CHO SUN OK

Since graduating university, many of my friends have moved out of Toronto. Of those who stayed in the city, a few of us ended up in North York. We met up recently to catch up over some tasty Korean food. Despite the cold weather, I couldn’t visit Cho Sun Ok without ordering a bowl of their famous cold noodles, Mool Naengmyun.

Atmosphere: Walking into a packed restaurant at 7pm on a Friday night, looking for a table of 8 without reservations was risky. Lucky for us, tables cleared quickly and a few members of our party was delayed. While the restaurant stayed busy the entire night, turnaround was quick. Our group of 8 was split between two booths with a partition in the middle. We were confused at first, but then the server slid open a window in the partition that joined the two tables, pretty cool.

Service: At many Asian restaurants, service can be lackluster. I’m used to being semi-ignored and most restaurants favour efficiency over friendliness. At Cho Sun Ok, I felt welcome and taken care of. Our large group was accommodated, it was easy to order refills on side dishes and servers came by to refill tea without prompting.

Food: When our group was deciding on a restaurant for dinner, someone suggested “the place with really good cold noodles”. I couldn’t not order it. The Fiance obliged and agreed to split a bowl of Soondae Gook (sausage and pig organ stew) and Mool Naengmyun with me even though I had the sniffles. True love right?

We also ordered a side of Galbi with the cold noodles. The two pieces arrived on a separate place along with scissors. The meat was tender, well seasoned and lean.

My stew was served with a bowl of rice and was very satisfying. The opaque broth was rich and had a great depth in flavour from the organ meats (ear, tongue, stomach) and sausage. All of the meats were thinly sliced and cooked to a tender texture. This was the kind of stew I would crave. Salty, spicy and meaty. On the opposite spectrum of cravings, the Naengmyun in slush was refreshing, mild and wonderfully light. The thin arrowroot noodles were chewy and I liked the sweet crisp slices of pear in the soup. The level of spice was present but not overwhelming. We didn’t use any of the mustard of vinegar as there was no need.

Writing this review makes me want to go back to Cho Sun Ok tonight. If you’re going, I’d recommend bringing someone who’s willing to share because it’s hard to pick just one item for dinner.