Tag: kimbap

Cheap Eats at Mini Bar

Published on by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Mini Bar
Location: 116 Spadina Avenue, Toronto
Website: None

If nothing else, Mini Bar is an absolute steal.  A relatively hearty sandwich downtown for eight bucks?  Yeah, you can’t go wrong there.

Mini Bar

Well, I suppose you could go wrong if the sandwich didn’t taste good, but that’s clearly not an issue here.

Mini Bar

I ordered the bulgogi and kimchi, which comes in a Kaiser roll, topped with tender beef bulgogi, kimchi, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and a slice of cheddar cheese.

Mini Bar

Is it going to rock your world?  No, probably not; it’s a pretty no-frills sandwich, but for what it is (and considering the price) it’s very tasty.  If I worked in the area, I’m sure I’d be a regular.

Mini Bar

Mini Bar serves kimbap on Fridays, which is also quite satisfying.  They were making them as I ordered, so it was super fresh and filled with tasty stuff.

Tasty Korean Food at Sinjeon Topokki

Published on by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Sinjeon Topokki
Location: 712 Bloor Street West, Toronto
Website: https://sinjeoncanada.ca/

Sinjeon Topokki is a Korean chain that’s recently been expanding in the GTA — this is their third location.  As you’d imagine from the name, they specialize in topokki (more commonly spelled “tteokbokki”), a dish that features chewy rice cakes in a spicy sauce.

Sinjeon Topokki

They have a few different types of topokki — I went with the original, which is the classic version of the dish.  You can pick your spice level from one to three.  I went with the second level, which is legitimately fiery.

Sinjeon Topokki

It’s quite tasty, with a very pleasant chewiness on the rice cakes and with a whole bunch of the sweet, savoury, and spicy sauce.  The rice cakes are basically swimming in sauce, which is good because you can use it as a dip for the other stuff you order.

Sinjeon Topokki

I also tried the fried combo, which comes with an assortment of fried fish cakes, dumplings, and other fried goodness.  This stuff is tasty on its own, and even tastier when you dip it in the topokki sauce.

Sinjeon Topokki

Kimbap (which is kinda like a Korean sushi roll, but filled with non-sushi ingredients) is another specialty here; I went with the Sinjeon cheese kimbap, which is filled with kimchi and gooey cheese.  This one was a bit dry, but a dunk in the topokki sauce makes quick work of that.