Fun's Kitchen

The grounds of the former Honest Ed's at Bloor and Bathurst have been dug up for major construction. The facade of a few buildings was retained, probably to be later incorporated, though I'm not a fan of this ersatz approach to historical preservation. But next to the site, there were still small businesses. I stepped inside one such place for dinner on Thursday night, an oddly named Her Chef.

It turns out that this was a double-pun. The owner and chef was named Hwa Hur. And his passion for cooking was a factor in wooing his wife and the in-laws so he calls himself "her chef". When Hur first came to Canada, he would feed his fellow foreign students "food from home". So he finally decided to open this tiny fast-casual restaurant offering comfort food. Interesting as both in real life and online, I'm aware of some (male) amateur chefs whose culinary skills were a romantic or social asset. But amateurs don't usually go pro and if they do, it's likely to be disastrous.

The menu was Hur's own take on Korean food and rice dishes with a smattering of Pan-asian offerings like Chirasi/Poke bowls and Japanese curry. They had cute names or deliberate "Konglish" misspellings. I chose the Drug Salad ($3.99) and an S-Box ($9.99). The former was because "it was so addictive" but I wouldn't go that far, even if the sprinkling on top resembled cocaine powder. Primarily chives, green and red onions, it honestly looked like grass clippings. I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't taste "grassy" at all but ultimately it just served as daily fibre content. It did make a good side dish to the rice bowl entrée.

The S stood for shrimp (and a play on words of the X-Box?) and I got a generous 9 pieces. They had a good chew and were nicely grilled. It wasn't fried rice but there was enough oil mixed in to be a tasty replacement. The pickled radish was a crunchy palate cleanser between bites. For the choice of sauce, I picked basil and sun-dried tomatoes which contrasted beautifully with the other ingredients. This was a great dinner with nicely balanced flavours.

The clientele were either students hanging out with friends or young professionals dropping by for a quick meal. Hearkening back to those university days, you and up to 22 friends can book the restaurant for a personalized meal for a cheap $10/person. This private event called One Table can happen on Wednesday between 6-7. That's not for me but I'll be back to try the rest of the menu of this cozy restaurant.