Shawn was craving Korean food for lunch, so we decided to try The Owl of Minerva. I ordered the gamjatang, or pork bone soup, as most people know it by. I've actually never had pork bone soup before, but have only heard delightful things about it, so I thought it was time to finally give it a try. Judging by the amounts of pork bone soup being served, it seems that this is what The Owl of Minerva is really known for. Their version comes with huge pieces of super-meaty pork bone, a massive boiled potato, vegetables, Korean spicy pepper powder, and rice or glass noodles (I opted for the noodles). I can see why it's their most popular dish, because it's pretty damn phenomenal. The soup is super-flavourful with just the right amount of spice, and the meat is so tender, it just falls right off the bone. As for the service, it was friendly and ridiculously efficient (as in, our food got to our table in maybe two minutes). For research purposes, I'll probably try pork bone soup at a few other Korean restaurants... but this one is a definite re-order for me.
"The Owl Minerva" as a name for a restaurant is really odd! Hehe.
ReplyDeleteI Love pork bone soup!! yummm
Haha, I know, right? Totally reminds me of Harry Potter, lol. But it's apparently a really popular chain here in Toronto for Korean food!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe it took me this long to actually try pork bone soup! Where the hell have I been? Oh, man, I have a lot of catching up on eating to do. :P
This is my fave place for pork bone soup! Did you go to the one at Yonge/Finch?
ReplyDeleteI always like mine loaded w/ extra potatoes. :)
I went to the one at First Markham Place (Hwy. 7, between Woodbine and Warden)! There are SO MANY Asian restaurants there, I need to go exploring (and by "exploring," I mean eating). :)
ReplyDeleteDo you get yours with rice or the glass noodles? I got the noodles, but maybe the rice is better? I just feel like rice is so out of place in a big bowl of soup, lol.
Uggnnnnh, I'm hungry. I love that my own blog has succeeded in making me hungry. :(
I LOVE PORK BONE SOUP-y!!! I was TOTALLY going to suggest going there for our next meet. I go to the one at Yonge and Finch and it's always jam packed. So cannot believe you've never had before.
ReplyDeleteAnd they don't include those japchae noodles in the soup at the Y&F location :-(.
The Owl of Minerva is SUCH a weird name for a Korean restaurant since Minerva's a Roman goddess and all.
Haha, I avoid Yonge Street whenever I can, to be honest. And, of course, a Korean restaurant at Yonge & Finch is gonna be packed! :P We'll go to another location next time we meet. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, the location I went to in Markham had the option of either rice or the noodles... Maybe you have to ask for it specifically?
I echo Mary's comments - I've only been once to the Yonge & Finch location and I didn't remember having an option for noodles! I only find it hard to believe you've never tried this b/c you seem to have a lot of Asian food and this is one of those must-haves! I also like this place at Yonge & Finch called Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu. It's authentically Korean (I get mistaken for Korean sometimes and I totally got greeted as such when I walked in, lol) and always packed with people and of course, their tofu soup is GOOD. Cheap, too.
ReplyDeleteHaha, Kahyen, I know it's a total shame that I hadn't tried pork bone soup until this week. :P But I rarely ever venture to Yonge Street nowadays, 'cause I live all the way in Markham now. :( But now that I've found an Owl of Minerva nearby, I see many bowls of pork bone soup in my future. :)
ReplyDeleteI need to keep this Buk Chang Don Soon in mind -- always looking for good Asian food! :)