[Korean] Makkal Chon

Restaurant: Makkal Chon
Cuisine: Korean
Location: Scarborough
Address: 1979 Lawrence Ave E
Price Range: $10~15

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very Good 5: Excellent

Food: 5
Service: 3
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 4

Extra information:

* Parking at the front
* http://www.makkalchon.com/
* Small seating area
* Sells alcohol

Everyone asks me where my favorite Korean restaurant is in Toronto. Most of the time, I found it hard to answer because I never really went out to have Korean food. Yes, I go occasionally to have Korean-Chinese style food that's somewhat hard to make at home and maybe a Korean drinking place here and there...but authentic Korean food? that was a tricky question for me....until my friend took me to Makkal Chon in Scarborough.

There are plenty of restaurants that I can take non-Koreans to because I know they will order typical things like BiBimBab, Pork bone soup, Japchae or Seafood pancake. However, most Korean restaurants in Toronto I find their food to be a little too sweet. That does make it much easier for non-Koreans to enjoy, however, it makes me cringe and leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth.

Anyways, long story short- I found a hidden gem in Scarborough that serves authentic Korean food and the important thing is that they do it well. The restaurant is quite small so I would suggest going in smaller groups. Both times I went, there was only one server working so stay patient.

Ordered: Wraps Combo (Basic vegetable wraps and choose 2 meat) 5/5

* 2 bowls of rice, vegetable wrap, soy bean soup and 2 types of meat for $24.99
* Choose from Bulgogi, Chicken teriyaki, spicy chicken, mackerel, spicy pork, grilled pork or spicy squid
* We ordered Spicy Pork & Spicy Chicken

* Both of the dishes were not too spicy and best of all, wasn't too sweet
* Stir fried with sliced onions and green onions, they were best eaten with rice

* The meal comes with 7 side dishes, none of them were the 'typical' sidedishes that all Korean restaurants serve
* To name few of them, there were spinach namul, sweet potato, kimchi and japchae

* Instead of just giving you lettuce, they give you a basket filled with different types of veggies you can use to wrap up your meat

Purple Rice

Daen Jang Jji Gae (Soy bean soup)

* Ddaen Jang Jji Gae was thick in consistency and bursting with flavor

* Second time I went back, I ordered Spicy chicken & Grilled Pork

Slightly different side dishes the second time I went

Spicy Chicken

* Grilled pork was somewhat sweeter, but had mild bbq flavor and reminded me of bulgogi
* Pork was quite fatty and it was dripping with fat which the onion on the bottom helped to catch

Example of  'how to Ssam' #1

Example of  'how to Ssam' #2

* For $24.99, this was a really good deal
* I could tell all the food was high in quality and they actually care about what they put out on the table
* This is a must try!

Ordered: Spicy Squid on Rice 4/5

* Stir-fried spicy squid with vegetables on rice for $9.99
* This was not too spicy and it was really good with the purple rice
* Basically you can eat it separately or mix it with the rice and eat it
* Really big in portion and came with lots of squid

Summary: Makkal Chon serves real quality Korean food, it's not in heart of downtown- but it's close enough. If you are sick and tired of the typical BiBimBab, Seafood pancake and Porkbone soup- give Makkal Chon a try and you will get to experience what real Korean food taste like.

 

Comments

[Maria Antonio]

Thanks for this review, my
mouth watered as I read it and looked at the photos (which are fantastic btw!)

I need to stick around this
Neighborhood and chose this restaurant to try out thanks to you.

Cheers

[foodigatorJ]

Thanks Maria! I am so happy you enjoy my photos :) And yes, this area seemed to be filled with interesting looking restaurants, do let me know when you try it out!