Dining Out: Basil Cream Tteokbokki, Crab Meat Rice Balls, Unagi and Tuna Mayo Rice Tofu Pockets at Woojoo Bunsik

As we were heading back home from the BTS concert a couple Sundays ago, Iris and I decided that we had to make our way over to the Yonge and Finch area to see the BTS Boulevard street signs in person. Because how often does your city add street signs in honour of your favourite band? (For those who don't know, the City of Toronto officially re-named a section of Yonge Street in North York, "BTS Boulevard," in honour of BTS' two concert dates here for their ARIRANG Tour.) And since the signs are only up until September 23, we decided to head over there this weekend to take a look in person and then do a little BTS food pilgrimage while we were in the area.

We decided to start with a trip to Woojoo Bunsik, where J-Hope, V, and Jungkook stopped by to order a whole lot of Korean street food. Take note: the restaurant itself is very, very small — there's an open kitchen behind a counter, with four 2-person tables in a cramped space, so if you go during prime lunch or dinner times, you probably won't find get a seat. We went around 4:00PM, which we figured was the least busy time at a restaurant, but there were two tables already taken and another couple came in after us. So, be warned.

Basil cream tteokbokki
Since we had never been there before, we decided to forego most of the "BTS menu" (the restaurant has posted what the BTS members ordered all over their walls as well as their social media), and ordered what sounded the most enticing to us: the basil cream tteokbokki, the crab meat rice balls, plus the unagi and tuna mayo rice tofu pockets. Everything was so immediately delicious that every time we opened our mouths to take a bite, we were met with resounding "MMMMM!!!!" sounds from each other. The basil cream tteokbokki was incredible — mild (this is excellent for those who can't handle spice, like Iris), aromatic, very rich, and extremely creamy. If you can't handle a lot of cream or rich foods in general, I would go with one of the other options, but the best adjective that comes to mind with this dish is unctuous. The actual rice cakes are perfectly thick with the most insane, bouncy, springy chew. I might even go so far as to say this is the best tteokbokki I've ever had. (Yes, even better than the ones I had in Seoul.)

Crab meat rice balls
My friend Minji ordered from Woojoo Bunsik two to three times a week when she lived in North York and highly recommended the rice balls. All the rice balls come with mayo, pickled radish, seaweed, and onion crisps, and we decided to go with the crab meat variation. The "rice balls" come deconstructed in a large bowl — we didn't actually know how big each portion was and definitely should've shared one instead of ordering one each since we got so many other items — and a plastic glove is provided to mix the ingredients and roll them into balls. Oh, my god, this is so freaking good. It's kind of like a mashed up onigiri, and I actually prefer this because the ratio of the rice to the other ingredients is so much more balanced. I definitely need to thank Minji for this recommendation.

Unagi and tuna mayo rice tofu pockets
Finally, we decided to get two variations of the tofu pockets. Partly because J-Hope, V, and Jungkook got the entire menu of them and we wanted to try at least one item that they had ordered here (BTS never steers us wrong), but mostly because they looked too fucking good to resist. Each tofu pocket comes stuffed with rice mixed with mayo, pickled radish, and onion crisps (yes, it's the same ingredients as their rice balls), and we chose the unagi and the tuna mayo options. One bite into the unagi pocket, and both of us looked at each other with wide eyes and stuffed mouths and exclaimed, "HOLY SHIT." Despite the unagi and tuna mayo having such different flavour profiles, we could not decide which one was better. We just wished we had bigger stomachs, because all of a sudden, it made sense why the three members of BTS ordered all seven variations of these tofu pockets. 

As we were leaving with full stomachs and full hearts, entirely delighted with the unbelievably delicious meal we just had, we were already discussing when we'll be coming back. We've decided it is absolutely necessary to try every item on the menu. As I said, BTS never steers us wrong.

BTS Boulevard street sign!
And, of course, we got a picture of the street sign, which I almost forgot was the whole point of this trip.


