sesame laced bean sprouts and chewy soy beans.
Nonetheless, they did have fantastic service: staff
frequently checked in on us to ensure depleted banchan and lettuce was replenished swiftly. After all, with their
limited tables, serving food quickly and getting diners in-and-out is important
– the whole meal lasted about an hour. So, you may not get the full experience,
but the restaurant is a great option for those who want Korean BBQ but not
sitting around for hours.
Overall mark - 6.5 out of 10
How To Find Them
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 6016 Yonge Street
Address: 6016 Yonge Street
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Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
Is That It? I Want More!
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