Hearty Korean, Momo Japanese & Korean

I have previously blogged about a few Korean restaurants in Winnipeg. The laundry list of Korean (and Japanese) eateries in this city is difficult to keep track of. Thankfully I have given myself a mission to try and chronicle most of these places. Sometimes I get extremely surprised, sometimes I come home slightly disappointed. Momo Korean & Japanese Restaurant falls into the latter.

A mom and pop restaurant in the south of Winnipeg near the University of Manitoba, Momo Korean & Japanese should have all it needs to satisfy a hungry audience: good location, high traffic and a instantly memorable name. The restaurant itself features nice decor and seemed to have the hustle and bustle of a busy place (at least for a weekday lunch). I find it incomprehensible for a restaurant to feel the need to attempt both Korean and Japanese dishes, two established and very different cuisines. I would have preferred this establishment stay true to their heritage. I understand it was meant to create a wider range of options for diners but, in my opinion, diners will come for good food, no matter what ethnicity, cuisine or culture that food represents.

I ordered two dishes from the Korean menu. The Dak bulgogi featured spicy chicken fried with vegetables in a rich fermented Korean bean paste. Very tasty, the flavours of the paste permeated through the dish and wrapped itself around the morsels of chicken. Only gripe was that the serving was mediocre compared to the price charged.

As winter sets in, I have resigned myself to ordering the Gamtajang (Pork Bone Soup) at all subsequent Korean restaurants. Here a bowl came piping hot with two medium sized pieces of pork bone in a spicy broth. The pork was nicely fall off the bone tender, but the soup itself was ordinary and lacked any starch (normally they contain tofu or potato) to soak up the flavours. A decent dish.

Hallmark of any Korean restaurant are their Banchans (little appetizer plates served with meals). Momo offers a generic trio of Bean Sprouts, Kimchi and Marinated Potatoes. Overall nothing special and they are as you would expect.

It is hard for me to get excited about Momo. While not bad, one can find more exciting (and cheaper) Korean in Winnipeg. A meal at Momo may suffice if you are caught in the area, but beware of the slow service and, slightly, overpriced offerings.