Woojoo Bunsik 

6026 Yonge St. 

North York, ON M2M 3W5 

(416) 218-0026

HAPPY JUNGKOOK DAY 2026! 🐰

(Image source: BTS Official X)
To Bangtan's golden maknae, the cutest muscle bunny in the world, and my ultimate bias — happy 29th birthday! Thank you for your incredible talent in everything you do, your admirable passion in performance and music, your genuine gratitude and love for your members and ARMY alike, your hilariously dorky sense of humour, your adrenaline junkie tendencies, your adorable bunny smiles, and your unparalleled perseverance and integrity. You may be the most talented person I have ever seen, and I am so glad I've been able to witness it. It has been 10 years since I first saw you, and it has been a pleasure watching you grow up into this humble, confident, sexy force of nature. You're in the middle of a world tour with your brothers during your birthday this year, a vast change from last year, but I do hope you find some time off to have an amazing day filled with joy and happiness and love on this last birthday of your 20s. 💜

BTS VLOG: Suga's Hiking Vlog in Switzerland

Firstly, Suga really should start a vlogging channel. He's a natural at it and can somehow make the mundane interesting to watch. (I also love the old-school, tacky editing. It's a huge part of the charm.) Secondly, how do people hike up mountains so casually? I would a) never make it to the end, and b) be in constant fear of tripping and falling to my death. If I don't get run over by a wild cow first. 

BTS World Tour: ARIRANG — Tour Merch Haul

BTS World Tour ARIRANG merch. There are ARMYs that waited hours and hours for it. (People literally started lining up for merch at 2:00AM for the public merch sale last Friday.) But my friend Iris got the VIP soundcheck package for Day 1, so she got access to VIP shopping which has a separate merch booth just for VIP ticket holders. And she got there at 8:00AM on Saturday, so not only did she get all the merch items we wanted, but she only had to wait in line for 30 minutes. (Most items have a limit of one per person for this tour, but I wanted the items that she didn't want and vice versa, so it worked out perfectly for us.) So, thanks to her, I didn't have to line-up for merch at all for this tour. It's like karma finally paid me back for having had to wait dozens of hours for merch at all their previous tours. (Yes, I did treat Iris to lunch.)

Here's what I got:

BTS World Tour ARIRANG Charcoal Zip-Up Hoodie — Front

BTS World Tour ARIRANG Charcoal Zip-Up Hoodie — Back

BTS World Tour ARIRANG Charcoal Zip-Up Hoodie — Detail

BTS World Tour ARIRANG Sweatshirt (North American Exclusive) — Front

BTS World Tour ARIRANG Sweatshirt (North American Exclusive) — Back

BTS World Tour ARIRANG Sweatshirt (North American Exclusive) — Detail

BTS World Tour ARIRANG Black Tour T-Shirt — Front

BTS World Tour ARIRANG Black Tour T-Shirt — Back

BTS ARIRANG Deluxe Vinyl (Color ver.) — Front

BTS ARIRANG Deluxe Vinyl (Color ver.) — Inside

BTS ARIRANG Deluxe Vinyl (Color ver.) — Vinyl

BTS World Tour ARIRANG ARMY Bomb Plush Keyring

BTS World Tour ARIRANG ARMY Bomb Plush Keyring

BTS World Tour ARIRANG Tour Stamp — Toronto

BTS World Tour ARIRANG Tour Stamp — Toronto

BTS World Tour ARIRANG ARMY ZONE Gift (Toronto) — Member Photocards

BTS World Tour ARIRANG ARMY ZONE Gift (Toronto) — Member Photocards

Despite being able to get all the items I wanted, I will say that the pricing was ATROCIOUS for Toronto. Even with the currency exchange, the pricing here actually ended up being higher than the retail prices on Weverse Shop Global plus shipping costs plus duties. Which means, yes, I spent just under $800 after tax on SIX ITEMS. This is, of course, on top of the ticket price for a floor seat ($845 after tax per ticket, and I went to BOTH days), transportation ($75 just on Uber there and back on Day 1 — I decided to drive to the subway for Day 2), and water ($15 per can per day — which is highway robbery even if I refilled the shit out of that can). So, all in all, I spent just over $2,500 for the entire weekend — and this is without the cost of flight and hotel for going to another city. 

Do I regret it? No. Would I do it all over again? ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY.

BTS World Tour: ARIRANG in Toronto — Day 2

(Warning: This post is long and photo-heavy.)

So, Day 2 of the BTS World Tour ARIRANG in Toronto.

