New Toronto restaurant serves Korean street food staple you might not know about

A new Korean restaurant in Toronto is serving up a special street food dish that many others in the city don't have.

Korean food is everywhere you look in Toronto and, more often than not, it's really, really good. All too often, though, it tends to conform to the tried-and-true formulas.

There's nothing wrong with playing it safe, of course: if it works, it works, but it does make it all the more exciting when a more novel concept pops up. Just look at the utter pandemonium caused by the opening of North York's Nakwon Kisa earlier this summer.

People in Toronto are hungry for Korean food; that much is obvious, but more than that, they've got an appetite for restaurants that put unique spins on the cuisine.

The latest Korean restaurant to capture the hearts and stomachs of Toronto diners is Koreatown's Mura Cupbop, which serves what it describes as "comfort food in a cup."

Officially opening for business on Sept. 2, Mura Cupbop serves — you guessed it — cupbop, a Korean street food staple that the restaurant describes as being "healthier than fast food, lighter than poke, [and] funkier than bibimbap."

The dish is served, as you may have gathered, in cups (which are actually bowls) and comprises a protein, rice, and your choice of toppings, which include lettuce, corn, lotus root, fried egg, shredded cheese, kimchi, and many, many more.

As for the proteins, Mura Cupbop offers crowd-pleasers like Fried Chicken, Spicy Pork and Bulgogi, as well as more unique options like Rose Jjimdak — braised chicken in Korean rosé sauce — and Spam Tuna.

The best part of any Korean feast is, in our opinion, the sides, and the restaurant has no shortage of those, too.

Tteokbokki, crispy Fish Sticks, Deep Fried Fish Cake skewers with sausage and a particularly fascinating Bulgogi-Kimchi Poutine, where French fries are loaded up with marinated beef, kimchi, Korean-style gravy and cheese, are all among the most droolworthy options.

Though cupbop is, by virtue of it being a street food, a portable meal, the restaurant boasts seating for over 100 and a charming, casual vibe inside, so whether you want to take your cup on the road or tear into it right there in the restaurant, you're covered.

We'll be the first to admit that a Korean restaurant opening in Koreatown is seldom something to write home about, but when they're offering something few others in the city do, it's always cause for celebration.

Maybe the celebration in question should involve a cupbop feast of our own.

Mura Cupbop is located at 690 Euclid Ave.