Eatdrink #42 July/August 2013

№ 42 | July/August 2013 www.eatdrink.ca 27
so complimentary plates of traditional “side
dishes” to graze on before the meal or more
traditionally to use as condiments. Banchan
are placed in the middle of the table to be
shared communally. Typically, banchan are
served in small portions (think tapas), and at
the Korean Restaurant they are replenished
during the meal at no extra charge.
Kimchee, a mainstay of banchan, is the
fiery fermented side dish (or condiment)
prepared from a variety of vegetables,
including cabbage, radish, and cucumber,
and heated by chillies, ginger and other
aromatic seasonings. There are hundreds
of types of kimchee; taste and varieties vary
by region and seasonality. Kimchee is an
iconic staple in the Korean repertoire and it
has helped define the county’s culinary and
cultural identity. As Michael Pollan states
in his latest treatise, Cooked [Ed: reviewed
in this issue of eatdrink]: “If a food is going
to help forge cultural identity, it must be an
acquired taste, not a universal one.”
Both the cabbage and the radish
kimchee at the Korean Restaurant are
crunchy (in lesser establishments I have
often found the kimchee to be soggy storebought
versions), and I could taste the
chillies, garlic and ginger.
Besides the kimchee being served as part
of the banchan, I have sampled a version of
chap chae (a classic sweet-potato-noodle
salad), seasoned spinach, pickled radishes,
cucumbers, tofu, fish cake and vegetable
pan-fried dumplings. The perfect pork
dumplings are in the same league as the
house-made pork dumplings — which are
also browned to pan-fried perfection — at
Spring Restaurant, which serves Tianjinand
Szechwan-inspired Chinese food (at
Dundas Street near English Street).
A classic and popular Korean dish is
bimbim bap. This is a traditional dinner-in-abowl,
with freshly- cooked crispy rice in the
bottom of the bowl, topped with individual
stacks of julienned onion, carrots, zucchini,
and mung bean sprouts. A pan-fried
sunny-side up egg is served on top and is
accompanied by shredded beef. (I have also
had the egg served raw, which cooks when it
is mixed in with the ingredients in a blazing
hot stone bowl.) Bimbim pap is typically
served with a sweet and sour chilli paste
called ch’o koch’ ujang and arrives at the table
while the hot stone bowl is still sizzling. With
most meals bowls of cooked rice and guk
(soup) are served individually.
Manna Grill, which is very casual, has
a distinct Japanese influence on its menu.
The Korean Restaurant, which is more
upscale than Manna Grill, has brought in
a new chef and expanded their traditional
menu to include a variety of Chinese
dishes. Some newer dishes on the menu
have sauces that were sweeter and thicker
than expected and it is my hope that
this is not a reaction to unsophisticated
Caucasian palates. Although I have not
tried it myself, I have heard about the
hangover soup (haejangguk, aka “soup
to get sober,” first appeared in a manual
published in the late Goryeo Dynasty, 918–
1392). This version (served with pollock), I
am told, is a classic interpretation.
Korean Restaurant
170 Adelaide Street North, London
www.korean-restaurant.ca
519-642-7437
open daily 11 am to 10 pm
except closed wednesdays
Manna Grill
276 Wharncliffe Road North, London
519-439-5770
open daily 11 am to 9:30 pm
Bryan Lavery is eatdrink’s Writer at Large and
Contributing Editor. He can be reached at bryan@eatdrink.ca