Togi, 11 Mosque Street

Tucked away in the hustle and bustle of the crowded Chinatown district in Mosque Street is this innocuous Korean restaurant. Cozy little place. Which euphemistically meant small, crowded and noisy. The interior consisted of closely packed tables with chairs up to the glass doorway with several tables outdoors as well. It looked like one of those where one would have to stand in line for a long wait if reservations are not made in advance judging from the crowd on a Friday evening.

I'm still in the process of discovering Korean food. This would be the first entry I have under the label Korean. I've been under the impression that most of their food were just spicy, sweet or sour and it seemed that I wasn't not too far off with that perception. Besides Seoul Garden which I've had the misfortune to visit years back, I haven't really eaten anything Korean (I know Seoul Garden doesn't count) before. Here I am then, sifting through tongue twisting names that I have difficulty pronouncing and not understanding a single word of the names without translation. I had it better with Japanese. In retrospect, I still maintain that Japanese food is more interesting than Korean. Things may change in the future of course. That much is for time to unfold.

brown rice with beans

We were started with a serving of rice and an assortment of pickles and banchan (small side dishes). There are options for white rice or the brown ones with beans. Those banchan which can be refilled as often as requested included kimchi, salted fried anchovies, potato salad and assorted stir fried or pickled vegetables.

Kim chi hea mool jun (kimchi and seafood pancake)

This seafood pancake contained what I detected to be only squid. That's about all the seafood in there. The rest of the fillings were miscellaneous bits of vegetables and chilli. The pancake tasted a little like Chinese radish cakes.

Nak j bok (spicy stir fried octopus)

This is octopus by name from the menu, but I think they were actually squid in some sort of nutty spicy sauce. That sauce tasted like satay gravy with a sharper flavour. Nothing much to see here, just stir fried squid in a spicy sauce.

Dak do li tang (spicy chicken stew with potatoes and onions)

The dak do li tan was a chicken stew in some spicy broth. The broth again has a nutty flavour to it. This was a serving for 3.

Sam gyeuo sal (pan grilled pork belly)

Sam gyeuo sal cooked

The sam gyeuo sal was pork belly that came with onions, sliced potatoes and mushrooms on the side. The ingredients were brought to the table uncooked and prepared table side. The melted fat of the pork belly greased the pan for grilling the accompanied vegetables and excess oil was drained off into the center of the grill. The meats can be eaten as is or wrapped in lettuce leaves with garlic, green chilli and some salty brown sauce that tasted like they're made from fermented beans.