Out & About #256 | Toronto Things: Exploring Koreatown

Planning a group activity is stressful - not because of a lack of eager participants, but rather since each individual's schedule, location of residence, and/or accessibility to transit has the potential to pose some sort of difficulty in compromising on one specific meet-up time and neighbourhood.

That being said, I suppose it was sheer luck that the Koreatown meetup planned for a lazy Monday was actually executed in a relatively successful manner.

​Nestled between the many little cafes on Bloor in an easy-to-find spot near Christie station was Cup O House – a spot that I had originally believed to be Korean-operated but, in reality, wasn’t. (The Taiwanese snacks and drink selection was a dead giveaway.)

​We were the only customers in the store at the time; this allowed me to fully take in my surroundings: simple décor with dark, wooden walls, hanging lights, and red-orange seating. In a small, cozy corner were two shelves lined with board games joined by four patent leather-looking lounge chairs.
The number of seating options was quite vast, in my opinion. While the space wasn’t particularly large, it somehow included bar stools, several group tables that varied in size, and the comfy chairs mentioned previously. I should also add that outlets were frequently found throughout the shop; a very stable, password-secured Wi-Fi network was also immensely appreciated.

​The menu was quite extensive, ranging from slushies to yogurt drinks to your standard milk tea. A “Top 10” selection was placed adjacent to the full menu to aid indecisive customers, such as myself and my group of friends. Ultimately, we settled for a Frosted Milk Drink w/ Boba and Mango Pudding, Thai Tea, Mango Green Tea, and Peach Black Tea w/ Boba.

Interestingly enough, Cup O House is the first tea room I’ve encountered (in Canada, at least) that opts for a LA-style presentation of their products. By this, I am referring to two things: the fact that they use “honey boba” instead of the general term of “tapioca pearls” and their utilization of stout, wide cups instead of learner counterparts à la Chatime or Green Grotto.

View the full album HERE !

​I’ve been craving Thai Tea since my Barrie trip and was absolutely eager to try Cup O House’s rendition. As it turned out, they were also having a limited time 15% off deal for milk tea and Thai teas – score! While far from being as authentic as Thai Plate, the tea was, by no means, lacking in flavour nor colour intensity. The vivid orange hue swiftly caught the attention of my peers, raising curiosity as my beverage was slowly lowered to join the rest.
The remainder of table also found their drinks to be satisfactory; I must confess: I did discover their tapioca to be a tad firmer than I would have preferred. Portion size-wise, I was pleasantly surprised that the stout cups were capable of holding an even greater volume than I had imagined. With each size increase, the girl at the cashier had informed me of their associated 50-cent price increase. All but one of us settled for the medium size. (Did I mention that they only take cash and debit? Ugh.)

​As we happily occupied one of the tables near the entrance, several other groups of customers entered to purchase take-out drinks, all to be served by the same girl who had taken our orders and crafted the drinks afterwards. Regardless of the customer she was serving, her expression – or lack thereof – lingered; she appeared somewhat absentminded, exhibiting blatant disinterest through a stone-like demeanour. Thankfully, her lack of enthusiasm did not transfer over to the flavour profile our orders.

​Cup O House provided a lovely, comfortable atmosphere to catch up, though I also see great potential in it being a study spot. Besides being open to accepting other forms of payment, my only other complaints would be in regards to their not-so-pristine bathroom stalls and the depressing batch of Sweet Potato Fries that our table ordered. I’m uncertain as to why reheating frozen fries could have posed such a threat to the girl, but the end result was depressing burnt slivers with all the extra carbon and none of the crispiness. They do, however, earn extra points for maintaining an accessible entrance and ground-level bathroom though.

​Following our two-hour casual banter session was a brisk stroll through Koreatown. Humidity had us hopping from store to store in search of A/C, leading us to browse almost every single clothing, accessory, and stationery shop in the vicinity. Two adorable mini wooden magnets were picked up from Mr. Pen – Sulley and LINE Friends! – while another browsed Sarah & Tom’s for K-Pop merchandise.

