Tag Archives: Korean

02.20.19
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Ramen Teh, A Movie Review

After seeing the movie Ramen Teh during the 2019 Victoria Film Festival, I left the theatre with a craving for bak kut teh (Meat Bone Tea). This film suggests the broth in this dish and ramen are similar, though, with the former, more herbs are used. It soothes the soul, and as this film suggests perhaps also help mend fences.

With this movie, it not only offers a lesson in the origins of this noodle dish but also explores the foodie scene in Singapore. The story looks at how Masato (Takumi Saito) seeks to reconnect with a part of the family he’s almost forgotten. When his Japanese father Kazuo (Tsuyoshi Ihara) passes away, he cannot quite continue to run the family ramen shop soon. There are bitter memories, mostly in how distant otōsan has become over the years. No reason is given right away, but it’s quickly revealed he’s never recovered from the loss of his beautiful wife, Mei Lian (Beatrice Chien). Since that departure, he’s become emotionally distant and a complete workaholic.

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05.09.18
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Chi-Chi-Chimac for Chicken!

Chimac Korean Pub & Fried Chicken
512 Yates St
Victoria, BC

Hours: 11:30am to 1am
Phone: (250) 590-5098

KFC can mean either Kentucky Fried or Korean Fried Chicken. While some will say it’s tough to eat that secret blend of spices, I think the latter is far tastier. The fact the process involves double dipping during the frying process speaks to me. The way the chicken was treated was like a perfect french fry.

Anyone thinking of doing take-out should live nearby so none of that crispy goodness disappears. When considering the many ways this chicken can be eaten, from side-dips to other toppings, I’m definitely coming back to see if my stomach can handle the hot sauces. I was with my bud Jake and we met up to grab dinner and a movie. Because time was tight (he did not get off work until much later), we opted for fast food and ended up at Chimac.

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09.27.17
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James’ Last Dance at Han’s Korean Restaurant

IMG_20170319_181938947Han’s Korean Restaurant
615 Johnson St
Victoria, BC
Phone: (778) 265-1760

E: Sadly, the diner Skinnytato closed operations around late Summer of last year, and in its place, the diner went from Polish to Korean. Will I miss it? Not necessarily. Some mom and pop operations can only last as long as it is profitable or the owner/operators wish to keep their business going. Another possible reason is that the people behind Skinnytato decided to retire. I did not investigate to know for sure, but with what James is about to officially announce, all I can do is sigh. He is getting old too.

J: After seven years, I’ll be packing it up and moving on. Also, I am disheartened to see many of the restaurants we have reviewed close up shop. It didn’t matter if a restaurant was good or bad; sometimes Victoria is a tough place to run a place that serves food. We just don’t have the customer base a big city like Vancouver has. Victoria is a little more cut throat.

E: In other words, he’s burnt out (as a mutual friend pointed out). The many labours he has to do at his day job(s) and responsibilities to his family show his mind is elsewhere these days. He’s no Hercules. I’m finding he is not willing to put in the effort into any idea he has or we have come up for this site anymore. He was ambitious and industrious once, but it’s all gone. We were going to pen an article on a variety of novelty sodas we discovered at the Lilly Gobble Sweet Shop early Summer, but even that is constantly getting put off by him than me. I’m willing to bet he wants that article idea to fizzle.

I firmly believe he is making a big mistake by walking away from what we spent many years shaping as this blog’s identity. He does not care and shrugs off everything I suggest to him. Two Hungry Blokes is not ending. I plan on carrying on.

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01.25.17
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Driving Far? There’s No Need to Park’s Kitchen

img_20160906_134103283Park’s Kitchen
606 Trounce Alley
Victoria, BC
(778) 265-2227

ES: I wish the Izakaya in Trounce Alley stayed longer. Actually known as So-Ya, they had a classy environment to fashion some trendy and nouveau Japanese style food. People can read our review here and I truly miss them. Park’s Kitchen replaces this operation. They had a soft opening and not many people noticed.

I have to wonder if the servers even have an eye for what’s good here. When James and I had our empty glasses of water just sitting on the table, no one bothered to glance to see if we needed a refill. I saw where the decanters were and had to help myself.

JS: Although the shell of So-Ya remains, the spirit within had long since passed on. What has replaced it is not very impressive. I was willing to be pleased but Park’s rarely shined when it came to either customer service, the kitchen staff or their lunch specials.

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But I’m going to give a bad sounding critique and the reason is the not-so-good outweighed what was best about this place. But to start, their sunomono salad was very creative if not refreshing.

The lettuce threw me off but the carrots were most welcome. The vinaigrette was sweet and cool. I have to say I finally found a sunomono that may have beaten Sushi Plus. But perhaps to put something else to replace the lettuce will improve on this creation.

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12.31.13
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King Sejong: Downtown’s Korean Greasy Spoon


King Sejong
650 Yates St.
Victoria, B.C.
(250) 382-1289

J: It’s always nice to have dinner and a movie when one is planning an evening in the greater Victoria downtown area. On this particular night my friend Ed and myself were highly anticipating a movie we planned to review for Otaku no Culture. But it only made sense to eat at a simple diner rather than spend almost $20 on overpriced theatre snacks. And since I can never drag Ed into Sushi Plus ever again, I chose King Sejong, a Korean restaurant on Yates across from the ol’ A&B Sound building.

They call this a restaurant but I would call it more a diner. It’s a greasy spoon in every detail right down to the booths with customers’ initials carved on tabletops.

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