Exemplary Korean at Sura Korean Cuisine (Vancouver Elective 2015)

I have always had a soft spot for Korean cuisine. Whether be it the lush and soul soothing soups or the spicy and punctual stir fries, it has always been a fall back cuisine, one that I can always count on when hungry or not in the mood to try new things. And so I had to find the best Korean restaurant in Vancouver, and while there might not be a true consensus, there was enough chatter to warrant a visit to Sura Korean Cuisine.

Historic Robson Street houses this beauty of a restaurant. It starts with the attractive but simple black sign and plain lettering that speak with a modern and classy touch. The inside is divided into two large dining halls separated by a thin stanchion, with colorful and tasteful art adorning the side walls and finished off with romantic dimly lit mood lighting. Its popularity was definitely evident as shown by the 45 minute wait time on a mid-week in a non-peak time hour.

The menu is full of historic and traditional Korean dishes. Large picturesque photographs adorn one side while simple but elegant descriptions fall upon the other. The classics can be found here such as my favourite, the Gamja-Tang or Bibimbap. For larger groups, Sura offers a number of larger Chef's Specials like sliced pork belly in herbs (Bossam) or spicy braised beef short ribs (Galbi-Jiim).

Dolsot Bibim-bap is a classic in Korean cuisine and the version here at Sura's was delicious. First you take chewy rice and top if off with marinated beef, sliced fresh vegetables and a soft cooked egg; then you pop the yolk open and mix its golden goodness into the rest of the ingredients while adding your desired amount of spicy BBQ sauce. Every aspect was well done here and the combination of flavours was an explosive dance in my mouth. Make sure to dine on the toasted bits of rice on the bottom of the stone bowl!

I have my usual dishes I try to judge most Korean restaurants with and it always includes a Gamja-Tang, the famous rich soup filled with pork spinal bones in a delectable Korean spicy bean sauce. I found Sura's version one of the best I have ever tasted with fall off the bone tender pork bones that had soaked in the aforementioned spicy bean sauce. Sealing the deal were the few pieces of potato that were submerged in the rich and deep pork based broth. Served piping hot, the perfect dish for a cold winter day.

A trio of Banchans arrived with my meal(s): a creamy housemade Potato Salad, spicy and crunchy Kimchi and a chewy Seaweed Salad. All an excellent compliment to my mains.

Sura is a great take on authentic Korean cuisine and while their menu is somewhat pedestrian and focuses on the Korean classics, each dish they produce was of high quality and huge flavour. An easy recommendation for anyone in the mood for Korean on Robson.