North Eats

There's a joke that downtowners consider anything north of Bloor to be the boonies. That's a bit exaggerated of course. It's actually north of Eglinton. Nevertheless, I made my way for the first time to the Yonge and Finch area Saturday afternoon.

There is a debate about the best Korean restaurant that serves soon tofu, a spicy soup filled with seafood and tofu. For my money, it's Chodang Soon Tofu near Kipling subway station because they make their own tofu. But I have heard that there was a small enclave of Korean stores in the Yonge/Finch area that included a contender called Traditional Korean Restaurant. Time to find out for myself.

Alas I waited too long. The restaurant is now a Korean Fried Chicken franchise. As I was trudging back to the subway station, I noticed on the side street Drewry Avenue a Korean restaurant called Cho Won. They had an extensive menu including Soon Tofu ($6.99) and Haemul Pajun, Korean seafood pancake ($15.99). Along with the meal was the typical array of spicy kimchi dishes.

Soon Tofu

Korean Pancake

The soup was average. Like most Korean restaurants that buy their tofu, it doesn't have the freshness of house-made tofu. The pancake was a substantial dish, better for two eaters. The seafood filling was generous, though perhaps the green onions was a tad excessive. But the batter was too thick, leaving the inside soggy. It's a good restaurant if you are in the area, but not really a destination place (unless you have a hankering for unusual dishes like cow knee cartilage.)

I am, however, intrigued by some of the other places along that stretch of Yonge, including a strip mall packed with Middle Eastern businesses including a good-sized grocery store.