Such a hidden gem in North York. I wasn't super intrigued by the sign outside at first, but the food completely blew my mind away. This place is such an old-school Korean spot with a classic pocha vibe. We ordered their seasonal menu (February limited offer), the spicy pollock stew and the oyster pancake. Both were super hearty, I could tell it's made with fresh ingredients. Service was quick, and the owner was very friendly. Love this family-run restaurant with a long history. No wonder this place has been around for over 25 years with so many regulars. Definitely coming back soon to try more dishes. read more

See all

If someone else can tell me another place that does ginseng chicken the same way this restaurant does please let me know because this is one of my favourite Korean comfort food places to go whenever I want ginseng chicken soup. It's 3 meals in one! You eat the chicken first then they cook house-made noodles into the soup followed by a bowl of rice once the noodles have been served. You also know it's legit when you always see a group of ahjushis just enjoying the food and being drunkenly loud. read more

Apkujung Restaurant - Korean Near Me - North York, Ontario

See all

I think this is the only restaurant in Toronto that serves dakjuk aka korean porridge! We ordered the ginseng chicken pot combo because the menu said it would come with noodles and porridge. We asked the server and she said it's not the same as the chicken porridge from the menu but similar. First, they served the soup and took out the chicken. Then they used the soup to make the noodle first (about 10-15 mins). Lastly, they poured the rice into the remaining soup (another 20 mins). The restaurant wasn't big but there were only two servers. Almost all tables ordered some sort of pot so they had to rotate and check in on the porridge every couple of minutes. Definitely expect to help them out by stirring the pot every once in awhile! read more

See all

My friend is a big fan of Apkujung Restaurant and I finally had the chance to stop by on his recommendation! If you're looking for an authentic Korean meal that feels home-cooked, this is a great spot to check out. Located on Yonge Street just south of Steeles, there is plenty of parking available at Centerpoint Mall and then you just have to cross the street. What we got: - Ginseng Chicken Soup with Noodles and Congee - Galbi Jjim (Korean Braised Short Ribs) - Grilled Mackerel Final Thoughts: The Ginseng Chicken was nothing mind-blowing in terms of flavour, but it was incredibly comforting and hearty. The pot is served tableside and the staff help you cook each course starting with the poached chicken, noodle soup, and finally turning leftover soup into congee. The Galbi Jjim is my must-order dish! The short ribs are super tender, and the sauce is delicious. It may be a tad sweet, depending on your taste, but this was great with rice. Overall, I find the prices a bit on the pricey side but they come with a larger portion and I always leave full. I'd want to bring my parents here or return with a large group to try more dishes. read more

See all

Well, the authenticity is still presence, but this time, the chicken had a bit of an off smell. The server seemed overwhelmed managing the tables alone, but she genuinely tried her best. I still stand by my previous praise and hope this was just a temporary setback. This time, we went for the whole chicken meal to let a friend try it, and despite the minor hiccup, we all enjoyed the experience. The quality and flavor remain impressive, and I'm optimistic that our next visit will be better. read more

See all

Hey... I know Korean Food has become majorly popular over the past years and through the pandemic. How can Covid survive our hot and spicy food!?! And we're pretty hot and spicy ourselves! HeHeHeHe.... LOL! With such popularity, the restaurants that I frequented have become overrun with new fans! Dang! I really need to stop writing such great reviews for places, I think I single-handedly created my own problem because I write so well! Yes... I'm in a self ingratiating mood today! Sue me... it's Friday and it's been a long couple of weeks and I need it! ;P Just up the road from here is ChoSunOk - when they opened, it was $7 for MurlNaengMyun and GamJaTang. Now they're one of the most expensive places to go and seating is impossible. Time to find a new spot and keep it a secret!!! That's not my talent though... if I like it, YELPERS will know it! Welcome to Apkujang. My new go to place for Korean Comfort Food. It's a place that DebP mentioned a lot and I decided to give it a try as I was driving south towards Little Seoul (Yonge and Finch) and saw the gaudy little patio and dull sign. I wasn't expecting much. The decor looks pretty "meh" at best. The layout of the place is definitely made for drunken nights with pals having Soju and Anju. Ordered a GamJaTang and SoonDuBu... and braced for the worst. Like getting ready for a Hurricane to hit and hoping for it to pass over and you can have a great weekend (I hope Hurricane Fiona doesn't crush our East Coast!!!!). Can't control the weather, but this is definitely my new hangout. The food was quite good overall and when I'm looking for comfort food, I'm not looking for the Tire Guy Thumbs Up of Approval with his little Star that looks like a flower... I'm looking to pay for a good meal that leaves me with a smile on my face and a warm tummy so I can get back to life. Anyone need a round guy with opinions to give out for where to dine? Look at my new Moony Guide Spoons awards! LOL... !!! Cheers!!! read more

Apkujung Restaurant - Simple BahnChahn. Potato was pretty good. - Korean Near Me - North York, Ontario

See all

Went to dinner at this place expecting to find dukjuk but it wasn't exactly what we were looking for. