When it comes to Asian cuisines I'm a pretty huge fan of Korean food. I love the way that Korean food goes all-in with their big spicy flavours and that they never hold anything back. I had to try this Koreatown spot when I saw that NOW Toronto had named them the #1 Best Korean Restaurant 2018. While I've eaten my fair share of Korean food over the years, Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu was about to show me a thing or two and provide me with some new experiences.
I arrived to the restaurant on a Sunday evening and excitedly entered the dining room. The unassuming space is decently-sized with minimal decor, yellow-orange walls, with huge posters of their food hung up. It's simple and clean and cute. They've got lots of room to accommodate everyone. Atop each table you'll find a wooden box which contains stainless steel spoons and chopsticks. We were quickly seated by one of the efficient staff members. All of the servers are prompt and to-the-point, however friendly and unpretentious when we required a little bit of explanation (IE: tutorial).
The magic of Korean food is the richness of exotic spices that awaken each of your taste buds and I was so ready for the journey. At every Korean restaurant you will first be served Banchan. These are small side dishes that tend to act as a bit of an appetizer and sometimes as a palate cleanser. Typically you'll receive 4-5 of these dishes and one of them is almost always Kimchi. At Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu we were delivered four banchan dishes; Kongnamul, Musaengchae, Kimchi, and Kongjang. These were each very good! The Kongnamul, cold boiled bean sprouts with sesame oil, was fresh and light. The Musaengchae, julienned white radish in a sweet vinegar sauce with ground dried chili peppers, was spicy and tangy. The Kimchi, spicy fermented cabbage, was especially delicious and probably some of the best I've ever had. And finally the Kongjang, fermented soybeans, were dense and sweet. I love trying all of these little dishes and discovering which ones will be served at each different Korean restaurant! You never know what you'll get (but a safe bet is always kimchi).
Next to arrive was a bowl of Miso Soup to accompany the meal. A fairly standard version of the classic soup, it arrived warm and salty. I found it interesting that soup was being served as an appetizer before a main dish of... Soup. However, I'll always sip on a miso happily.
It's pretty obvious that the "thing" to get is the Soon Tofu. It's literally right in the restaurant's name. While I enjoy Korean food a lot, I have never tried soon tofu before! I was looking forward to experiencing something new very much. There are six different soon tofus on the menu and I selected the Combination Soon Tofu + Hot Stone Pot Rice (Beef, shrimp, mussel - $10.62). This one seemed like a well-rounded choice that incorporated lots of the ingredients offered. In Korean this dish is known as Sundubu Jjigae. This soup is made with lots of extra-soft tofu in a spicy gochujang broth. (When placing your order you can specify your level of spice from "plain" all the way up to "extra spicy." I had mine made "medium" and it seemed like the appropriate level of heat for me, but I maybe could have gone up one more notch to "regular spicy.") The soup was placed down in front of me, bubbling vigorously. Red and dangerous, this is an overall characteristic of Korean food that I adore. I was provided with a fresh raw egg to crack into my soup upon its arrival, which I stirred in, cooking the egg into the hot broth. New to this soup, I was slightly bewildered about how best to consume it. I didn't want to do it "wrong." Our server brought a stone pot of rice and divided some of the rice into individual bowls. Soon tofu is eaten with rice and it seems that there are no exact rules on how to do so. You can spoon the soup directly over your rice or you can dunk spoonfuls of rice directly into the soup itself - it's seemingly up to the preference of the diner. I ended up doing a little of both. The ultra hot, molten soup was deliciously flavourful, jam-packed with creamy silken tofu floating throughout. There was exactly one shrimp (whole) and one mussel (on the half shell) included, while the beef was more plentiful. I loved trying something new, even if I didn't exactly know what I was doing. Asian cuisine is famous for so many exciting types of soup dishes and this is certainly one of them that is gaining a lot of popularity.
We also ordered a familiar dish, an old standby, Hot Stone Pot Bibimbab (Carrot, radish, mushroom, beef, beansprouts, zucchini - $13.28). Otherwise known as Dolsot Bibimbap, this is a classic Korean rice dish served sizzling in a hot stone bowl. Once set down in front of you, you've gotta douse this thing in gochujang (red chili paste hot sauce) and stir all of the ingredients together, combining everything including the egg on top. The hot stone continues to heat the dish for a long time, creating a caramelized scorched crust of delicious rice along the bottom of the bowl. The dish is a little bit like a salad, full of fresh and bright veggies. It's also hearty and savoury because of the beef and egg. I really enjoyed this version and think that it was among some of the best bibimbap that I've had.
The biggest mystery to us was the remainder of the Hot Stone Pot Rice that came with the soon tofu. After portioning out most of the rice into bowls, our server poured plain water overtop of the rest of the rice. We weren't sure what to make of this and were sure that we were going to handle this incorrectly. We asked our server about it and he explained that it was to be eaten after our meal like a dessert. I have since learned that this is called Sungnyung and that the water is supposed to be enjoyed as a tea. So yes, we certainly did handle this wrong but I am so glad to have learned something new! To make sungnyung, the unscorched part of rice is scooped and transferred into another serving bowl. Then hot water is poured into the bowl while it is still blistering. The infusion with the loosened chunks of scorched rice remains warm till the end of the meal (essentially steeping while you eat), when it is typically savoured. Instead of enjoying the water, I ate a few spoonfuls of the rice, declared that it was "just rice and water," and that was that. Next time I will look like a total pro and enjoy this properly!
I enjoyed my experience at Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu! The prices are incredibly reasonable. I wouldn't say that it was my favourite Korean food of all time - I lean more toward Korea's wok-tossed dishes. However I loved the opportunity to try something completely brand new and to experience something different.
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