Daldongnae Korean BBQ – downtown Christie: 658 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M6G 1K9
Country: South Korea      
Must-try dish: Boneless Beef Short Rib 
Dinner guests: Dancing Queen & Sundance Pati 
Seating: Indoor seating only.  
The high: Unlike other Korean barbecue places on the strip, the quality of meat here is high. 
The low: It’s not the best setup for large groups as most of teh tables are for four to six people. 

We found ourselves in Koreatown one night with over an hour wait to get into the restaurant that we planned to eat at that doesn’t take reservations. So we went rogue and picked a different place off the street without looking into ratings or reviews, and just went in for dinner. It worked out. 

Daldongnae Korean BBQ is a pretty significant chain as it stands, with locations in the city, outside Toronto, and even as far away as two restaurants in Montreal. This information would have deterred us usually, but the space was full and everyone was leaving happy, including our group. They do a lot of things right here from the service, to the atmosphere, to finally the food. The pickled salads in small bowls consisting of cucumbers, acorn jelly, bean sprouts, seaweed, and pumpkin mashed potato, were constantly being refilled at no cost, which was appreciated and likely led to our food coma at the end of the night. 

All the tables are equipped with a small burner in the middle for grilling raw meats and vegetables, and as it heats up, the raw egg, garlic, kimchi, and corn cheese are cooked alongside it to snack on throughout the meal. 

As far as the grilling ingredients go, some are more tender than others and the fattier ones are tastier. You can manage how much or how little you want each piece to be cooked. Here’s what we opted for: 

• Boneless Beef Short Ribs: Our favoruite. 
• Pork Belly: The fat on these pieces were epic to eat after being grilled to perfection. 
• Beef Hanging Tender: This was like biting into soft butter. 
• Beef Chuck: As it was filled with tendons, it was chewier than the others and would have been better in a slow cooking situation. 
• Beef Rib Finger Meat: These long pieces of beef were flavourful but chewy, despite this everyone enjoyed it.  
• Assorted Mushrooms: To accompany the mountains of meat, a selection of various mushrooms paired perfectly. 

A hefty bowl of Pork and Kimchi Stew warmed us in between barbecued meat courses. The broth is allegedly spicy, but there was more flavour than there was heat. The thin pieces of pork are tangled among the larger pieces of kimchi and soft tofu floating in the anchovy paste broth. Of all the soup options, this one sounded like the tastiest, and our server confirmed that. 

It’s not a Korean feast without a round of Kimchi Pancake. It’s a savoury number made with a kimchi and green onion batter, then fried into a pancake shape. There’s a peanut and a chili sauce to dress it up a bit. 

This entire meal can be washed down with various soju flavours from yogurt to lychee to grape – pick your poison. But our favourites are yogurt and blueberry. 

This was sufficient for four hungry adults. It can be difficult finding a good place to eat in Koreatown as there are numerous options but not all of them are authentic nor good. This is one of the good ones – the service is helpful and friendly, the food is high quality and delicious, and the space is decorated in a way that makes each booth feel as though you’re in a little house. The next time you want a South Korean fix, this is your spot!  

Eat with you soon, 

Mandrea Bike
(Mat & Andrea)