Mapo Gamjatang - Korean Restaurant Scarborough - Pork Bone Soup — Restaurant in Toronto

I should have clued in when a dipping sauce was brought over with instructions that it was for the pork bones. Unfortunately, since it was given at the beginning of the meal with all the banchan, the dipping sauce was set aside and forgotten.

Why would we need a condiment for gamjatang? The soup is supposed to be powerful on its own. Yet, what I experienced was like a chunkier elevated version of the soup packages you get with ramen. Yes, there’s flavour, but it’s fairly one dimensional – there’s the initial burst but no layers afterwards.

Perhaps it’s because all the flavours were concentrated in the spices topping the pork bones – it provided a snap of tastiness when it hit the tongue but soon was relegated onto the plate or sunk to the bottom of the bowl. Good… if you get to the last drop.

Offering noodles in lieu of rice on their menu is a smart choice with three choices – ramen, Korean noodles, and hand pulled. We opted for the gamjatang kalguksu ($17.99) or the Korean noodles, which was the middle thickness between the other pastas. They were good, silky with a slight chew, but its density definitely needed a more flavourful broth to match.

I suspect the noodles were prepared and portioned into bowls ahead of time, then soup was added into the bowl when we ordered. The room temperature noodle quickly cooled down the broth so by the time the dish arrived, the soup was already lukewarm. The smart thing to do would be to undercook the noodles to allow chefs to re-boil it for a minute before serving. Better yet, invest in a larger stone bowl and serve the gamjatang kalguksu in a heated stone bowl so that it’s bubbling and piping hot like the rice version.

Even the meat itself wasn’t the greatest. The neck bone was cut in a fashion that made it impossible to break apart to access the meat and gelatinous cartilage that’s wedged between the bones. Also, it just wasn’t tender enough. The only saving grace was the two pieces were fairly large and meaty.

So, the gamjatang didn’t create a POW, surely the bulgogi ($18.99) that’s described as being served on a sizzling plate surely will? Alas, no, it was also a KNOCK. Firstly, the beef was dispersed amongst so many vegetables – carrots, mushrooms, huge pieces of green onion, and bean sprouts – diluting the garlicky sweet soy flavours of the bulgogi. Secondly, the “sizzling” plate was more décor than function as the plate didn’t make a peep of noise. No sizzle, no aroma, no heat.

To be fair, the bulgogi was decent and the mushroom and vegetables does help break down the monotony of an otherwise meaty meal. Mapo Gamjatang should just set better expectations by properly describing it on their menu and drop the sizzling plate if it wasn’t going to be heated and actually sizzling...

r a dinner with a friend, I ordered the Regular size Mapo Gamjatang as well as a side of Korean rice balls, I have to say it was really good. The service was quick and the food came quickly and I was definitely surprised at the size of the portion. I think there was around 4-5 pork bones in the bowl as well as a good helping of rice. I was a little disappointed that the rice balls were self assembly, I was given gloves to make them. The rice was quite hot when it arrived so to mix them it took a while to cool down first. This resulted in a nice warm rice ball when finally made. We got a good helping of side dishes as well although we weren’t approached about refilling so I’m not sure if it is free refills. Lastly the restaurant isn’t the largest but for coming on a Wednesday at 6:30 pm I was quickly seated and the restaurant stayed consistently busy. It wasn’t overly loud but I did notice the speakers would play music that would continuously cut out. The ambiance made it fine for a good location to catch up with someone! I would definitely recommend going here for...

This place was simply delightful ! Ordered a large gamjatang jeongol and two bowls of rice and it was well worth the price. The food was so flavorful and not overly spicy like other Korean stores. The hot pot contained so much meat and veggies that we even had leftovers! Moreover, the ratio of meat to bone was extremely satisfying with there being more meat than bone.

This store also gives out free side dishes and tea. The side dishes that came with the meal consisted of kimchi, glass noodles , fishcakes and creamy corn. You can ask for free side dish refills here too !

Now for the service, it was simply extraordinary! Even though it was just one lady serving multiple tables, she was fast and efficient. She brought out our food within the first ten minutes and was extremely kind! She also asked us whether we wanted tea , side dishes and even soup refills before we even asked ourselves!

Moreover, the soup refill actually consisted of literal broth and not just hot water!

Overall 10000000/10 experience and will definitely...