Going Korean: Toppokki Man

Anyeonghaseyo!

A friend and I are going to the Land of Kimchi in about a month. In preparation for our trip, I have been researching on what we would include in our itinerary. So, I got all the details into a spreadsheet, what MRT line to take, where to get off, what exit to take and so on. Aside from that, I also put down the estimated cost for the attractions we are planning to see. That way, we'll know how much the expected damage would be and we could work that into our budget. Above all else, I have always been curious about Korean food. Honestly, before this, the only Korean food I have ever tried are Korean ice cream, gim (seaweed snack) and bibimbap which I bought from one of the stalls in a popular mall chain which I did not like. Yes, that's the extent of my Korean culinary exploration. So, before going on this trip, I decided I should be familiar with the food. Deep in my heart, I have always been curious of that noodles in black sauce that's always featured in Korean novellas. It's been my earnest desire to try that one. Fortunately, I have meet friends in the office who love Korean food. One even have a supplier of Kimchi which according to her is very good. I tried it but I wasn't very taken by it.

Picture is from Zomato

Anyway, we all agreed to eat at Toppokki Man in Rosedale Building, right beside University of San Carlos Talamban Campus. Toppokki Man, as I have found out, serves authentic Korean food. The owner is actually Korean. She was there to direct the crew when were there. The space is not so big. During out visit, they had to ask some customers to wait first because there are no more tables available. They had to wait outside. Lucky for us, we were there at exactly 11:00 am which is the time they open. My friends were already eating their Bibimbap when I arrived. They didn't want me to also order the Bibimbap because it didn't have a lot of toppings. I ordered Tteokbokki which is stir-fried rice cakes in a spicy sauce. That's the cover picture above. That's actually the reason why we wanted to eat at Toppokki Man. I wanted to try their Tteobokki or Topokki, however they call it. It's chewy and would just slide down your throat. I think it's good to be eaten while one of your friends is telling a story and as you are listening, you are also leisurely munching on the rice cakes. It's not to be eaten in a hurry but rather to be savoured. 

I first tasted this one in one of the stalls in Sugbu Mercato in IT Park. It also came with Odeng - a Korean fish cake that's usually on a stick. This is also a very popular street food in Korean dramas. The Tteokbokki and the Odeng go together. What we ordered was Topookki or Tteokbokki with mozzarella and an order of Odeng. It was also served on a stick but I removed the stick. The odeng arrived after we finished the tteobokki, so I removed the stick and put it into the remaining sauce. 

Tteobokki with sliced Odeng bough from the stall in Sugbu Mercato.

Here's the complete menu of Toppokki Man. To my excitement, I forgot to take a picture of their menu board. I grabbed this one from Zomato.

I also ordered the fried set which is a mix of different things. Dumpling, sweet potato, eggplant and squash. There were two pieces of each. They didn't have squid at that time. I especially liked the squash and the sweet potato. Well, squash is my favorite vegetable so that's a given, but it did taste very good battered and fried.

One of my friends also ordered Dakanjung. Fried chicken balls in spicy sauce. It's like the Korean version of Buffalo wings only, they are in balls instead of chicken wings. It was very good also. The chicken balls were bite-size. 

All in all, I liked the food at Toppokki Man. I would like to go back and sample all the other dishes there. It was just a bummer that they didn't serve Jajangmyeon, the black bean noodle I was talking about earlier. But then, my Korean food exploits does not end there. We are still planning to go to a Korean restaurant that serves Jajangmyeon and I will tell you about it once we've done that. So, stay tuned. 

As I have mentioned earlier, my friend has a supplier of Korean food. She's the wife of a Korean. Aside from Kimchi, she also sells tteokbokki and kimbap for 150 pesos. It was actually as good as that of Toppokki Man. The kimbap which is the Korean version of the Japanese maki, is also good. No need to be dipped in a sauce and it's also bite-size. I won't be trying hard not to choke while trying to cram the whole thing into my mouth.

I can't wait to try these food in the Korean markets in Seoul. According to the blogs, it's where you can get authentic Korean food at very affordable prices. Hmmm, my mouth is already watering and I can't wait to step into the Land of Kimich. I admit though, I am slowly becoming a fan of kimchi after actually trying a few spoons of the kimchi that my friend said to be as close as it gets to authentic kimchi.

Anyeong!