Blog — THE EVERYDAY FOODIE

Just a few months ago I made my biggest expenditure yet by purchasing my very first townhouse at Yonge and Sheppard, and within this time I have been trying to explore my new neighbourhood looking into the local grub and restaurants I have easy access to now. When Han Ba Tang contacted me just a couple of months after I purchased my first home, I was not only excited that I was going to be able to try some Korean fusion tapas but also that it is literally a 10 minute walk away from my new home! The timing was perfect for this blogger media preview and it was a sign of great things to come.

In Korean, Han Ba Tang means “one full round.“ Whether it’s one full round of beer or one full round of laughter, Han Ba Tang is sure to provide the guest with one full round of fun and unique food. They pride themselves on serving modern tapas style food but using traditional Korean ingredients. For instance, have you ever ordered pizza before at a Korean restaurant? Or how about cheese fondue? No? How about squid ink pasta? If you are already intrigued by this please keep on reading because that is exactly what Han Ba Tang offers on their new menu. This is not your average Korean restaurant.

With its concept of old meets new, the Han Ban Tang interior has preserved a bit of history by keeping the original interior design from before World War II. From the bare exposed brick walls to the chalk boards that change on a monthly basis and the worn tiled floors, the owner wanted to keep the rustic yet industrial feel of the restaurant from the old times yet still create a new warm and welcoming environment for the new generation.

I could tell that a lot of time and work had gone to prepare for this event. My friend and I were immediately greeted at the door when we arrived and taken to our table that was reserved specifically for "The Everyday Foodie,” sign and all! The one thing I did not know what to expect was the food itself as we were not told beforehand the dishes we would be previewing. I fully expected to only preview a few samples of some of the dishes Han Ba Tang offered, but to my pleasant surprise a menu consisting of 10 full size dishes were being cooked in the kitchen for just our two hungry stomachs. Fortunately I came prepared by eating a small lunch beforehand.

Below begins the Korean feast from start to finish, 10 dishes in all!

Sweet Potato Chips

Sweet Potato Fries served with Wasabi Mayo

Chilli Shrimp

Lightly battered Shrimp, dipped in Sweet Chilli sauce

Kalbi Tacos & Spicy Pork Tacos

Grilled Kalbi or Spicy Pork on a bed of Shredded Cabbage with Red Onions and a light House Aoli

Kimchi Fries with Bulgogi

Extra Crispy Fries topped with Kimchi, Aioli Gravy, Sizzling Bulgogi & Green Onions

Lobster

Steamed Lobster with a House Sauce

Black Squid Ink Pasta

Squid Ink Pasta, Mussels with a house made Gochujang Cream Sauce topped with Korean Beef Cake, Ricotta Cheese

Spicy Chicken with Fondue

Grilled Chicken in a sizzling plate with a mix of Rice Cakes, Onions, Carrots, with a side of Creamy Cheese Fondue

Spoon Pizza

Mashed Sweet Potato Crust with Vegetables, Tomato Sauce topped with Cheese, and Bacon or Kimchi

Spicy Seafood Soup

Shrimp, Mussels, Crab with Korean Ramyun

Dried Korean Persimmon

Lightly battered and deep fried with a house made Cinnamon Whipped Cream

With so much food, Han Ba Tang was even nice enough to doggy bag anything that was left over for me to take back home. For anyone who will be coming to Han Ba Tang in the future, out of the 10 dishes I tried my favourites and the ones I would definitely recommend to get would be the Sweet Potato Chips, Kimchi Fries with Bulgogi, Black Squid Ink Pasta, and the Spoon Pizza (definitely get the Spoon Pizza).

Not only does Han Ba Tang put all their love into making their Korean tapas, they also serve a wide variety of cocktails. The waitress recommended me their “Live to 1000” cocktail and my friend got the Sona Colada. Both were very refreshing and they both had a Korean twist with the added Soju in the mix.

Live to 1000 - Ginseng Soju, Honey, Hennessy

Sona Colada - Pineapple Soju, Rum, Coconut Liqueur, Pineapple Juice

As if this alcohol wasn’t enough during our tasting, Han Ba Tang also provided us with their “Flights” which are shots of their Infused Soju that comes in a variety of flavours. We got to try 4 of them pictured below (Strawberry, Apple Cinnamon, Pineapple, Citrus).

