Ha Ban Tang: Toronto, Ontario

Han Ba Tang is located at the corner of Yonge & Sheppard and serves up Korean Fusion taps and cocktails. The space is warm and comfortable with unique touches like a a brightly lit marquee style sign bearing the restaurants name. It’s definitely the type of spot where you can unwind after a long day or on weekends.

Known for their inventive drink selections one of the more interesting offerings is their Soju flight. For $19 you get three 2oz glasses of infused soju. Choices include strawberry, pineapple, cucumber, ginseng, citron, apple cinnamon, or jalapeño oak aged soju plus some wasabi peas to chase it all down.

One of their most popular items are the Korean Tacos. Soft shell tortillas are piled with either Spicy Pork (pork marinated in spicy Korean sauce, with cabbage, red onion, kimchi aioli, green onion), Kalbi (grilled beef, onion, red pepper, green pepper, green onion, and fresh fried onions), or Unagi (habanero oil marinated eel unary with garlic, red pepper, cabbage, cucumber, avocado, onion, tempura bits, and green onion). and can be ordered as single, double, or in triples. The flavours are deliciously complex with just the right amount of heat.

Serving up fusion at it’s finest they also offer Kimchi Fries and Creamy Rice Cakes. Kimchi fries ($10 for small, $15 for large) are topped with gravy, kimchi, herbed mayo, and green onions. Bulgolgi can be added for an additional cost of $3 (small) or $5 (large) making this a meal in itself, but quite honestly better shared with friends as it’s intended because there’s a whole lot more that you’ll want to try. The Creamy Rice Cakes ($11) feature the very traditional cylindrical shaped Korean rice cake but served alfredo style with bacon, mushrooms, onions, chopped parsley, and cream sauce. It’s a nice fusion of Korean and Italian flavours.

For the last of the savoury items we try the Seafood Pancake ($13) and the Pork Ribs with Cheese Sauce ($28).  The Seafood Pancake is fried lightly with shrimp, calamari, threaded red pepper, and chives and is served sliced like pizza making it perfect for a group even though you’ll be tempted to eat the entire thing for yourself. The Pork with Cheese Sauce is definitely a show stopper not just because of it’s sheer size but because the tender pork ribs practically fall off the bone if you even so much as look at them. The ribs are surrounded by a ring of cheese sauce which is meant for you to smother the ribs in before eating and makes for the perfect balance with the flavourful and perfectly spiced pork ribs.

To finish everything off there’s desserts in the form of a dessert pancake ($6) and cheesecake ($8). The dessert pancake is served with ice cream sandwiched in between and then topped with a drizzle of chocolate sauce and a sprinkling of icing sugar. The most adorable star shaped cookie is served on the side on a bed of fresh strawberries.

As for the cheesecake it’s everything you would expect from s good cheesecake, creamy and delicious and presented in a simplistic but beautiful way. A scoop of matcha ice cream is served on the side along with strawberries that have been perfectly carved into roses.

Han Ba Tang represents one of the things I love most about Toronto and that is the multiculturalism which is manifested in the form of mixing flavours from all different parts of the world together to create something that is unexpectedly mouth-watering. The portions are generous and the prices are also reasonable making this an easy go-to staple for any night of the week.

Disclaimer: This post was NOT sponsored, however the meal was complimentary. All opinions expressed are my own. All offerings and prices are accurate as of time of posting. Please refer to respective shops\company websites for most up to date information.

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