Hansik proves nothing succeeds like excess
A blanket of food covers the table at Hansik.
Somewhere underneath the myriad small dishes of pickles, salads, rice, soup and dipping sauces is sparkly grey granite. I see the surface once, briefly, before the feast that is Korean barbecue descends.
I won’t see the tabletop again until much later, when the leftovers are packed up.
So it goes at Hansik, a Korean restaurant in North York that sets new standards of generosity.
The online menu helpfully breaks down into “guks and juks” (soups and porridges) and “jiggaes, jangs and tangs” (soups and stews). But it’s the lure of grilling meat at the table that points me toward Finch Ave. W. and Dufferin St. The vibe The publisher of Korea Daily Toronto opened Hansik last year to popularize Korean food culture.
It is not a pretty restaurant, with its no-frills banquet chairs and exposed duct work.
Against this utilitarian backdrop, Russian families celebrate birthdays, Filipino friends have Sunday lunch and single Korean diners methodically work through bubbling bowls of bulgogi stew ($15.99).
But boy, does Hansik feel good. Take the young waiter with the Bieber swoop and chunky glasses. He eagerly advises on what to order and how to eat it.
He even recommends ordering less food, a good call given the abundance here. “A pleasure to have in class,” as teachers say. Kick off All Korean restaurants bring out banchan, side dishes to nibble during the meal. They’re complimentary but often repetitive.
The banchan at Hansik vary admirably.
One day there are bean sprouts with sesame, thin fish cakes, kimchi of estimable crunch and funkiness and a simple pickle of cabbage and daikon with soy.
The next time, sweet potato noodles and wrinkled soy beans go into the mix along with a dish of jiggly white jelly topped with fried bell peppers.
Should that fail to suffice, try the sweet and spicy fried K-pop chicken ($8.99). A sushi appetizer is $4.50 for five nigiri, but dried-out rice explains the low price. Hot pots Bibimbap with baby octopus ($12.99) comes in a heated bowl; the rice soon gets crunchy from contact. The tiny purple octopi are crunchy, too, but not in a good way. There are also fewer vegetables than is usual.
Kimchi stew ($10.99), on the other hand, is pure fiery fun. The thin orange broth contains gleaming rice cakes and shaved pork belly. Cool the mounting chili heat with steamed white rice — or, for $1.50, a sticky blend of brown, black and sweet rice with barley and red beans.
Such fire may also justify ordering ice cream in ginger ($3) or black sesame ($4.99) for dessert. Table cooking A gas-fired grill sits in each table. For $27.99 a person (two-person mini- mum) you can sear boneless rib-eye yourself. Or you can let the server cook the meat and scissor it into pieces.
“Don’t be afraid. We haven’t needed the fire extinguisher yet,” he reassures after a flare-up.
The bland meat desperately needs a dip in the coarse paste of salt, pepper and oil provided. Extra flavour comes from acidulated onions, miso paste and raw garlic cloves, with frilled lettuce leaves for wrapping.
I’ve had some large meals in my time: the lamb with endless mezze at El Babor, the French Laundry’s tasting menu, dinner last week at my grandmother’s.
Hansik is up there. Nothing succeeds like excess. apataki@thestar.ca, Twitter @amypataki