Morak Korean Fusion

Last hockey season, we ended up hitting up the ol' favourites for late night eats rather than searching for new spots.  Blame it partly on convenience and mostly on laziness.  Sometimes, I just want to eat and especially after ice hockey, I'm not in the mood to be a "food blogger".  Futhermore, it has only been mainly Lionel Hutz and Milhouse joining me for eats, which means keeping it local (ie. Burnaby/East Van only).  However, for this season, I've made it a personal goal to actually try new things.  Yah, imagine that...  So we headed over to Morak Korean Fusion which we've been trying to dine at for the last 2 years.

Of course, our meal started out with the included Banchan consisting of marinated bean sprouts, bulgogi and veggies, stewed potatoes and pickled spicy daikon.  We were surprised to see that they didn't included the usual kimchi, but it was not a problem as Lionel Hutz doesn't prefer the stuff.  Of the items we did get, the stewed potatoes were money being soft while not completely melting away.  They were sweet while not overly so.  I also enjoyed the daikon as it was crunchy, sweet and slightly spicy.  Onto our larger dishes, we began with the Dolset Bibimbap.  It came sizzling in a hot stone bowl with neatly prepared and properly textured ingredients.  I found the rice to be a little on the softer side and it didn't really crust up enough for my liking.  However, the whole thing still ate well.  I would've preferred to see a raw egg rather than a fried egg on top.

Going for another typical dish, we got the Japchae which was at its usual high cost of $22.00.  I know it is common to see it in the $16+ range, but this was pretty expensive for noodles.  It was done right though with slippery chewy noodles that weren't greasy.  In fact, they were able to keep them moist without the oil - perfect in my opinion.  There was enough ingredients, including tender well-seasoned beef, to keep each bite varied with texture.  Another positive was the usage of sugar as it was done with restraint.  A well-executed japchae, but an expensive one at that.  Talking about pricey, we also had the Bossam at $25.00.  Again, not totally surprising because most other Korean restaurants charge that much and more.  Besides, there was a good amount of tender, gelatinized pork belly on the plate.  We enjoyed how it was flavourful while the fat was not flabby.  It had a roasted quality to it despite not being baked.

Lastly, we had the Dakgangjeong (Sweet Crispy Chicken) which was also priced at $25.00.  Normally, that is not a big deal since the portion size is massive.  This one was medium-sized and yah, I still don't understand the pricing (that goes for most Korean restaurants).  However, the level of execution was good.  Each piece of chicken was crispy and full of garlic essence and flavour.  I also liked how they didn't overdress the chicken so that it was only a bit sweet.  Therefore, I didn't need a bowl of rice to down it.  Many places drown their chicken in too much sauce.  So I'm sure you get the gist of this post - good but expensive.  Not unique to Morak, but worth noting as you can eat anywhere for these prices.

The Good:
- Food executed quite well
- Service was good
- Open late

The Bad:
- Pricey
- Not particularly spacious