Hong Du Kkae, Average Korean

Korean food is my kryptonite, there is nothing more relaxing than sitting down next to a bowl of soup or stir fry and indulging. You might wonder ... well most Asian cuisines have soups and stir fries, but I love the mixture of Korean spices and ingredients, plus the banchans are a nice touch as well! In my ongoing task of chronicling the best Korean (and Asian) restaurants in Winnipeg, I found myself at Hong Du Kkae on a cold stormy night looking warmth and sustenance from the glowing allure of bubbling hot Korean soups, stews and fries.

Hong Du Kkae is a tad difficult to find. Located on Pembina Highway in the south of Winnipeg, it is located in a block of restaurants that veer diagonally away from the main street. That is, as you approach the turn into the strip mall, the actual restaurant becomes farther away. Odd indeed. Nevertheless, the restaurant is easy to spot once you get into the area and the large green signage beckons you forward.

The menu is small and sparse and has some odd omissions. Missing are any Bibimbaps, the classic mixed rice dish once served in a stone bowl. Also missing are most of the stir fries you would find. What diners will find though are a good listing of soups and stews and appetizer plates. Obviously wanting to focus on a subset of Korean cuisine, it makes perfect sense, at least in the blistery cold Winnipeg winters, to offer the warm soothing soups.

We started off with a Seafood Chive Pancake. A Korean specialty, it features a large egg based pancake packed full of chive and seafood (octopus, squid and shrimp) all fried together in a thin crepe. The taste of the pancake was good with bouncy seafood and tasty vegetables in the smooth egg-based batter. I felt it was missing a salty component, perhaps the typical soy dipping sauce, to compliment all the flavours, but it was overall a well executed dish.

Next up was the BibimGuksu, a cold noodle dish with spicy thin noodles marinated in Korean spices and topped with vegetables and an egg. The closest resemblance to Bibimbap on the menu, the cold noodles had a nice texture to them and soaked up the spicy Korean sauce well. The vegetables added crispness, freshness and sweetness while the egg added a bit of needed protein.

Ah the dish I was waiting for: Spicy Pork Side Rib Soup! This was a bit different than the typical Gamjatang I want to compare it with. The basis is a Korean paste broth filled to the brim with pork ribs and spine, cabbage and potatoes. I appreciated the large serving of tender meat, but felt a bit underwhelmed by the broth, which was overly spicy and lacked the depth and richness I usually find in pork bone stews. 

As typical with Korean restaurants, we were served banchans: Kimchi Marinated Potato, Kimchi, Glass Noodles and Marinated Cabbage. I liked the springy spicy kimchi and the nice contrasts the sweet and sour marinated cabbage provided to the whole meal.

Overall Hong Du Kkae was a mixed bag. The menu atypical, the food slightly lackluster and missing some key features, and the service at times slow and inattentive, Hong Du Kkae is simply average. While there are better Korean establishments in the city you can certainly do far worse.