Hashi Izakaya

Hashi Izakaya (5582 Yonge Street, North York)
416-224-8179

Before Hashi, this was Yuzu Izakaya, and before that, it was the green sign place with the best kim chi fried rice on the block.

To be honest, my trip to Hashi Izakaya was a while ago, and most of what I remember involved environment: very very dim, quite loud.

Upon uploading these pics, I realized there are red and blue bits around this roll. What are they??

Total damage: approximately $70-something for two people, including one Asahi Black. 

Would I return? I guess so. Prices were neither here nor there, depending on food item, and I think the quality of the food was pretty good. Plus, I'm kind of partial to anywhere that serves Asahi Black.

Pictures in focus by Andrea.

Oh Geul Boh Geul

Oh Geul Boh Geul (5320 Yonge St, Willowdale)
416-733-3385

We were looking for a new tofu soup place as Buk Chang Dong Soon tofu place increased their prices and gave me and others stomach problems on different occasions.

So a storefront or two down from The Owl lies this place. You can choose to have a non spicy tofu soup if you want, which satisfied Renée. They start you off with lots of banchan, including this yummy savoury pancake thing. I approve. The soon dobu soup was acceptable as well. Lots of tofu in it.

Other things to note: at least one server can speak Mandarin in this Korean restaurant, orange slices come with the bill, the rice was a bit hard, they fill in the middle seating area before allowing people to sit at the curtained-off booths lined along the wall.

Would I return? Yeah, probably. It's unassuming enough, and provides many of the Korean staple dishes. Plus, I enjoy the banchan offerings.

Update with the banchan pics. The pancake is the best. I also enjoy the spicy potatoes.

Sprout

Sprout (5 Northtown Way, North York)

(647) 340-9093

Hours: 12 p.m. - 10 p.m. daily

Funky spicy noodles.

This wasn't as "alarmingly yellow" as I expected. More of a brown colour, I'd say. Taste-wise, I thought it was good. Very saucy, and enough to cover the rice noodles. There was a decent amount of seafood. Wasn't as spicy as I was hoping for, but spicy for me is when my nose runs and my face goes red. Funny how spicy symptoms can mimic extreme cold weather alerts.

Renée's order of Classic noodles.

I think it resembles a variation of jajangmyun (ja jeung mein). Again, very saucy. 

The joint is a small space, and I'd say it's more of a take-out place. We were greeted in a very pleasant manner. Menu is simple, and consists of four main noodle options. The noodles are constant, but it sells on the sauces. We both ordered the large bowl (just under or about $10 each), and it was enough for me. I'd be interested in trying the garlic explosion noodles next time.

Between Sprout, Artisan Noodle, Ajisen, Sho Ryu Ken, Kinton, and even jajangmyun at Song Cook, there is no shortage of Asian noodle options in Willowdale. From Xi'an, to Hainan, to ramen, and beyond, you can taste the Asian colours of the wind. Yum!

Han Ba Tang

Han Ba Tang (4862 Yonge Street, Willowdale)
Phone number(416) 546-8218

The inside signs are much clearer than the outside ones.

Drink list! Includes a variety of infused soju cocktails. I enjoy their beer selection, too, which included Innis & Gunn and Samuel Adams. On tap, there was also Rickard's Red. A few of my favs.

 Two clean cuts. Not both for me.

It's a bit sweeter than I expected it to be, but still pretty tasty.

Kalbi tacos

Not bad. We liked that there was 'stuff' in the taco shells.

 Creamy rice cakes. 

Tasted like alfredo sauce on rice cakes. Sounds like something I'd concoct if I were out of pasta. Julie mentioned this being a different taste for her, thus making it her favourite dish of the night. 

Lobster tacos.

I like lobster! 

Pork belly and tofu.

Phoebe said it tasted really Asian. It was okay, but since I split one, I didn't get the tomato to see if that would've tasted weird.

 Scoop pizza.

Jenny said all she tasted was cheese. I actually didn't get that much cheese, so much as potato. It's a sweet potato base, but subtly sweet. I think this might've been my least favourite dish.

Spicy seafood soup.

It didn't taste like the usual Korean soup flavours that I was introduced to in Korea. It wasn't bad, just a lot more black pepper, and a lot less Korean red sauce taste.  

Crispy king prawns.

This was my favourite dish of the night. Shrimp was tasty, crispy sticks of sweet potato was awesomely salty. 

Would I return? I might. Now that I know which food items I prefer, I wouldn't mind trying their other stuff, and that drinks menu looked pretty interesting. Cocktails are $7 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Total damage: Approximately $15.50 per person (6 people), minus drinks, and minus the prawns which were on a different bill. 

The Fry

The Fry (6012 Yonge Street, Toronto)

(416) 546-0483

Spicy rice cake with seafood

It couldn't have been that spicy because Renée could eat it. I'd say it's more like mild. There was shrimp, there was mussel, there was cheese. I enjoyed it. We also got the small fried chicken, which was basically half a chicken, cut up, battered, and deep-fried. It came out with two small sauce cups: one with salt, black pepper, and sesame seeds, and another with a sweet, spicy, red sauce. The chicken seemed like it had just come out of the fryer as it burned my mouth when I shoved the first piece in. Texture-wise, the crispiness was perfect. I would've liked some seasoning in the batter, but the salt accompaniment was good enough for me. Renée and I both agreed that the little salt dish was necessary and helped complete the taste. 

Something to note: we asked the difference between their crispy chicken and fried chicken. Apparently, fried chicken has thicker batter. *shrug* Also, they only had Sapporo on tap.

Would I return? Yes. Their beer/soju and chicken combos are not listed on the website. And I wouldn't mind trying their other flavours of fried chicken. With ample beer. Banchan includes pickled radishes (YUM!), salad, corn, and coleslaw. I quite enjoy the Korean chicken and beer thing. It's a thing! Prices are... on the website.