Authentic Korean food in GTA

Regional Dining Discussions Ontario
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I’ve been searching for some real Korean food.

Most Koreans from Korea that I talk to say none exist despite having all the ingredients here. They basically say they make it at home cause there’s nothing that tastes right on top of being overpriced for being watered down.

I’m shocked by this as real Korean places are very popular in. NY and NJ.

I’ve noticed around GTA, even amongst the well known, Kimchi has no spice, gochujang for stone pot bibimbap has no spice, they don’t have perilla leaves when getting Korean bbq, all the stews and soups were extremely watered down, etc, etc.

Are there places that are legit?

Out of the several dozens of places I’ve been to, oddly enough, the better Korean restaurants are in Mississauga in Cooksville (i don’t know why considering there are virtually no Koreans living around Mississauga despite having 2 reasonably priced Korean grocery stores nearby - PAT/Galleria).

Best one is:
“wow restaurant” (small mom and pop shop that love what they do. Much older now so they are looking to retire next year. Extensive menu but a ton of love in their food).

followed by:
“Myung Dong noodle” (everything here is great except nothing is remotely spicy…)

Best Korean fried chicken I’ve tried so far:
“K-Pocha” (watch your teeth with the tiny chicken bones)

Best Korean shaved ice:
“Snowies”

Best Korean Chinese (these are on Noth York along Steele):
“Iryewon”
“Sunny Dragon”

Best Korean BBQ:
“Gyubee Japanese grill Mississauga” (Japanese bbq came from Korean bbq. Almost every Japanese bbq place in Japan are run by Korean Japanese folks)
Oddly enough, because there are so few Japanese people in GTA, Japanese food suffers even more than Korean food. Funny enough, this place has all the Korean items that the pricy/well known Korean bbq places don’t. lol.

I sincerely hope I’m proven wrong and there are even better places. Please let me know which places are better and I’ll happily try them and report back~

Thank you~

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Was surprised as i tried it on a whim, but the small take our place in downtown Toronto called “Mama Lee’s Kitchen” has real deal kimchi stew. Very surprised by amount for the price. They also give you fancy purple rice! Tastes like how moms at home would make it. Lot of love here in that dish.

Although, not sure if authentic, but i tried the bulgogi fries. Man, surpassed my expectations. Real bulgogi on really crispy fries. Better than kimchi fries at most places.

Can’t wait to try their other dishes!

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*Surprised by how large the portions are for the price

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I like Jjin Jjin Toast sandwiches and iced Dalgona Coffee

Hodo Kwaja
http://hodokwaja.ca/

I like Arisu in Bloor’s Koreatown.

Korean Village and Mama Chef have been decent.

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Can’t wait to try these! Thank you!

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Upscale Korean French by a Korean Chef at 156 Cumberland

https://www.thestar.com/amp/life/together/places/2021/12/26/how-a-couple-paired-up-with-the-kibo-sushi-king-to-create-french-korean-food-in-yorkville.html

Not Korean food, but Italian food by a Korean Chef on St Clair W (Corso Italia)

Chef Marino

https://agioristorante.wordpress.com/

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I’m addicted to Iced Dalgona Coffee, which is topped with crushed sponge toffee.

I buy it at JJIN Toast,

Coffee Pocket or

Forget Me Not.

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I’ve tried the Nene at all the locations. The very small but original location in North York is by far the best as they really get you that crispy chicken. The other locations have consistently been various shades of less crispy, which disqualifies them in my opinion. I feel between the Nene Chicken in North York, K-Pocha in Mississauga, and Pelicana (the OG) in Mississauga do it the best in all of GTA.

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Nene gets a lot of love on the Toronto food subreddit, as does bb Q Chicken.

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Best spot I’ve had pork bone soup so far was the larger portion at mapo gamjatang. The trick is to not eat it and let it boil for much longer to get more of a concentrated broth. I do try to get some of the veggies, seasoning, toppings in the soup as best i can while that is happening. Then, we can have legit pork bone soup as every place I’ve been to, that soup has always been too watery.

Having said that, I’ve finally found one place that does a legitimate duenjang jjigae (Korean miso stew). Kimchi House on Bloor does it correctly. Its correctly spicy and it has the correct amount of umami as its not watered down. Gonna go and try the other items on their menu but it looks legitimate

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I’m not a big fan of Korean soups or stews, so I haven’t tried the pork bone soup you mention.

I mostly order:

Galbi at Arisu

BiBimBap at various places including Korea House

Japchae occasionally

Mandoo occasionally

Rice dogs every so often.

Korean-style sushi, mostly futomaki

I have had take-out from MaMa Chef Korean Restaurant
, which is homestyle, cozy and popular with locals. The mandoo were quite good. I didn’t love the potato pancake that the server recommended.

I plan to try a Korean Omurice at Sunrise House, 661 Bloor W.

I also like the Korean sandwiches at JJIN Toast. JJIN Toast on DoorDash

For a full service restaurant, Korean Village is good, in my experience.

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