Buk Chang Dong Soon To Fu
691 Bloor St. West
Phone: 416-537-0972
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One of my favourite places in Toronto to dig into a big bowl of Dolsot Bibimbap is the basic but always busy Buk Chang Dong Soon To Fu in Koreatown.
Dolsot Bibimbap is one of the perfect antidotes for the winter blahs. While traditionally served with beef, I opt for the "veggie" which comes with mushrooms, zucchini, spinach, sprouts and other vegetables, as well as a fried egg all served on top of a bed of rice in a hot stone bowl. Unlike some other places in the city, the bowl is decidedly hot which means the rice will develop a tasty, crispy if not slightly oily crust.
Along with the Bibimbap comes an unlimited supply of free tea and an assortment of traditional Korean favourites such as pickled bean sprouts, kimchee, daikon and sweet dried soybeans.
For the uninitiated, Buk Chang Dong Soon To Fu might seem like a bit of a hole in the wall with a limited menu, but I've been going here for years and still haven't found a more popular Korean joint in the city. The service is fast and friendly and the food is great value. My only, um, beef is that they don't serve a version of this dish with cooked tofu. They'll happily add un-cooked tofu but that's not an option I'd recommend.
That said, when I'm looking for a restaurant with a bit more mood lighting or decent wine I often opt for San or even Ninth Gate which also make this dish really well.
Buk Chang Dong Soon To Fu, 691 Bloor St. W. (at Clinton), 416-537-0972
Comments (17)
Man, there is just no shortage of people who are willing to jump on you just because you try to make a healthy or concious decision in what you eat or believe (or maybe you just like veggies). Because if everything you do is not clear-cut, black and white, then obviously you're a hypocrite. Ha, you opted for the veggie style, but you ate an egg, you're not a vegan , "Ha, I got ya' Commie!!! You chose veggies over beef, but you ate an egg...you must be some kind of freak-hypocrite." Please, from now on, would all vegetrians/vegans/diabetics please clear their food choices with rek first.
there are a couple of good korean restaurants in uptown..
Ehwah(spelling?) on Yonge, near north york civic centre subway stop
Sorbaral(spelling), right at yonge and finch subway
there is also a fancy one at Yonge and Clark
A little definiteion of veganism for rek:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegan
And a link to the top of this post, in case you want to reread and note that tim never says it was a vegan bowl.
lol.
Some of us order veggie dishes because they're good for you, 'not 'cause we're vegans.
Asking for "cooked tofu" with this dish is like asking for a hamburger patty with eggs benedict. This restaurant's specialty IS tofu soup. Instead, you opted for an alternative dish and suggested adding an ingredient that is never assoiated with said dish. Strange.
I'm an omnivore and "opportunitarian" (a.k.a. freegan), and this place is easily my fave for bibimbap. Places with only nine or so things on the menu rate well with me.
For those who like their bulgogi, I advise this restaurant's version of that hot-plate beef and onion dish (green and white/yellow/conventional) -- toss it right into the bibimbap and enjoy.
My only caveat with this place is the hard-to-handle flat metal chopsticks. Hey, maybe I'll bring my own next time. (I do it with plastic takeout containers & resuable chopstix when I remember, which I'm proud to say is much of the time.)
I went there and the food is great, but I've one question: If you order the beef BBQ dish, they bring a stone pot of purple-ish rice. They then scoop out the rice and put it in a bowl, and fill the stone pot with cold water and leave it on the table. I asked a server what the rice/water is for and he said it is "Korean desert." Explanation??
I also didn't know the name of this restaurant. It's quite good! I'm glad that other people enjoy it as well.
Went last Saturday and it was PACKED so we got take out. Was not disappointed. Ordered the veggie with TWO eggs. :)
Yes, I was perplexed at the water in the stone bowl too my first time last week. My friend who introduced the place to me said it was like a korean congee (aka: rice broth, arroz-caldo, lugao...) It was great. For the uninitiated, it can be nothing to write home about, for others, comfort food!
Oh, aparently the metal chopsticks used at this place are aparently very unique in Korean cuisine in that it's used exclusively to pick up the side dishes into your bowl. The spoon provided is used for shoveling food into your mouth. I was told this, so I'm open to corrections....
I have yet to try the dolsot bibimbap but I enjoyed both the broiled bulgolgi (most 'expensive' item on the menu) and the bulgolgi beef stew.
rice is quite 'special' - purple short grain rice served in a stone pot with a date and some peas.
service is attentive (given its massive clientele)
another 'eat and run' Korean eatery - don't expect to linger for over an hour after you finish your meal.
will definitely come back - try to make it on weekdays when there will be less people.
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