ottawa foodies

This is a dish I've been curious about for a long time. It's basically raw salmon bibimbap. There's a pile of rice underneath and a good quantity of spicy gochujang sauce. Because it's served cool, the vegetables are more like a salad. The quantity of salmon is generous and the entire dish is very satisfying.

However, for me, the joy of Korean cuisine comes from its earthy complexity. This is a more Japanese style dish and it comes across as correspondingly light in the flavour department. The gochujang alone provides all of the striking flavour notes.

Fun to try but I will stick with the umami-rich complex flavours of a cooked bibimbap in the future.

This is the soondubu. It's soft tofu with egg. There are several options, and this one is the seafood one. I didn't try it, but I was told by my friend that it's the best in the city.

This place is one of Ottawa's true hidden gems, although it's more off the beaten path than it is hidden. Excellent value, friendly and genuine service, delicious food. Busy on a Saturday night -- no reservations accepted. We arrived at 7:30 and waited about 15 minutes for a table while gazing hungrily at the food that went past us.

I had the M9. Yukgaejang (pictured--beef with egg, vegetables, sweet potato vermicelli in stew). Rich flavour and delicious all the way through.

My wife had the Bulgogi Bibimbap and the bit I tried was very nice. The banchan were tasty too: kimchi, potatoes, and seaweed.

The pajeon was spectacular... I'll post a separate entry for that one.

Can't wait to go back!!

The food at Alirang is absolutely delicious - I've never had anything here I didn't love - but when the craving for Korean food hits, I'll often choose to go somewhere else because the service is pretty inconsistent. It's probably a consequence of their being packed full of customers all the time due to the deliciousness of the food, but it gets tiring to deal with after a while. The wait times are (almost) always longer than at other places, and on more than one occasion when I've gone to Alirang with friends, one member of the party didn't even get their order.

Date of Visit: March 16, 2013

Alirang is a bit outside the concentration of eateries in the Byward Market section of Ottawa and is thus one of those places that the average diner will be unlikely to simply happen across. This is a bit of a shame really as the tiny Korean restaurant is a real little gem of a place and well-worth investigating…

The Food
Kimchi – Rating: 3 out of 5
Bean Sprout Banchan – Rating: 4 out of 5
Potato Banchan – Rating: 5 out of 5
Seaweed Salad – Rating: 5 out of 5
Mandoo (Korean Dumplings) – Rating: 3 out of 5
Pazeon ( Seafood Pancake) - Rating: 3 out of 5

Overall
My meal at Alirang was probably the nicest I had during my whole week long visit to Ottawa and I would be tempted to keep the place a secret except that it already enjoys a popularity that keeps it very busy already. The service was excellent, the surroundings comfortable and homey, and the food reasonably priced and excellent. I will be taking my wife there on our next visit to the city. Rating: 5 out of 5.

See full pictorial review at: sybaritica.me

The food is absolutely wonderful, the kimchi jigae and yukgaejang are both fantastic, and although the service is very slightly spotty from time to time, I come here way too often when I need comfort food.

Alirang is my favourite Korean restaurant in Ottawa. Only draw back is it is small and when it gets busy the food comes out a tad slow. Hopefully they will just expand in the near future.

Their Bulgogi jjigae is the best I have found anywhere.

I've been here a few times. The food is solid and very consistent. It's a very small place, but I've never had to wait for a seat. Great service, as well.

Great Korean restaurant in Ottawa. I had the Kimchi jjigae and it was pretty good. Not a super fan of overly sour kimchi but that's my own personal preference.

Banchan were solid. You gotta have at least three to be truly Korean. :D

The place can get packed and it is not huge. Will definitely come back to try some gamjatang.

One of the best Korean restaurants in Ottawa. I always order a vegetarian version of the Kimchi Chigae (spelling?). It is spicy, tangy, sour, salty - delicious! They also have the best kimchi in town. Yum!

I've had the bulgogi at Alirang three times in the past month, I think I might be developing a problem. I love the flavours in it, and the amount of beef you get. It's one of my first forays into Korean food, so I can't speak much about the location in comparison to other places. I can honestly say though that I could eat this weekly, or even daily. ;)

My bro thoroughly enjoyed his Kimchi Jjigae. Very nicely done.

Alirang has quickly become one of my favourite restaurants in town.

Gamgatang with potatoes - nice amount of spiciness. Lots of meat on the bones. This was at the Merivale location which was bright and nicely decorated.

Gamjatang goodness! Still amazing. 감자탕 👌

Loads of succulent, fall-off-the-bone stewed pork in a delectable spicy-rich broth! I opted for the rice cakes as I'd never tried them before. I can imagine these soft and gummy ear-plug-like cylinders would be a nostalgic pleasure for some, but I think the potato option would be more to my taste.

Top marks for flavour and meat content!

Seafood Pajeon here is one of my favourite foods ever. Delightfully crispy, toothsomely chewy, and offering alternating mouthfuls of plump shrimp and tasty scallion. So good!

The Mandu (dumplings, see photo inset) were just okay... tasted like ground beef and onion, so pretty boring compared to most Korean foods.

wendy, you can click on the "Location" link under the restaurant name to look up the address. Alirang is at 134 Nelson.

I love taste seafood pancake. I would like to have a try.Where is the address of this Ali rang Restaurant?

The pajeon (seafood pancake) is thick, large, and super tasty here! The only seafood in this one was shrimp, but the flavour profile was right up my alley. Highly addictive.

We've had the bimimbap at Alirang on Nelson St and found it to be really good. Comes with Barley tea, miso soup, kimchi and two other condimennts...

The Naengmyeon was served in a chilled stainless steel bowl. Lots of tasty icy broth, toothsome noodles, matchsticks of cucumber and pear. There was an egg, but no meat at all. Overall, it was good and I'd have it again on a hot day.

Yukgaejang ($10.95) - This piping hot beef stew with translucent vermicelli, sliced onions, and strips of steak was hearty and flavourful, perfect for one of the first chilly days of late summer. The spice level was emphasized by the bowl's high temperature, making the accompanying rice and the cooling gamjajorim (glazed potato banchan) very welcome.