I love it all about Korean BBQ: sharing platters of foods, the endless sides of pickled radish and the after-eating smokey stench in my clothes. I haven’t been such a fan of Korean BBQ until I tried Little Piggy’s in Koreatown, but I’ve witnessed an even more grand experience at the Piggy’s Thornhill location.
Piggy’s pride themselves in using the very best traditional ingredients in Korea within their chili powder, cold noodles, soybean paste and red pepper paste. I knew that I was going to be in for a treat coming in this evening.
Here’s what we ordered:
- Steamed Egg “Gae Ran Jjim”, steamed egg with vegetables ($6.95)
- Chilled Steamed Pigs’ Trotters Salad & Mussel Soup “Naengchae Jokbal & Honghap Tang”, served with mussel soup ($29.95)
- Boneless Beef Rib “So Gal Bi Sal”, non-marinated boneless Korean-style beef rib (400g, $57.90)
- Sweet Bulb, Grapefruit Soju ($8.95)
- Korean Rice Wine “Mak Gul Li”, semi-sweet Korean traditional milky rice wine made with nuruk (Jinro 750ml, $16.95)
- Spicy Chicken with Vegetables and Rice Cake ($34.95)
After agreeing with a meat item, it began with charcoal wood very quickly lit up and tossed and turned. Our server Peter was with us from the start, explaining the process to us as he heated up our tabletop and cooked and cut the meats. Even other servers jumped in time to time to check in on our cooking progress! But if we did need something, we made use of the service-call button at our table. As for utensils, check the side of your table – there may be a hidden latch.
At the same time as our raw meat order arrived, so did the plentiful array of side dishes. We had pickled onion and celery, kimchi, pork ear jelly, pancake, mashed potato, two salads and seaweed + broccoli in red pepper paste. In addition to all of those sides, there were also two types of dipping sauces and raw garlic and pickled onion to add into our meaty bites.
For the meat, we ordered the Boneless Beef Rib “So Gal Bi Sal”, a boneless Korean-style beef rib. A suggested serving for two, but we’re saying a generous two! Look at the marbling of the boneless beef cuts. This provided three of us with the most suitable taste of each of the sides, just perfect.
After a few minutes, we gathered the perfectly cooked meats onto our personal metal plates. The metal plates had one side empty, and the other with a light vinaigrette with onions. Starting with a piece of lettuce, stack as you wish. With the hefty number of sides and add-ons provided, there are so many ways to go. My favourite route is to go big – smear the meat with the darker sauce, a slice of kimchi, onion slices, a piece of garlic and pancake piece…. then dip into the light sauce.
We had a taste of the Grapefruit Soju. In a slushy form of soju mix, it was the right combination of tart and sweet. Available in two sizes, cups with smileys and a light-up lightbulb, of course, we went for the more darling one!
Next up, a cold dish! I have to admit I was very tempted on ordering the icy cold noodle soup… so a recommendation from Peter was a chilled steamed pig trotter salad. I was very intrigued. I’ve had this before, but never like this.
Look at the size of this plate! It was stacked very thick of meats and the perfect number of cucumber to eat with. The pig trotters were sliced to a 1mm thickness, and with that, you fold in the provided chilled cucumber and Asian pear and eat it whole. Peter told us that this dish was a very good snack with soju, he also gave us a can of sprite which adds in the right carbonated sweetness to mix into our soju pours.
The finale was left until last. A very spicy dish, it’s their hottest yet! Our grill was replaced by a pot of spicy chicken in the center and surrounded with a variety of vegetables including cabbage, onions, root vegetables, carrot and rice cake. We mixed to cook, and after 15 minutes we dived in.
After cooked, we sprinkled cheese throughout. It was very spicy, but an addictive sweet spice. The chicken was tender and both the rice cakes and the vegetables absorbed every ounce of heat.
I absolutely enjoyed my experience at Piggy’s. It’s is on the pricey side, but you do receive all of the quality and exceptional service to guide you through the process. I’d like to make my return for they cold noodles and very large dumplings! During the Summer they also have the patio available – the kind of atmosphere which reminds me of Koreatown in Los Angeles! Thank you for such a delicious and memorable time with KBBQ, you have won my heart, I will direct everyone here for Authentic Korean BBQ.
Piggy’s
5 Glen Cameron Road, Thornhill
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This looks amazing – all of it! The thought of those boneless beef ribs had me drooling… Excuse me while I wipe up my keyboard.