Out & About #354 | Manpuku, Wafflian + Koreatown Errands

​I have a habit of repeatedly subjecting myself to activity levels at polar ends of the spectrum: my house hermit days will sedentary and consist of backlog review/catching up on K-Pop news, while my extrovert occasions involve excessive walking and overloading my feeble limbs with items that far exceed my strength capabilities. It's regrettable that the compromise has yet to be reached.

Another similar situation arose when I was informed of my impromptu extended long weekend. I set out on a mission to refamiliarize myself with the downtown core and uncover the mysteries hidden within the IKEA Play Cafe situated at Queen and Spadina.
Sadly, the cafe had concluded its final day's operations on the evening that the suggestion was proposed to feedthebear. Either way, our lunch plans remained unbroken.

​I made a speedy trip to the Eaton Centre to run a few errands - namely verifying whether the UNIQLO location carried the Disney t-shirt I had spotted previously (spoiler: they didn't) and checking up on Sulley inventory.

Current Sulley count: 2; actually, minus one for the adorable fluffball that found a giddy owner while I stood beside it.

An analysis was performed on the countless eateries surrounding Dundas/University, with the final contenders being Gyugyuya and Manpuku. Ultimately, we chose the casual Japanese canteen inside Village by the Grange.

I seem to recall a time where I had wished to visit Manpuku, though the excursion was later banished for some unknown reason. The interior is small with minimal space between tables; seating for up to 30 people was found distributed across two floors. Remaining space was allocated for the cashier, a tabletop arrangement of Japanese snacks, and a bathroom that I did not visit (Oops. We were in a rush.)

​Tattered menus could be found scattered at every other table, perhaps to improve access to hurried walk-ins (or because stashing them away each time was pointless due to heavy lunchtime traffic). I hadn't noticed the waitresses wipe down the laminated sheets during my visit, leading me to question their cleanliness.
One thing can be certain though: it's unlikely their prices have inflated over the years, since none of the prices had been covered.

​Manpuku offered quite an expansive selection of traditional Japanese cooking. Ranging from homestyle nikujaga to sophisticated chawanmushi, and zenful ochazuke to classic natto rice, I was surprised to even find modern takes of takowasa and takoyaki on the menu.

Prices were ridiculously low, as many Yelpers had stated. In my mind, I had insisted that their associated costs be a reflection of the size and quality of their portions. However, upon placing our orders with the bubbly waitress, I was soon proven wrong.

​Along with chopsticks and ladles, full-sized bowls of Kake Udon and Wakame Udon were delivered to our table.
"It's huge!" were the first words to escape my mouth. My eyes widened at the meal. "This was not what I was expecting."

Feedthebear and I had also opted to share the Takoyaki. The supposed wait time is about twenty minutes, though I guess luck was on our side. The waitress reappeared within minutes of relaying the approximate wait time to us, piping hot takoyaki in hand. Should another customer's order been cancelled haphazardly, the bonito flakes were still surprisingly fresh.
Okonomiyaki sauce, Kewpie mayo, aonori were also present. Candidly speaking, the spongy spheres contained heftier chunks of octopus than most of my Ontarian experiences; the exteriors were crisp to taste, yet the middle soft and dough-like. Minor points were deducted for the lack of flavour in the sauce combination - I didn't find sufficient punch to contrast with the textures of the dish.

​After a round of photos, we began to dig into the warm bowls placed before us.

Kake Udon comprised of tempura bits (tenkasu), scallions, and a few pieces of fish cake in a clear Dashi broth. I can only describe the product as homecooking at its finest, for definitive fishy flavours replaced commonly witnessed synthetic additions.

Wakame Udon adopted a similar presentation, but with slippery seaweed in place of kamaboko and a larger handful of tenkasu.

​Feedthebear was able to stomach majority of her bowl, though, believe it or not, I surrendered after consuming a half portion of the noodles.

With this, it can be made quite obvious that portion sizes are indeed regular-sized, even if prices are not.

Amazement was expressed at Manpuku's abilities to withhold their ground despite such extraordinarily low margins. Even greater astonishment fell upon me when the waitress unveiled two tiny slips from our table as we descended the mini flight of stairs to settle the bill. Apparently, the younger waitress who had taken our orders (and also inquired in regards to paying method) had already split the bills for us in advance. What tremendous efficiency!

The modern Japanese eatery easily offered up a timeless slew of meal options in the most economic way possible. Shall I ever have reason to revisit Village by the Grange (their bathrooms are utterly vile), I'll definitely be keeping them as another option besides Mean Bao and McDonald's.

​We parted ways shortly afterwards, as feedthebear had other schedules to attend to.

I initially had plans to grab an iced latte from Little Pebbles, yet couldn't help but take a quick peek into Wafflian next door.​

Despite my satiated appetite, the mention of bingsoo drew me into the narrow cafe. A single party of three occupied one of the tables, eagerly scooping at their Large Strawberry Bingsoo.

The man behind the counter acknowledged my presence immediately. He proceeded to explain their options for Bingsoo when I mentioned their signage outside the shop: Medium and Large bowls could be requested for dine-in orders, while Cup Bingsoo could be taken on the go.

​Curiosity overcame my sense of reason, and I relinquished $6.99 of digital money to satisfy it.
​
I observed as he layered sweetened condensed milk with the creamy white flakes sputtering from the snow ice machine. A yellow object with accordion folds was inserted into the plastic cup at one point; a dusting of matcha powder, thick layer of sweet red bean, and uniform scoop of green tea ice cream completed the lofty specimen. The object was later discovered to be a firm cupcake - or poundcake? - or sorts that slowly disintegrated into the bingsoo with time.

​Wafflian's rendition of the dessert did not retain the same degree of sweetness as other establishments, and neither did it boast the same intricate layering. The trio who had been enjoying their 딸기s had actually called out for more syrup while I patiently endured the compilation of my own order.
Thankfully, it was nowhere near Cafe Bene's level of sugariness, though it would have been more pleasant with added texture and milkiness.

​It looks like I've finally secured a spot away from North York for authentic Korean snow ice, even if it does not assume one of the top ranks on my list. Liege waffles are to reserved for the next downtown stroll.

​BONUS: In case you're wondering about the amount of things I heave around with me on an errand-running day, behold the following! The items seen are among my most common Koreatown (1, 2) purchases.

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