POCHA 1989 – 542 Church St, Toronto, ON M4Y 2E1
Country: South Korea  
Seating: Indoor seating and outdoor patio. 
Must-try dish: Army Base Stew
Dinner guests: Young Matt 
The high: The dishes offered on the menu vary from other Korean restaurants, making it exciting to try new things. 
The low: The steaming hot stew wasn’t secured on top of the burner so it was stressful serving ourselves as the pot would almost slide off. 

The word POCHA is a short-form for POJANG-MACHA, a South Korean word meaning  Street vendor that sells comfort food. This is exactly what Pocha 1989 is all about. You leave feeling fluffy and relaxed. 

This traditional menu itself steers away from the classic found in the majority of Korean restaurants across Toronto. An example of this is that there are no pickled side dishes served, and a heavy focus on stews and noodle dishes. It really is the epitome of Korean comfort food.  

The dishes were staggered as they came out – we started with the Deep Fried Sweet and Spicy Boneless Chicken, which are reminiscent of boneless chicken wings dressed in delicious sauce. In this case, we took our server’s recommendation to have the sweet and spicy sauce. That pretty much explains the flavours dancing on our palates with each bite. The chicken was soft and lightly breaded, making it perfectly crispy. It’s an excellent dish to share with friends, or keep all to yourself! 

Leading as the night’s favourite is the Army Base Stew. It’s a medley of meats, vegetables, and noodles topped with a thin slice of cheese (American Cheddar). The bubbling mixture is served on top of a fiery grill that keeps it hot, and likely it’s a little bit of a liability for the crooked tables trying to get spoonfuls as it gives the impression of nearly falling off its mount. But once you get over that fear you begin tasting the spicy broth, pieces of sausage, tofu, and cabbage alongside noodles and rice cakes. Every bite has its own character, which is why it’s necessary to order this dish at POCHA 1989. 

Finally, the Spicy Rose Creamy Rice Cake arrived in a massive salad bowl that could feed a family. This is an Italian rose pasta dish on crack – there are long thick noodles covered in a generous amount of tomato and cream, sauce with rice cakes. It’s decadent, and totally worth ordering but be prepared to share as both the quantity and richness of the dish are not to be enjoyed solo. For those of you who may not be as familiar with Korean cuisine, rice cakes are thick cylindrical noddle made from a combination of rice flour and tapioca starch. The tapioca starch give the rice cakes a chewier texture as oppose to a denser firmer texture if it were to be omitted.

Unfortunately our friends at POCHA 1989 were out of the Pork Belly Kimchi Stew, which was our first choice for the evening’s dinner. It looks like we’ll have to go another time! 

Eat with you soon, 

Mandrea Bike
(Mat & Andrea)