Moo Kyo Dong Nak Ji

We came here for our first meal while waiting for our number to be called at Home of Hot Taste across the street. I’m not sure if it’s because we were with our token Korean friend who ordered in Korean, but the banchan provided for us was nothing like what i’ve had before. We had pancakes, pork jellies, eggplants, and large light pink pickled radishes, among some of the usual ones. He insists that the banchan varies at all Korean restaurants and I’m too used to the crap from Paris, but come on, I wasn’t born yesterday! I had Korean food in Toronto before, and I’ve never received that variety.
We all sat down and perused the menu without paying much attention as we knew that there was no point in ordering if our token was with us. However, it also meant that I had no idea what was ordered. Considering there were 8 of us but it’s only going to be our first meal, he made the smart move of just ordering two types of tabletop grilling meats — plain white pork and marinated beef. Both were delicious.
There seems to be a lot of 3 stars given for this restaurant and I don’t doubt that if i had come on my own this place might not have afforded me the same experience. But for now, I’m a fan. On to the second dinner.

This is about as off-​beat korean food that Toronto is going to get — well maybe not the furthest off-​beat. Nak Ji is Octopus and Makoli is a rice/​wheat based alcohol. Somehow I guess everything goes with alcohol — go figure.
I’ve seen this place since it opened a while back. I really don’t have any desire for octopus and the dozens of ways to eat them with hot sauce but settled for it after not being able to eat at another restaurant in the same plaza — more than a handful of screaming kids on an indoor playscape took away from a meal with my wife.
Back to this restaurant, the name of the place is very similar to one in Korea — a lot of restaurants open under successful names from back home. Not sure if they are related or just benefiting from using a name half way across the globe.
We order a table top soup/​stew with a kettle of makoli — one of my wife’s favourite drinks and my first time. I have to say, I really could have lived the rest of my life without ever having tried it — unless this place was unremarkable at it. The Makoli is made onsite and I thought it would have been better than what I tasted.
The food was average — nothing to write home about, but worth writing on Unilocal

The hot pot octopus is good. I also really enjoy the mung bean cake that they have in the appetizer section.
Food is spicy so be cautious!
I find their service to be weak but maybe I went on two occasions where the waitresses were having an off day?

This restaurant focuses on seafood, so you would not find the regular korean dishes like pork cutlet there.
I have been there twice and tried the octopus hot pan, dolsol bibimbap, mung bean pan cake with pork.
The octopus hot pan (served in square pan) is tasty and full of ingredients. Although we asked for mild spicy, the server has warned us it would be very spicy when we ordered. Therefore, if you cannot handle spicy or hot food, please don’t try this. Hot pan is ordered per order and minimum is two orders. Each order comes with one bowl of rice. We saved the rice to the last and asked the server to stir fried it with the left over sauce.
If you cannot eat spicy, dolsol bibimbap is a good choice. The ingredients are generous and fresh.
Mung bean pan cake is freshly made but I find the taste is too plain.
Service is fine although the server cannot communicate well in English. They cook the food in hot pan for you and let you know when it is ready to eat. Self served complimentary korean 3-​in-​1 coffee is at the entrance.
Definitely will go back again.

One of the many Korean restaurants within a short radius.
Moo Kyo Dong Nak Ji might have the most confusing name of the bunch, but at least it strays to its originality. The place itself is rather small and quaint with some quirks that I like. One thing that’s cool is that they have a ringer attached to each table booth that lets the server know you’re ready for whatever. The booths seem a bit secluded from the rest of the restaurant, but I liked it that way because I’m apparently a loner.
I ordered the Pork Rib Stew which comes served on a hot plate with a small bowl of rice. The gf ordered Korean Cold Noodles which was being advertised outside the place and caught her eye. The Pork Ribs were done well. A tad dry but it’s a big hunking piece of pork, so I’m sure I can forgive them for trying to cook it through. The chunks of pork rib were massive and boneless, for the most part. The flavor was great and the use of spices was heavy. The portion size was good so you can expect to be filled by this dish of about $ 14.
The Korean Cold noodle is a popular dish amongst those who frequent Moo Kyo, but I thought it was blah. Maybe it’s the idea of cold noodles? But I just wasn’t too fond of the flavor or the feeling of the noodles. The gf thought it was ok, but probably wouldn’t order it again. It’s literally cold noodles in a both of cooled down broth with your veggies, beef slices, and half a boiled egg. Not sure how I can describe the taste, but it wasn’t anything special.
Overall, I liked the place but it’s not something I’d frequent. I’ve never been a huge fan of Korean (except KBBQ!), so I don’t venture to many of these restaurants, but this wasn’t a bad one. I’d definitely like to give the Spicy Pork Belly a try also, though I hear you need stomach lining made of wax? Not too sure about that.