Behold: Zelo’s signature!!

​As per my recommendation, we made a stop at Hodo Kwaja to refuel in preparation for karaoke. While I restocked on my regular order of walnut cakes and hoddeok (and madeleines since they were available), we collectively agreed on splitting a Fruits Shaved Ice to relieve ourselves from the heat. Topped with tangy pineapple chunks, frozen strawberries, and a generous portion of syrup, the bingsoo proved to be a perfect way to cool down.

Our Koreatown adventures spanned until the early evening hours, throwing us directly into the massive rush hour crowd for the trip northbound. Eventually, we made it to Finch, and embarked on a brief trip around the area before stepping through the doors of Twister Karaoke.

According to prior research, Yelpers had provided stellar reviews of Twister, listing great song selection and a fun environment as recurring factors in their reviews. The adjacent Yonge Karaoke, while supposedly cheaper, operated in a questionable environment with poor service as stated in reviews. We went with the logical choice, and the nicer establishment rewarded us with even more time that we paid for!

The shop owners declared that we could sing for 1.5 hours for the price of one hour, or three hours for the price of two. Members of the group were hesitant and doubtful at first, so we agreed to choose the 1.5-hour package and extend it afterwards should it be deemed necessary. Before we knew it, our time was up, so we opted for the extension.
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One of my major karaoke woes is the inability to locate songs in an efficient manner, especially when using a song list system in a foreign language. Twister Karaoke ensured that the equipment was clearly labelled, responsive, and up-to-date; the song books were also neatly coordinated and sorted by language and release (unlike Two Two, which simply sorted by release date). All four members of our party had horribly raspy voices towards the end of the experience, but the fun was definitely well worth the hoarseness.

​Hunger hit at the very moment of our egress. To be quite frank, I wasn’t nearly as famished as the others. Considering that it was already nearing 10 pm, I desperately just wanted a light meal to finish off the night on a positive note. A particularly “hangry” individual had other plans in mind though, and stormed off in the direction of her preferred choice of restaurant in fury until we reluctantly agreed to accompany her, thoroughly exasperated at the situation.

We landed at Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu, a late-night Korean comfort food spot that I had never bothered to venture towards in North York because, well, there are far better non-franchise options. As a result of this unfamiliarity, I failed to become aware of the restaurant’s super condensed menu until being seated. Soondae, tteokbokki, and jjajangmyeon weren’t available, nor were any light dishes to be spotted.

​It was solely a menu of satiating soups and rice bowl combos.

“Ah…” I thought, resisting the urge to put forth an expression of sheer bitterness. “This was far from what I wanted.

One miso soup, one spoonful of kimchi, and three bites of purple rice with Soybean Soup later, my stomach lurched in numbing pain. It was late, and my body was opposing the intake of such solid food items, reasonably so.
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In truth, I had no one to blame than myself for attempting to eat. However, I must admit that I was largely unimpressed by the actions that forced three people to dine in a location devoid of their preferred menu choices for the sake of one’s own selfish desires for a dirt cheap selection with “enormous portions”.

​It was a shame since the servers were all extremely friendly and attentive, never failing to provide napkins or refill water upon demand. The meal was also very economical, but to be honest, the low price was irrelevant given the resulting pain that had to be endured.

I ended up taking the remainder of my untouched meal home, then later consuming it in two separate meals (Yes, it was that big). North York’s Soon Tofu won’t be on my to-go list anytime soon, though I’d recommend the establishment should you ever be in a dinnertime situation where famine hits hard following shopping or karaoke activities. (Be aware that their washrooms are located at the foot of a very steep staircase.)

Upon our exit, it was observed that a mahjong place has since begun operations in the space directly above Soon Tofu. (That will probably be saved for another adventure though!)

​I suggested popping into a newly-opened bakery named I-Bake afterwards, and then into Gong Cha as we waited for the bus to arrive. A steaming hot cup of Wintermelon Oolong Tea did wonders for soothing my incredulous stomach pains, allowing for the termination of the day’s journey on a positive note.

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