Song Cook's

Korean food has taken Toronto by storm. What was relatively unknown a few years ago has become increasingly popular in Toronto today. I love spicy food, so this trend is right up my alley!

Song Cook's (located behind the giant Moore's building.. it's easy to miss so keep your eyes peeled!!)

SONG COOK'S

Where: 72 Steeles Avenue West, unit. 6, North York, Toronto (Behind the Moore's store - it's really hidden!!)

647 678 8000

What: Dinner

Price: $

The Good:

If you're looking for cheap, quality Korean food - this place is calling for you!

The first time I went with my family, we had 6 people and the bill came to $76 (incl. tax+tip). Now, my family is definitely not stingy on eating - we are heavy eaters and don't hesitate when it comes to ordering big. Needless to say, we were shocked when the bill came - and it was under $100! Now, experience has taught me that cheap never means quality but Song Cooks has definitely surpassed this perception.

The atmosphere is pretty nice too - their restaurant is separated into two sections. One side features regular chairs and tables but the other side of the restaurant has heated floors where one can sit on mats and eat. We chose to eat sitting on the floor but regretted it later - its much more tiring then you would think!!

On to the food...

SC, like all other Korean restaurants, give appetizers to you after you place your order. We got the regular kimchi along with a pickled radish dish and a raw white onion dish. Apparently, you are supposed to pour a little bit of white vinegar into the black (bean) sauce and dip the raw onion into it! Neat concept that surprised me with the way it tasted. The tangy taste of the sauce offset the strong taste of onion so it actually went together really well!

Of course we were given kimchi as well! For those who don't know, kimchi is just pickled cabbage in a red hot sauce. Its a national dish of Korean and extremely well known! SC's kimchi is definitely different- a lot more sour than other kim chi I've tasted! You can definitely tell that it's pickled. Haven't tasted kim chi like Songs - its the best I've had thus far!!

JaJangMyun ($8.50 combo)

ChamPong ($8.50 combo)

SC has combos for one person, but we ordered them and split them as a family - just so we could try a little bit of everything.The menu boasted homemade noodles so we were all intrigued.This combo was a steal at $8: JaJangMyun (veggie, beef and black bean sauce on homemade noodles) and ChamPong (spicy seafood soup noodle). The noodles are definitely noticeably different - chewy, slippery, delicious!

Al Bap

I don't exactly remember the name of this. I think it was like.. Al Bap? The word 'bap' at the end of a menu item usually signals that rice is included in it : ). Anyways, I don't usually like BiBimBap becuase it tastes so heavy to me.. or rice for that matter - but I loved this just because it tastes fresh and light. yumm :)

Pork Belly ($8)

Of course, you can't go into a Korean restaurant and NOT order pork belly!! I order this every time I come.. It's cheap and deliciously fatty :D 

The pork belly also comes with two sauces.. a fermented tofu sauce and a sesame oil+salt sauce

Grilled Mackerel

My mom loves, loves, LOVES grilled mackerel, so we pretty much get it any where we can. Yes, we got two plates. The mackerel was perfect, not too "fishy" as mackerel tends to be, and beautifully flaky and piecey like mackerel should be :)

Conclusion:

This has become one of my top favourite Korean restaurants in Toronto - with good quality food and incomparable price, it's easily a restaurant that I would visit again!