Iris and I were exhausted from Saturday because, on top of the concert itself (during which I carried my ARMY Bomb in one hand and my phone in the other to take a million videos and photos during a RELENTLESS, TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR), walking 15,000+ steps in the rain is TIRING AF. Luckily, we didn't have anything to do but watch the actual concert on Sunday, so we decided to get to Rogers Stadium for 6:00PM, leaving just enough time to get the ARMY ZONE gift (we were hoping it might be different from the member photo card set on Saturday, but it was the same), line up to get into the fan zone, and go through bag check and ticket scan. I will say, despite it raining for most of the day on Sunday, by the time we got to Rogers Stadium, the weather was PERFECT. The sun came out, the sky was clear, and it was a mild 22°C. (It was like the weather gods wanted to reward us for being SO GODDAMN SHITTY the day before.) And at 8:00PM, BTS got on stage and the rest was history.

ACT I: Setlist

1. Hooligan
2. Aliens
3. Run BTS 
4. They Don't Know 'Bout Us
5. Like Animals
6. FAKE LOVE
7. SWIM
8. Merry Go Round

Jimin performing "Aliens"

Jimin performing "Aliens"

BTS performing "Run BTS"

BTS performing "Run BTS"

V during 1st ments

Jin, Jimin, V, RM, and Jungkook during 1st ments

BTS performing "Like Animals"

Act II: Set List

1. 2.0
2. NORMAL
3. Not Today
4. MIC Drop
5. FYA/FIRE Medley
6. Body to Body
7. IDOL 

Jungkook performing "NORMAL"

Jungkook performing "NORMAL"

BTS performing "2.0"

BTS performing "2.0"

Suga performing "Not Today"

Jin performing "FIRE"

RM during 3rd ments

Encore: Set List

1. Come Over
2. Butter
3. Dynamite
4. DJ Spin That (Toronto Day 2): 00:00 (Zero O' Clock)
5. DJ Spin That (Toronto Day 2): Outro: Tear
6. Please
7. Into the Sun

BTS during encore

Jimin during encore

BTS during final ments

BTS during final ments

BTS during final ments

Fireworks!

Same set list as yesterday, of course, with the exception of the "DJ Spin That" segment, during which Toronto Day 2 got "00:00 (Zero O' Clock)" and "Outro: Tear" — which might be the most perfect song pairing of all time within the BTS discography. For those who don't know, "Outro: Tear" is a song written by the rap line about BTS' near-break-up in 2017. We all thought it was a song about a terrible romantic break-up for years, until Suga revealed in an interview that it's a song written by them to each other, and it became even more heart-wrenching. "00:00 (Zero O' Clock)," released two years after "Outro: Tear," is a song of hope and renewal; the day always resets at midnight, so no matter how bad things get, we can start over again. It was the pairing of these two specific sub-unit songs — one sung entirely by the vocal line and one sung entirely by the rap line — played one after the other, especially now that they're all back together after the military, that made this segment the most poignant of any date on the ARIRANG tour. Toronto truly got something special this night.

On that note, it seems like all the confetti and fireworks that they couldn't launch on Saturday night because of the rain was released in its entirety on Sunday. There was a point when there was so much confetti in the air that it looked like a total white-out and you couldn't even see the stage. And it was the perfect ending to a glorious BTS concert weekend. 

As per usual, you can view all my video clips from this concert on my Instagram. 

BTS World Tour: ARIRANG in Toronto — Day 1

(Warning: This post is very long and photo-heavy.)

THE DAY HAS COME. BTS WORLD TOUR ARIRANG HAS FINALLY ARRIVED IN TORONTO. 

Without having merch to worry about (my friend Iris got everything for me through VIP shopping), I decided to get to Rogers Stadium around 4:00PM because I wanted to stop at ARMY ZONE first and didn't know what the line-ups would be like. Toronto is, so far, the only stop in North America on the ARIRANG Tour that got an ARMY ZONE — it's basically a booth set-up for ARMY Membership holders to get a free gift. (FYI, our gift was a set of exclusive photo cards with TORONTO printed on the back.) Of course, I didn't have to get there nearly as early as I did because there was no line-up at all by the time I got to the ARMY ZONE booths. Went straight to a staff member, showed my concert ticket and my membership card, and got my pack of photo cards within 2 minutes. (Turns out, the line-ups are typically at opening time with virtually no-line ups later in the day.) Of course, I still had to wait for soundcheck to be over at 6:00PM to meet with Iris. Which meant I had 1.5 hours to kill. (In order to preserve my phone battery, I literally vaped and people-watched for over an hour. Even I am impressed with myself.)

