A Korean restaurant named Piggy’s

Banchan

Piggy’s is a Korean restaurant? We wondered as we searched the Thornhill complex for some new place to eat. We were hesitant at first as the place wasn’t too full (we were pretty early). By the end of our dinner, though, it was packed. And it had good reason to be!

First, the Banchan (appetizers/side dishes) had a few additions to what we usually get. They had sweet roasted seaweed with sesame seeds, which we all enjoyed. They also had some sort of apple/pasta salad which was a bit unusual for us, but the girls liked it. They also included Korean pancakes, yum!

We figured it was time to try Korean dishes we had not ordered before. So, we got some Mul Naeung Meyon which is sweet potato vermicelli in an icy cold broth. This would be the Korean version of gazpacho. There were some spicy versions but we ordered the mild one. It was quite a refreshing dish. The soup had crushed ice and tasted of cucumbers. DD#1 really enjoyed this! It was a good palate cleanser to the other new dish we ordered, Bbeo Jjim—a hot and sweet pork bone stew. It was very spicy and had us sniffling after a few spoonfuls. The dish was hearty and very flavorful. It had a lot of rice cake and potatoes which were very effective fillers.

Pork Stew

Mul Naeung Meyon and Dumplings

The girls and grandma shared some meat and vegetable dumplings and our usual Bul go gi (marinated beef). The dumplings were tasty but a bit on the dry side. I particularly liked the sweet-sour chili soy sauce which went with it, though.  The Bul go gi beef was tender and the marinade was delicious. It also came with hot pot rice.



Bulgogi

The servings were big. We overestimated our appetites so we got “to-go” boxes at the end of our meal. I was quite impressed with the thought taken to use heat-sealed containers for the soup! Awesome! Other restaurants would just let you figure out how to get the leftovers home without spilling half of it.

With rice cake and potatoes expanding in our tummies and our leftover boxes in tow, we headed home slightly smelling of bbq and hotpot. Quite an interesting discovery! And the candies they gave out were really good! Now, if I can only understand what type they were and how to find them in the Korean grocery store…