Cham Mani

Finally found some decent korean food. Was looking to satisfy my tofu soup craving and decided to try out this place. At $ 9.50 for the meal, it was really pretty good. Tried the kimbap too which was also amazing. I would recommend this place for a quick lunch.

Wife had hankering for Korean food while in Vancouver. Night before while going back to hotel, I spotted Jang Mo Jib nearby and was actually looking for that. Jan Mo Jib only does lunch and was closed but we happened to find Cham Mani. It had good Korean food. We ordered Bulgogi (marinated beef), Kimchi Jiggae (stew), and odeng gook (fish sausage soup) They were all good and hit the spot on rainy day.
It is very small so we had to park our stroller outside under an awning. And if you have group bigger than 8 or so, you may have to wait for a bit. Owner said the building that is attached which had the restroom closes after certain hour. So plan on that.

So I am not really a connoisseur of Korean food. I haven’t been to a lot of Korean restaurants and I am not really sure what’s «authentic» Korean food and what isn’t.
With that said, I’ve always been super impressed and happy with the food I’ve had at Cham Mani. It’s a really cozy space (you might be able to fit eight or so people inside — I typically get whatever to go) and it definitely has that charming «hole in the wall» feel to it in the Downtown core. I’ve only ever seen two people (a middle-​aged Korean couple) working at once. The kitchen is kind-​of nestled behind the cash register area.
The Spicy Pork Don is $ 9 for a big bowl of rice, spicy pork mixed with vegetables, and a small bowl of kimchi. I try not to avoid eating pork to be honest, however it’s my favourite thing on the menu. Just enough spiciness mixed with a really good savouriness from the vegetables and the rice. Kimchi is Kimchi — again, I’m not really familiar enough with Korean cuisine to say what good Kimchi tastes like and what bad Kimchi tastes like. I like it.
If in doubt, try it. :)

Not amazing but it certainly is good enough for me to visit occasionally to order some food. Have not ordered anything awful yet so feel free to come try this place out.

I came in for an early lunch when it was empty. A lady was placing the silverware at all of the tables and directed me to sit at at the counter by the street-​facing window since I was alone. They have a huge menu up on the wall, and I decided to order the beef don (bulgogi dupbap).
The food came out SUPER quick, considering I ordered a beef dish. However, the bulgogi was well cooked and the dish was warm, tasted of home, and sweet. It came with kimchi and fish cakes for side dishes. The fish cakes were delicious, but the kimchi was a bit bland. The dish itself though was just what I needed for lunch on a cold November day.
The lady that served me was nice and quick, but didn’t go out of the way to make me feel super welcome. I guess that’s just city life.
One thing to note though– my tray of food didn’t come with water. It’s possible I missed it, but there wasn’t a water cooler to get it myself either. I definitely could’ve asked for it, but I wasn’t thirsty, so I simply didn’t bother.

This place is great for if you’re eating out of the office and looking for a satisfying lunch spot. I’d imagine with the portions and prices it’d be great for students too. It has a nice cozy feel, like you’re eating at a family relative’s. I like the kimbap and the spicy pork donburi. The combos are a pretty decent deal!

This location sucks. The owner is so rude. Thy got my order wrong and didnt even change it. Never coming back. I would give this 0 stars

Good stuff. I was looking for a new place to get a quick supper before my night classes at SFU Harbour Centre. This place had decent Unilocal reviews so I checked it out a few times. It’s not fancy, and you can’t really ask for them to change anything on the menu, but what you see is what you get. Family owned, competently if plainly cooked Korean food.

Great hole in the wall place for a rainy day! And one of the few good ones where you don’t have to make the trek to the west end if you’re on the other side of downtown.
The place is nice and homey with a mom and pop vibe and they can probably comfortably seat 10 in the entire restaurant. Food is on the more affordable side compared to the west end Korean restaurants without sacrificing portion size.
Ordered the kimchi jigae and spicy pork don — nice comfort foods on cold and wet days. Too bad they’re not open Sundays! Note that they only take debit/​cash not credit.

The food here is generally very good. I haven’t anything bad yet. The space is very small and on cold rainy days when it’s packed the owner will tell you where to sit. If you overstay your welcome she won’t think twice about telling you to scram. Finally if you’re seated and in mid-​meal she won’t hesitate to ask you to move if another group comes in. It’s odd service I’ll say that much

Big portions, spicy food!
I recommend the Spicy Squid and Pork, and the Bibimbap.
Service is friendly and quick.
They don’t take credit cards.

Pretty good, cheap, fast, somewhat healthy, and a high level of spice. Small seating area.

Relatively quick service in cozy little restaurant, good for students at SFU’s Harbour Centre wanting a quick and tasty bite in between classes/​tutorials and those who are sick of getting pizza all the time. Generally I just take out something simple and quick like a bibimbap or something, which is tasty and filling. The staff is friendly and courteous. The place never seemed very busy when I went in. There’s also free wifi inside (there’s a sign on the left side of the restaurant) so you can either watch the Canucks lose on the TV or watch girly Korean music videos on your phone. It’s up to you, really~
~ DaSHAWN

