Ka Chi Hello Cupbop (Korean)

Ka Chi Hello Cupbop is in Toronto's core at 414 Dundas St. W., a block east of Spadina. It recently started serving a Wednesday all-day buffet, at quite a discount. Ka Chi has a bright modern interior. Reusable metal chopsticks are provided which is and are excellent. There is even free wi-fi.

Miso soup had sat in the pot for a while but was surprisingly rich and savoury; it's easy to miss at the back in a tureen. Kimchi wasn't bad, a bit stale but thankfully the heat wasn't excessive. Bean sprouts were surprisingly fresh. Mishy loved the japchae glass noodles; I also enjoyed them as they were quite well-seasoned. Fried noodles were delicious and with a nice savour. Snow peas with shrimps very good and mildly flavourful. Fried rice was good, also with a mild but noticeable savour. Stir fried eggplant was not only good, it was among the better eggplant I've ever had as I'm usually not a fan, but the beef gravy flavour for this really made it.

Mishy noted that the lemon chicken was dried out a bit but still good, and I agree it was quite tasty though a little bit chewy. Stir-fried mushrooms with beef were delicious. Tuna and beef kimbap (sushi maki rolls) were both very good although the soy provided was a little salty but no complaints. Beef gyoza were delicious, comparable to Japanese places.

Tteokbokki, a Korean streetfood I haven't had before, had some heat but at least it wasn't too painful or persistent. It had an interesting flavour reminiscent of alcohol. Pork bulgogi was delicious. Kimchi rice also had some heat to it so I only had a small amount but it was quite good. Ginger beef also was a little dry but not bad at all. Sweet and sour pork was delicious with an apple-flavoured sauce. Seafood pancake was flavourful and more enjoyable than I thought one would be.

Mapo tofu was very good and not excessively hot. Beef bulgogi was delicious, a tiny bit dry but not enough to matter. Spicy pork bone wasn't bad and at least it didn't have a gamey flavour. Spring rolls were actually quite good and well seasoned. Dongpo pork belly did have the gamey flavour, and would have been much better made into bacon.. Much of the gaminess was in the fat so taking off the top layer of it helped. Scrambled tomato was scrambled eggs with tomato slice sections, which was like scrambled eggs with ketchup and was quite good, better than I expected. Broccoli was quite good and also with a mild savour; I think that the sauce is used for many dishes. Stir-fried beef with garlic shoots were well seasoned and savoury.

For dessert, chocolate, strawberry and vanilla ice creams were rock-hard but surprisingly not freezer burned; I think they are kept too cold on purpose to reduce portion size. They were all quite good once they were given a chance to defrost a little and become soft enough to eat. The all-day price, even for dinner, is only $18.99 and it’s $15.99 if paying in cash. This is a fantastic price; the offerings were quite good with only minor shortcomings and only one dish I wasn’t big on. I’ll definitely be adjusting up for value!

Rating: 7.5 / 10 + 3 value adjustment = 10.5 / 10 = 10 / 10