Food With A Point

As part my Asian epicurean adventure tour that began at the beginning of the year (see the March newsletter – click here), I traveled to Korea. Actually, it was more like a Korean restaurant on Sainte-Catherine Street West. But I promise that was authentic nonetheless.

There are some restaurants where you cannot expect “ambiance” in its traditional meaning. La Maison du Bulgogi is a place where one eats because the food is good, not because the tables are well spaced, the lighting is soft, the temperature constant and the wait staff attuned to your needs. That doesn’t mean it’s a spot to avoid, it just means that your expectations should be set in consequence. With this approach, the only focus should be on your palate and the sensations it experiences. And in this respect, you certainly won’t be disappointed.

I don’t know a thing about Korean cuisine other than having experienced one restaurant meal a few years back with a very unsavoury individual who’s very presence tainted the whole meal. So I considered myself born-again and open to anything.

First dish wasn’t ordered but made an appearance, as it should in any respectable Korean eatery. On a platter, four small dishes contain variations of Banchan, or side dishes, are presented. At La Maison du Bulgogi, they serve the following, which are a lovely way to open the appetite:

• Kimchi: a fermented cabbage seasoned with chili, served cold
• Kongnamul: cold steamed bean sprouts with sesame oil
• Miyeok-muchim: seaweed seasoned with sweet vinegar and salt
• Plain boiled potatoes served lukewarm 

The first ordered dish was a spicy soft tofu soup with seafood (Soon Dubu Jji Gae or #7). Rich and dense, it  intensely satisfying on that cold Tuesday evening. The only thing that kept me from inhaling it was the warm fire in my mouth from the chili – not a deterrent but a definite reminder that we weren’t in Kansas anymore.

Next up was a very typical Korean style pizza dish with green onions and seafood (Pa Jun or #79). This galette of deliciousness comes in its own cast iron skillet and encompasses everything a great savoury pancake should be. It was crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside with the seafood filling woken up by the fresh bite of the scallions. You know when opt to share a dish with your dinner companion but after the first bite, you really wish they would stop eating from “your” plate? Dipping pieces in the soy-based sauce it comes with makes #79 even more desirable.

The last plate was a marinated boiled beef (Bul gogi or #48). It is served with rice, which was a fantastic tool to sop up the juices the beef came to the table sizzling in. Also prepared in a flat cast iron skillet, it is fragrant and the beef succulent – surprising for such thin morsels.

The whole meal took a couple of hours, but only because we lingered. And I’m glad we did, because I really enjoyed my culinary journey that night. Finishing our tea from a seemingly bottomless pot, we left satisfied and warmed up. La Maison du Bulgogi made for a fairly light dinner that was exceptionally varied in taste and surprisingly low impact on my wallet – our total came to about $30. That’s the sort of trip I want to and I can take more often and most likely will.

La Maison du Bulgogi

2127 Sainte-Catherine Street West (514.935.9820)