haroo korean homestyle cuisine: bibimbap and seafood pancake

my first every bibimbap experience was at haroo in richmond. i decided to try it here because of the extremely high score on urbanspoon but after having this, and then trying multiple other korean restaurants, i dont think it lives up to the hype as its good but not mind-blowing.

we ordered from the lunch menu which is not bad for the price-portion ratio but our seafood pancake was a bit expensive

banchan - complimentary appetizers (?) not sure what the real name is for these but these were good. i did not have anything to compare them to at the time but i remember enjoying them quite a bit, especially the salad dressing. 

bibimbap and tofu soup set and more banchan ($9.95-$10.95: not sure) but a good deal!

bulgolgi soup: this was my favourite part of the combo! it had quite a bit of meat and veggies in it which was surprising and also some vermicelli type noodles as well. it was piping hot through most of the meal and was quite a large bowl to be part of a set.

4.5/5

bibimbap - because it was part of a set, it was a bit smaller but thats okay with me. good but i feel like they were a bit light on the toppings. it was the first time i had bibimbap so i didnt know it was a bit bland in flavour. the hot sauce mixed in was much better but i still felt something was lacking.

3.75/5

haemul-pajeon: seafood pancake ($17.95) - a bit expensive in my opinion even though it wasn't small, i wish they gave us a choice of m/l. there was a decent amount of seafood and vegetable and the pancake itself was quite good but i was very put off by how oily the bottom was. 

3.25/5

overall, the food here is good but not my favourite korean place so far. i think the expensive pancake put me off but the lunch deals are pretty good! i mightve gone in with my expectations too high but i didnt have anything to compare it to either so maybe a return visit is in order? one thing i did like was that the place was very small and warm which made the meal quite comfortable.

**UPDATE: THEY ARE NOW ONLY OPEN FOR DINNER ): 

potter's garden korean bbq: korean food for a happy tummy

 having to go to work at metrotown in about an hour, my mom and i looked for a quick lunch place and stumbled upon potter's garden.

i hadn't tried much korean fare before this so we werent sure what to order but was pleasantly surprised by the delicious food and reasonable lunch prices at potter's garden! 

complimentary banchan: sweet potatoes, kimchi and bean sprouts: all quite good! 

paejon: seafood pancake ($9.95) - the best thing about this was the fact that we could get it in a medium size as opposed to the HUGE one at other korean places. this was pretty good, not too oily or thick with dough but mostly comprised of imitation crabmeat.

3.95/5

pork bulgolgi: panfried spicy pork with mixed vegetables with rice ($12.95) - my mom and i really enjoyed this, it was flavourful and had a lot of pork in it! not too spicy but enough to give the entire dish a lot of flavour. 

4.5/5

tofu soup (came with pork bulgolgi) - SO GOOD...perfect amount of spice and lots of tofu bits. you could also taste some seafood which was not overpowered by the spicy. the best bowl for a cold day.

4.5/5

overall, potters garden today is still one of my favourite korean restaurants and tastes very homemade and simple. their lunch deals are a GREAT value and delicious :)  

cho sun: not bad but not great korean fare

i have a newfound LOVE for korean food. i recently learned to eat spicier foods and korean meshes my two favourite things (usually) being spicy and healthy(ier)

going back to the summer time, i asked my friend what her favourite korean place was as a starting point and she suggested cho sun so with a group of my friends, we decided to try it,

one of my best friends hates the smell of korean barbecue so we opted for food that did not require any grilling and i ended up ordering bibimbap to share with my friend and a seafood pancake to share with 2 friends. 

bibimbap (~$9.99): rice, eggs, veggies and minced beef on a bed of rice served in a stone bowl - this was okay. a bit tasteless without the spicy sauce (which my friend could not handle) and therefore was bland for her. i actually love bibimbap because of all the veggies and generally healthy meal.

3.75/5 

seafood pancake (~$15.99): pancake made with assorted seafood and vegetables - this was very oily and was lacking in seafood. the portion size was okay for the price but still leaning towards the expensive side.

3/5

overall food was not bad but it was not amazing. this was one of my first experiences with korean so i had nothing to compare it to but it quite bland, oily and overpriced here at cho sun. maybe we just didnt know what to order but this is not somewhere i would choose as a korean food regular.