The weather started off pretty great — warm and sunny. Over the next hour, there was a little drizzle here and there, but nothing crazy. Rain was in the forecast for today, so I had brought two waterproof ponchos with me and put one on just in case. By the time 5:30PM rolled around and I went to line-up to get into the stadium, it started raining. By the time I got through bag check and ticket scan and walked into the stadium's fan area to meet with Iris, it was pouring. Thank god I already had my poncho on because I would've been soaked within a couple minutes. Of course, by 7:00PM, the thunderstorm started. Lightning streaked across the sky, a weather delay warning was put up on the big screens, and the people that were already seated in the metal grandstands were asked to head outside of the stadium for safety. 

Obligatory ARMY Bomb photo (In the Rain edition)

By 7:30PM, with the delay warning still in effect, the security was allowing those of us with floor seats to go into the stadium. So Iris and I — who had seats in different sections — went off into our own section entrances. By 7:50PM, even though it was still pouring rain, the venue made the announcement that the concert will go on as planned. I gotta say, it really speaks to the dedication of BTS and their staff to continue with the concert. I mean, I know that cancelling a concert results in a plethora of losses — for BTS, their company, and their fans — but honestly, artists have cancelled concerts for much less. And man, I am so glad the concert went on, because torrential downpour or not, it was FUCKING INCREDIBLE.

ACT I: Setlist

1. Hooligan
2. Aliens
3. Run BTS 
4. They Don't Know 'Bout Us
5. Like Animals
6. FAKE LOVE
7. SWIM
8. Merry Go Round

BTS performing "Hooligan"

BTS performing "Aliens"

BTS performing "Aliens"

BTS performing "Aliens"

BTS performing "Aliens"

BTS performing "Run BTS"

BTS performing "Run BTS"

J-Hope performing "Run BTS"

BTS during 1st ments

Jimin during 1st ments

Jin, Jimin, and V during 1st ments

BTS during 1st ments

BTS performing "Like Animals"

RM performing "Like Animals"

RM performing "FAKE LOVE"

Jin performing "FAKE LOVE"

J-Hope performing "Merry Go Round"

Act II: Set List

1. 2.0
2. NORMAL
3. Not Today
4. MIC Drop
5. FYA/FIRE Medley
6. Body to Body
7. IDOL 

BTS performing "2.0"

BTS performing "2.0"

BTS performing "2.0"

BTS performing "2.0"

Jungkook performing "NORMAL"

Jungkook and J-Hope during 2nd ments

Jungkook during 2nd ments

Suga during 3rd ments

J-Hope during 3rd ments

RM during 3rd ments

Encore: Set List

1. Come Over
2. Butter
3. Dynamite
4. DJ Spin That (Toronto Day 1): Outro: Wings
5. DJ Spin That (Toronto Day 1): DOPE
6. Please
7. Into the Sun

BTS during 4th ments

Jimin, V, RM, and Jungkook during 4th ments

J-Hope during 4th ments

Jungkook and V performing "DOPE"

Jungkook and V performing "DOPE"

Jungkook and V performing "DOPE"

BTS during final ments

BTS during final ments

We've seen them perform in rain before, but never like this. BTS gave it their all in a fucking TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR, which made the experience truly unforgettable for everyone involved. I wasn't sure how I was going to like the 360 stage but it gave everyone in the stadium equally amazing views. I didn't think there was a particular side that they favoured — they even changed the choreography so they would be facing all four directions throughout a song — and all members made sure to spend time all around the stage and on all four ramps. Plus, RM in a Maple Leafs jersey, V in a Canada hat, and the rest of them with Canada patches sewn on their shirts made their Canadian visit a little more special. They acknowledged, more than once and by more than one member, that they know we've been waiting over ten years for their return to Toronto and they're so happy to be back. While there has been criticism of HYBE continually treating their Canadian fans as less than their US counterparts, tonight was proof that they love us and love being here.

I can't wait to do it all over again tomorrow.

As per usual, you can view all my video clips from this concert on my Instagram.