ottawa foodies

Here is a picture of the newer container. It is slightly bigger and the price has been adjusted to $9 as well.

Their Bibimpap remains one of my favourite lunch options in the downtown area. The food is pre made and assembled at time of order. What I like is that the vegetables are steamed or marinated (perhaps fermented) so it is very healthy. There is a choice of mildly spicy beef, spicy chicken or spicy pork. Each container us garnished with Kim chi. You can add condiments of your choice: Korean spicy sauce, gluten free soy sauce, sesame seeds and sesame oil. In fact, everything is gluten free.

My only comment is the consistency of the size. All summer, the container was filled at 3/4 of its space. This past Friday, it was just a little below that thresholds. A couple of spoonfuls of rice would have just brought it to that mark. Maybe it was just that day. I will still eat here, but just noting that it can be a little uneven in the portion.

Continuing along with the food truck theme I headed off to Bap (Raon Kitchen's food cart on Bank) for lunch today. I've tried all four of their options already however the spicy pork bibimbap is my favourite. It comes with rice, grated carrot, egg slices, seaweed, and greens. Customers have the option of ordering a side of kimchi and I always ask for some. There are an assortment of seasonings to add and I like to top off my bibimbap with sesame oil, sesame seeds, and hot sauce. The price has gone up to $9 now but it is still worth every penny. This year they are now using Chinese take-out boxes instead of Styrofoam containers however the portions look smaller to me. I noticed that you can also purchase jars of kimchi and hot sauce from their food cart now.

Had the spicy pork Bibmbap from their cart on bank and Queen. Came with spicy pork, kimchi, egg, greens, shredded carrots and cabbage over rice for $8. Great flavours and fresh ingredients. Also really like the condiments which were hot sauce, lemon soy sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds. Its easy to assume that with this many elements in one bowl the flavours would get muddied but everything worked perfectly together.

Tried the Beef Bibimbap at the Ottawa Farmer's Market. There are many things about this dish that make it perfect street food: it's a complete meal in a bowl, it has great flavour (with self-administered spicy sauce, sesame oil, and sesame seeds), and it is satisfying but leaves room for dessert. The beef wasn't the greatest as it was more boiled than grilled, probably due to large batch cooking. I would try the tofu or chicken next time!

The sampler of Korean Iced Tea I tried was wonderful. Ginger and lime components, if I recall correctly. So refreshing!

The food is prepared with care and of good quality. The beef bibimbap came with a decent portion of beef, a side of kimchi, and carefully prepared toppings (shredded egg and carrots, bean sprouts, spinach and shiitake mushroom). Everything is slightly flavoured and one can adjust with additional soy sauce, Korean spicy sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds. My only complaint is that I would like the portion to be slightly bigger even if I pay a bit extra so perhaps the option for a large order. Overall, a satisfying lunch.

Finally got around to trying @RaonKitchen / [bap] today - IMO this is good food with good value. Bibimbap (choice of tofu/chicken/beef - I had tofu) with a little side of kimchi is $7, and the loyalty card gets you a free meal every 7th visit. Doing the math, this makes it $6 taxes-in per meal. I personally think is in the realm of reasonableness for a street food dish of this size. Service was lightning fast - the lineup was 10 deep and I waited no more than 5 minutes.

Props to @RaonKitchen - I'll be bibimback