Hancook Cheese Dakgalbi — Restaurant in Toronto

Some dear friends invited us for dinner Hancook 치즈 닭갈비, one of their favourite neighbourhood haunts, to welcome us back to Toronto. Being huge fans of Korean cuisine we were intrigued as we’ve never had the opportunity to try Dakgalbi. We became even more excited when our friend Joel told us that his maternal grandmother lived in Chuncheon, a city famous for its Dakgalbi, and that he had eaten there a few times and loved every bite.

And enjoyable it was. We ordered the signature dish - spicy Dakgalbi. Chicken is marinated then stir fried with sweet potato, cabbage, green onions and rice cake. The rice cake adds a marvelous soft, chewy texture, cabbage is nice and crisp while taking on all the flavours, and the chicken was excellent quality. This dish is only mildly spicy (to us anyway) offering loads of flavour to every addictive bite. The food is served on a hot pan kept warm by a portable stove as you eat. We couldn't help but get an order of dumplings too, all washed down with generous servings of soju and ice-cold beer. After devouring the main course and enjoying great conversation and more soju we decided more food was in order. So we ordered some spicy Tteokbokki (rice cake) and delicious seafood Pajeon (Korean pancake) - both superb - which we enjoyed with even more soju. So good!

The evening lived up to the hype. We were very impressed by the Covid-appropriate measures taken by the restaurant to ensure a safe and enjoyable dine-in experience. Guests must wear a mask when not seated, and hand sanitizer and hand-held laser temperature check is required before being seated. Contact information for the table is recorded in case contact tracing has to be pursued, and servers and kitchen staff were scrupulous in both mask and social distancing compliance. Being so reassured made the food and atmosphere all that much more enjoyable.

It was a great night and we’ll be back at this great little spot sooner...

4.5⭐️ - 07/09/2023 - I came here because I was craving this restaurant, I’ve been here a couple of times and each time I was always satisfied. The restaurant was kind of busy, the employees were welcoming from the start and always noticed when I needed their attention. I ordered a Rosé Cheese Dakgalbi and Spicy Rice Cake.

Rosé Cheese Dakgalbi - I usually get this from here, but this time I added ramen noodles, and extra cheese, I asked if they could also add fish cakes as well but they said they couldn’t 😭. Since I ordered a portion for one, it didn’t come in like the image, they warned me ahead of time but why could I do 🤷‍♂️ this made the dish have less sauce than it should’ve. I definitely recommend ordering portion for 2+ for more sauce! The ramen noodle was quite filling and I think I’ll try the glass noodles next time. The extra cheese was good as well. I think this time the dish was too creamy for my liking this time compared to the other times I’ve came here.

Spicy Rice Cake - I ordered this because I wanted fish cakes in my previous dish but they said they couldn’t add it. The spicy rice cake tasted good, just like how it should taste!

Overall I still enjoy this restaurant each time I came here in the past and only this time had a tiny issue with the extreme creamy taste of the dish. I recommend coming here for their food! It’s definitely worth the price, but don’t forget to come here with more...

A few months ago, I visited Hancook Cheese Dakgalbi to sample their dakgalbi (Chicken Stir Fry) experience with a friend. I have seen many great Instagram photos and rave reviews about this place so it was time to check it out for myself.

Upon entering, me and my friend were seated immediately and we knew to order the Cheese Dakgalbi to share. However, it didn't stop there, we decided to order the fried rice experience for an extra $3.00 to complete the meal.

We only had to wait a few minutes for the stir fry to come out as the wait staff needed a few minutes to set up the equipment. When it came out, it smelled like gochujang heaven. The stir fry had a nice aromatic tone which complimented the meat, rice cakes and vegetables nicely. In addition, the melted cheese adds a slight sweetness to help offset the tickling spice from the red pepper paste. It's a great dish to share, especially over a great conversation. After we finished the majority of the stir fry, it was time for some fried rice. It's pretty simple as the waitress took some rice, extra sauce, nori and scrambled egg to create the fried rice volcano that everyone dies for. It's the perfect way to end up dakgalbi experience.

I had such an amazing time at Hancook Cheese Dakgalbi as it will be one of my go to spots as soon as the dine-in ban is over. I seriously recommend this place if you're looking for a nice hearty meal to share with...