I was so impressed with the event that Han Ba Tang put together and as I said before you really could tell how much time and effort the team worked at this to make it run as smoothly as it did. We were introduced to the entire staff from the front of the house to the cooks in the kitchen who worked tirelessly throughout the night to feed us all. The owner and manager both spent some time during the event to explain their journey to open up this new restaurant just this past fall and as most people in Toronto know, competition for Korean restaurants is monstrous in this area of Yonge and Sheppard all the way up to Finch. If the food and service maintains at this high level from what I experienced through this preview though, I am confident that Han Ba Tang will stand out from the crowd. If you are ever in the mood for some Korean food or just in the area I strongly recommend you to come try this restaurant out! Did I mention the Spoon Pizza?

Having started this blog only less than a year ago, I would have never dreamed to have been invited to experience so many great foodie opportunities and events within that time. I’ve had the honour to have had full meals prepared by Top Chefs, had exclusive food perks before the general public, been given complimentary tickets to various events throughout the city, and even got some free clothing, but this one that I am about to blog about may just be the highlight of them all.

With being such a public figure among the culinary world in Canada and abroad, even the non foodies have probably heard the name Chef Mark McEwan before. For us foodies though, we know Chef Mark McEwan as a head judge on the hit TV show Top Chef Canada, the host of The Heat, authour to many top selling cookbooks, and of course known for his culinary empire across Toronto from his many fine dining restaurants including North 44, Bymark, Fabbrica, and One.

The back drop to the McEwan All Access 4.0 event took place at Mark McEwan’s One Restaurant located at the trendy, upscale Yorkville neighbourhood in Toronto. It’s an exclusive invite only event where 20 lucky guests this year had the opportunity to savour the gourmet food and beverages offered at One Restaurant, while given the opportunity to mingle and network among many other people in the food industry. Television personality Michelle Jobin from Global News hosted this event and of course the main star of the night, Chef Mark McEwan was present.

It was a night full of great conversation with fellow foodies and of course Mark McEwan himself as we all had the opportunity to pick that brain of his and go behind the scenes to find out more about his celebrated culinary enterprise. Throughout this first year of my blogging adventure, I also follow many other foodies on social media and at this event many of those people were invited as well. It was great to finally put a face to these Instagram and Twitter profiles as it humanizes this whole experience. It showed me that the food scene here in Toronto really has a tight knit food-loving community full of passionate people all striving to showcase its food and its restaurants in arguably one of the best foodie cities in the world.

Now lets get to the good stuff. Feast your eyes below on what was served that night.

Steak Tartare - Quail Egg, Arugula and Pickled Shallot, Black Truffle, and Buttered Crostini

Blue Crab and Avocado Spoons - Red Onion Marmalade, Sesame Seeds, Celery

Truffled Arancini - Buffalo Mozzarella, Romesco, Basil, 15 yr. Balsamic

Pork Belly Steamed Buns - Pickled Carrot Slaw, Yuzu Aioli, Coriander

Mushroom Risotto Spoons - Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, Truffle Shavings, Truffle Oil

Assorted Mini Donuts - Chocolate, Apple Cinnamon, Powdered Sugar

Not pictured here that were also on the menu were the Lobster Spoons, Crispy Shrimp Tacos, Deviled Quail Eggs, Mini Cheese Cakes

It was an unforgettable night full of amazing food and cocktails courtesy of One Restaurant and wine from Stoneleigh Marlborough. Not only did the 20 of us get to be part of this amazing experience, we also walked away with a gift bag worth over $60 including a personalized copy of Chef Mark McEwan’s cookbook, Great Food at Home. Mark was also kind of enough to sit down to get to know us one by one and sign our copy of his cookbook. My last year’s new year resolution was to start this blog. With 2014 almost over and 2015 just around the corner, I think I’ll make my next year’s resolution to become a better home cook and what better way to guide me with that than through the words of Chef Mark McEwan.