Imonay
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Imonay on Bloor is not your standard Korean fast food place. Sure, like other spots in Koreatown it's fast, cheap and kitschy, but it also offers a bevy of options rarely found in Toronto: Red Bean Kal Gook Soo (red bean sauce and hand-cut rice noodles), Galchi Chorim (soy-marinated cutlass fish), Odang Dinner (a fishcake specialty) and my favourite, Kong Biji Jigae.
Kong Biji Jigae (alternately called Kong Biji, Biji Jigae, and Biji), is a ground-soybean stew rich in flavour, high in protein, and soothing to winter-addled bodies. When I lived in Seoul I was lucky to have a biji place around the corner from my apartment, and winter would see me eating twice weekly bowls of the thick, nourishing soup. Even in Korea, kong biji jigae can be tough to find, but in Toronto it's an especially rare treat, so when I saw it on the sandwich board outside Imonay, I knew I had to go in. 
Entering Imonay was like taking a trip back to 1981: wallpaper wainscoting, metal-tube chairs and superfluous mirrors added a certain "grandma's living room" flavour to the otherwise grungy diner decor. I was seated promptly by a friendly server, and, just like they do in Korea, ordered my meal immediately. 
It didn't take long before my table started filling with complimentary side dishes. At $6.99 per steaming hot pot, the biji is a steal, especially considering it comes with six savoury starters. A trio of kimchis (red-peppered Napa, white Napa and shredded daikon) provided all the sour and spice I needed, while soft-cooked soy-marinated daikon, homemade spring-onion fishcakes, and long shreds of sesame-slicked seaweed delivered a cornucopia of textural delights.
I had barely started to tuck into this preliminary feast when the main course arrived: a steaming bowl of soybean stew, with a side of purple-tinged, bean-speckled rice. It took a while for my bubbling pot to cool down enough for a dip, and when I did I was rewarded with the rich flavour I've come to expect from a bowl of biji jigae. Unfortunately the texture of the stew, which I prefer smooth and soft like silken tofu, was on the decidedly gritty end of the biji spectrum. Although not my favoured texture, the soup was fresh and flavourful, and dotted with delicate curls of soft pork. Grittiness aside, I liked my biji enough to finish the whole bowl.
My search for Toronto's best biji jigae will continue, but I'll likely be back to Imonay to sample some more of their original offerings, and enjoy another round of their deliciously diverse side dishes.
Comments (8)
There's a restauarant called Seoul Tookbaegi near Kipling and Bloor. They have the best biji jjigae.
the diner aspect of that restaurant comes from its former Western-Chinese diner days in the 80's and early 90's. That is, before Imonay came along, there was once a diner there owned by a Chinese family (kind of like in Diamond Grill by Fred Wah).
as for biji jjigae, try I-nam-jang on Yonge, north of Shepherd on the West side right by Jun's. (make any sense?)
What is "cutlass fish?" Perhaps you meant cuttlefish, a close relation to the squid? Do all the soups have meat in them? I find it surprising that soybean stew would have pork in it. I take it that Korean food is NOT vegetarian or vegan friendly!
I definitely meant cutlass fish. It's rich and dark, kind of like mackerel. For more information, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutlassfish
And you're absolutely right, Korean food is rarely vegetarian friendly (even things that seem vegetarian, like kimchi, are actually laced with shrimp paste). Koreans don't use soy because it's vegetarian, they use it because it's tasty.
Korean food has lots of vegetarian choices. For the bibimbap, many restaurants will make it without meat. There are lots of dishes based on rice and noodles, and the traditional 9 grain rice is often accompanied with fermented bean paste. ever heard of a steamed vegetable platter? that is usually eaten with rice wrapped inside. and there are stews made solely with tofu.
the common napa cabbage kimchi is made with GOCHUGARU, the special kind of chili pepper flakes made from the leaves of the chili plant. fermented shrimp, fish sauce etc. may be used in some restaurants, just ask. other common banchans like pickled daikon, beansprouts (kong namul), spinach, marinated cucumbers, potatoes are mostly seafood free.
Thanks Fiona! I'm fine with seafood but I don't eat pork, beef and chicken. I have been to several Korean restaurants but the staff is not always fluent in English.