Korean Midnight Snack

Owl of Minerva - Yonge and Finch, Toronto, ON.

As a resident of a city offering a ridiculous variety of food, this meal offered me an epiphany of sorts that should have dawned on me years ago -- Korean food is one of the most reliable cuisines in the world (Of course, the people who are raising their fists in defence of McD's and Pizza Pizza, take a hike for a bit, will ya?). Let me explain.

After a miserable day at work, being sick and sullen and all and refusing to eat, I had a splitting headache close to midnight. At this point, we were driving aimlessly, when I succumbed to eating something-- as long as I got to be picky about it (for once!). Michael had heard of this 24-hour Korean joint which was supposed to be cheap, flavourful, filling food - now how could I have said no?

Entering this restaurant from the back door reminded me of some gem of a hole-in-the-wall place I had discovered in Asia. This alone got my tastebuds excited! With only 11 or so items on the menu and pictures of delicious food wooing from their places on the walls, I decided on the bulgogi, which looked particularly exciting, and the name always intrigued me anyway.

Bulgogi (불고기): thinly sliced or shredded beef marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, sugar, green onions and black pepper, cooked on a grill (sometimes at the table). Bulgogi literally means "fire meat."

The description does not do it justice - it was the best midnight snack I have ever had! The meat and vegetables were succulent and the usual goodies - kimchi, spiced cucumber, turnip etc. supported a meal fit for a king, ahem, queen.

The place was low-key but got packed on a weekend night pretty quickly. They have a minimum charge per person policy ($3 bucks?) because of seating constraints. The pork bone soup seemed to be the way to go from what everyone around me was happening, but for the cranky little me, this was the perfect pick-me-up!

p.s. There is absolutely nothing that beats Singapore roti prata for 3am-after-clubbing-food, but this came pretty close.