My day started early as I was running some errands. I went to Vero Bistro Moderne to grab my friend a gift certificate for her birthday (good thing she doesn't know about my blog yet). It was about 10:30 in the morning, and it wasn't busy at all. I thought about staying for their brunch because the food looks sooo delicious and decent portion coming out of the kitchen but I wasn't that hungry and was solo. I mean there is nothing wrong about dining alone but at a place like Vero Bistro Moderne you should come with someone so you can sample their meal as well :).
Next, I stopped by Chinatown to grab a couple of birthday gifts. I sure do have a bunch of friends whose birthdays are in January. I walked around trying to find somewhere to grab a quick bite. Dim Sum was out of the question as I didn't want to order many dishes for my lonesome self. The last time I was in Chinatown, I saw a Wow Chicken so I decided to go there only to find out that they are closed for a week between Christmas and New Years. Bummer, right? Next, I went to Quickly since they have food and bubble tea but they open at 11:30am which was no problem since it was only a ten minute wait so I walked some more. I arrived back at Quickly at 11:40am, and their outside door was locked. So I went inside the building and saw the person was just setting up in the kitchen. However, the lights were still off and chairs still up. By now, I'm a little peeved and hungry just thinking about food.
So, I decided to cross the street to see what Bon-Ga had to offer. They had a Grand Open sign so it is a relatively new place. Bon-Ga means main house, from what I gather. It is generally used in South Korea during Korean Thanksgiving, Chuseok, where the people pack up and head to their ancestral hometown, usually where the eldest or head of household lives "bon-ga".
At the entrance, they advertised hot pots, or shabu-shabu, bento boxes, and Korean fried chicken. Sounds good so I went upstairs. When I arrived, there were only two other tables occupied and one server. The server was very nice and attentive. He asked me if I wanted any recommendations when I was perusing the menu. The hot pots looked pretty good and reasonably priced. I was, however, disappointed that the fried chicken sold as a whole. I was debating on just ordering the whole thing and bringing the leftover home, but I would be the only one eating the thing and that's not good. Also, the bento boxes were only available during lunch on weekdays. So, I settled on ordering Bulgogi with rice.
Free Banchan - potato, kimchi, and bean sprouts
These three banchan were very good and fresh. The potatoes had a little crunch and was sweet. The kimchi was a little spicy for me but I did sampled it. It had a nice crisp to it. The bean sprouts were nice and soft and had a light flavour to it.
Bulgogi with Rice with Miso soup (not pictured) $13.99
There was a lot more meat and veggies than rice which is good. The beef was very tender, and the vegetables were fresh and cooked to perfection for this dish. There was lots of onions, zucchini, carrots, green peppers, green onions, mushrooms, and even shiitake mushrooms. The sauce was very good and not too salty at all. I would recommend this dish for anyone who don't like spicy food. The miso soup was excellent. You can taste the bean flavour and it wasn't salty at all. It kinda reminds me of the miso soup in Japan. There was lots of tiny pieces of tofu in the soup as well.
Overall, I would definitely come back here again with friends to try their fried chicken and hot pots. If I am ever in Chinatown during the weekdays, I will drop by for their bento boxes as well. They look good from other people's posts.
Bon-Ga Korean Restuarant
111 2 Ave SE #201
(587) 475-1657
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