Dining Out: Korean Comfort Food Buffet at BUNSIK84

After seeing so much hype around the newly-opened BUNSIK84, the first all-you-can-eat Korean comfort food buffet restaurant in Toronto, Iris and I decided to check it out today for a super late lunch.

DIY tteokbokki with classic rice cakes, wheat rice cakes, chicken wieners, green onions, cabbage, enoki mushrooms, fried tofu pouches, and a boiled egg
First things first: DIY tteokbokki. Once you get a table, you start your journey at the tteokbokki station because it's the one thing that they actually have to cook separately for you. On top of three different types of rice cakes and four types of noodles, they have a pretty big selection of ingredients for you to choose from. I got a mix of classic and wheat rice cakes, chicken wieners, green onions, cabbage, enoki mushrooms, fried tofu pouches, and a boiled egg. I then gave the server my bowl of raw ingredients, chose the sauce I wanted (I went with the classic sauce in mild), and she took it to the kitchen to get it cooked. (Note: certain sauces and "premium" toppings have an additional charge, so pay attention to the menu.)

Our tteokbokki arrived at our table about five minutes later and this was the star of the show for me. It was honestly my perfect bowl of tteokbokki with my ideal ratio of rice cakes to veggies to protein. Though some might find it boring, I thought the mild original sauce was delicious and had the perfect amount of spice for me — but note that "mild spicy" does not mean no spice. Iris got hers with the mild rosé sauce, but as someone who cannot handle any spice, she thought it was too spicy and couldn't enjoy it as much as she wanted because her whole mouth was on fire (even though I thought hers was quite delicious). So, be cautious when picking your sauce.

Gimmari, garlic soy Korean fried chicken, buttered corn, two types of gimbap, and sundae

In the prepared foods area, there are three chafing dishes with two different items in each one. I got a plate of all the offerings from the prepared foods section: gimmari, garlic soy Korean fried chicken (they change the flavour every week), buttered corn, crab gimbap and spicy fish cake gimbap (which they also change every week), and sundae. Everything was pretty good, but I do wish the food was hotter — when we got there, the chafing dishes weren't heated and we only saw them lighting them after more customers came in. I understand why — there were only two other customers when we arrived and heating food constantly can make it lose its integrity faster — but, still, we're all paying the same price to eat there.

Sadly, after my giant bowl of tteokbokki and one plate of the prepared foods, I was way too full to try the jumeokbap or ramyeon stations. But we did manage to squeeze in some tasty chocolate-vanilla soft serve and a cup of sweet creamy coffee for dessert before leaving. Our total after tax and tip was just over $25 per person, which I actually thought was quite reasonable given that an order of tteokbokki at most Korean restaurants these days is already $20 on its own. However, since neither Iris nor I live near Yonge and Sheppard, this visit to BUNSIK84 was a novelty and not somewhere we'd go regularly. It's definitely a fun, unique, and interactive experience, though, so I do recommend checking it out. But take note: When we got there around 3:00PM, it was empty except for one table, but within 30 minutes, there were at least 5 or 6 more tables filled. So definitely expect a wait during prime meal times.

BUNSIK84

4895 Yonge St.

North York, ON M2N 5N4

(416) 223-1117