Sometimes you just have to experience it yourself, and that’s exactly what happened here. I’m one to try new things, all the time, and money be damned, whether it is good or not, everyone’s got different taste buds, too bad this one robbed me of some dollars. So how did I end up at this place, well my partner was having one of her cravings, and as a good man I think I do pretty good at satisfying those cravings and taking some risks as to where to go so I can say, «yeah, I tried that place» and out whipped the phone to look for this Korean satisfier. Coming down to this part of town on a Saturday, we wondered if this place was even open, as it’s around what I like to call school district.
We walked up to the doorway, and it was open with one couple finishing up their meal, always a good sign when there is some showings of life in a place, granted that it was pretty dead around this part. I asked my partner if she would like to stay, or go to another place, and she gave the OK to proceed, and looking at the menu we ended up going with the #7 (SoonDuBu) soft tofu in spicty broth with veggie as she was wanting some tofu hot pot. She went to the cash register where an older woman came out of the kitchen to take our order, and also asked us when we finished our order, «are you ok with spicy», we said yes, and the wait begins.
I remembered once, prior to us getting our meal, my dear said that the soup base from the woman of the couple that finished her meal didn’t look good, but we were still ‘game’ on trying this place due to the very good reviews. We sat in the corner closest to the kitchen, one of the two of the walls lined with their menu in big type, instead of you going for their home made colored paper printed menus, looking at the pictures just awaiting our meal. Sitting on chairs (thanks for my sweetie to confirm this!), awaiting for our eats coming out of a tiny kitchen, looking at the tv in the process, and just waiting for what was to come.
The woman brought out or food on a tray, the little pot boiling and bubbly with a bowl of rice and a small plate of fish cake and kimchi. I thought the color to be a little off, a little two orange from what I have had before at other restaurants. After allowing the pot to simmer a little, my dear took the first sip of the broth, and she just looked at the bowl. I wondered this myself and decided to taste what she just had to see what that confused look was. The soup was practically water with a packet of instant noodle soup base, mixed heavily with squid bits making up the rest of the soup broth taste. The pot was pretty much filled with tofu, and enough squid bits that I didn’t want anymore, and an egg, too bad when they brought it out, it was already cracked in there, and unseen to the eye until we started searching. This was not good to me, and what made it go down a notch was the price: $ 8.95 for that much, I might as well bite the bullet for gas and drive out to Korean town (Coquitlam), cause for that price, or a little cheaper, I could get way better Korean food… way better.
This was like a meal whipped up by a rookie that wanted to spead the process and put the dish in front of him catching the hockey game on tv. Yes, this place was made for students, but even students have a sense of taste buds, you think?

I was craving for Korean food and what led me here was highly raved reviews of this place. I am not sure if I ordered the wrong item or what but my food was disappointing. Very disappointing.
I ordered #7 Soon Dufu AKA Soft tofu pot soup with rice ($ 8.95 I think). With the soup pot and a bowl of white rice came with two side dishes: kimchi and sliced fish cake. The soft tofu soup was piping hot when it arrived on the table but the taste was severely lacking. Instead of using broth, made with real bones and hours of love, the soup base is made from instant Korean soup-​base mix. That’s cheating at its finest. $ 8.95 is NOT cheap. I can be in Korean town in Coquitlam getting way better food with this price so that’s no excuse to compromise the quality of your food like that. The soup had plenty of soft tofu, and 1 scrambled egg, with stingy pieces of thinly sliced white onions, may 3 squid tentacles, and maybe two tiny shell-​less oysters all from frozen packs.
The amount of «stuff» in the soup is ridiculous. This is the most petty Korean food I’ve had so far. The only up side, is that the food and eating area is very home-​y. Home-​y doesn’t mean good. In this context it means the food tasted like it’s made by some Korean mothers who don’t know how to cook, but still possess some, but minimal cooking skills. The kimchi and sliced fish cakes were mediocre.
I’d rather commute all the way out to Coquitlam where I can find affordable and quality Korean food.

Authentic. cozy little place
They serve the best soondae in Vancouver
Solid

Yay! I’m a fan.
I went to this place for the first time today. I got the kimchi bibimbap, which was huge, delicious, and came with soup and 2 sides I wasn’t wasn’t expecting. For the price I paid (I believe it was $ 7.95), it was a ton of food and I left feeling very satisfied.
It is a very small place, and I came out smelling like their kitchen. I never like that. And I think some of their food had MSG in it. I should have asked so I could include that information in this review. But, all in all, this place was really great and I recommend it. I will definitely be going back.

I love this place. The prices are great, the food is authentic, and the woman running the place is friendly and no-​nonsense. The menu is relatively varied, though missing a few good Korean standards (tonkatsu, dwenjjang jiggae).
I’d go for the jaeyook dopbap (spicy pork on rice) or the kimchi bibimbap (kimchi, bean sprouts, and veggies on rice). There’s also free tea in the corner, though it’s not obvious.
The atmosphere is somewhat like a student cafeteria, but that’s not a bad thing. It’s a place for a quick lunch at a good price. I go here often, and will continue to do so!

Very cheap affordable lunch! Its owned by a family and the owners are really really nice and helpful when unfamiliar with the menu. You can leave with a good solid lunch under $ 8.
I like the KimchiJjiGae, which is a kimchi stew but it can be a bit spicy for some people.

Really cheap, authentic Korean food.
It’s a tiny spot that plays actual Korean music, and has wallpaper with Korean characters.
I only had the dukbokki, which is rice cakes in this hot pepper sauce. For $ 4.95 it was a decent amount of food. The dish included a hard-​boiled egg, a common ingredient in a lot of the Korean dishes. I also got rice, which was another buck or two.
Overall, it was a very satisfying meal. I could’ve used more spices in the dukbokki, as it’s SUPPOSED to be spicy.
They also have self-​serve water and tea.
I’ll definitely be back to try more!