Bulgogi Brothers - Toronto

First meal on my June visit to Toronto was rather unplanned. I just wasn't sure how hungry I would be. OpenTable to the rescue, we just checked to see what was new and had availability on a Saturday night in Richmond Hill. What I didn't realize was that this location of Bulgogi Brothers is the first one in Canada. Not really sure how/what to order, I have to say the staff was really helpful, from food to drink to service. 
Up top are a variety of appetizers. From the left, you have Pickled Italian Parsley, a traditional Red Kimchi as well as a White Kimchi. Next plate held some Preserved Root Vegetables, a cool scoop of Pumpkin Mash as well as some Spinach that is similar to Gomae. 

 

For a beverage, we got a bottle of Jin-ro Makgeolli, a wine made from sticky rice. It's milky, a little sweet and quite low in alcohol, only 6%. It's best served cold and is quite refreshing with the BBQ'ed meats.  
For the BBQ, the two option we chose was the Rib Eye Steak and some Korean BBQ Ribs. The accompaniments are onions, some squash and a few mushrooms. For flavour, there are cloves of garlic as well. 

 

You can also get the Ultimate Umami, which is a selection of lettuces to wrap the BBQ meats in. The variety is pretty impressive, ranging from endive, radicchio, butter lettuce, romaine and even kale. Some of these are more bitter, so you'll need some sauce to balance out the flavours. 
This is the Gangdaejang, a soybean based stew with pork, tofu and mushrooms. It's a bit spicy but not hot. It's a good sauce for the BBQ wraps, giving the lettuce wraps a bit of needed moisture.

 

The Miso Soup was really hearty, with an abundance of tofu, enoki as well as cucumbers, but alas, no seaweed. However, the flavours are very rich and concentrated. If you don't like the usual watered down version of miso soup you've gotten at Japanese restaurants, you'll be pleasantly surprised by this one. 

 

And this is the rice that comes with dinner. I liked the addition of beans and peas. The rice was just a bit sticky, but it's how I think of Korean and Japanese rice. To me, only I expect them to be more glutinous and just a bit gooey. 

 

So here is the cooking about to start. They heat up the gas grill and toss some Squash, Roasted Garlic, Onions and Mushrooms to season the grill. 
Next, they add the Rib Eye that was ordered and cook it to a medium rare. You can request what you want, whether it's super rare or well done. They cook to the way you want it. I've always liked my meat medium rare, and they did that to perfection. 

 

pThe second meat is cooken upon request, they don't want to rush you. So next was the Korean BBQ Ribs, and it takes a bit longer to cook, due to the presence of the bones. Again, this is supposed to be wrapped up in the lettuce and paired wit Gangdaejang. If you want, ask for some hot sauce on the side to season it to your liking.

 

For dessert, they brough out a frozen Green Tea Mochi. It was good, cold and a great way to end the meal. Don't ask me why it looks like there is a paper clip dent on it, I prefer not to think about that.

Take Note:

• Takes reservations
• Very friendly staff, if you don't know what something is, just ask
• Tell them how you want you food cooked, they are happy to satisfy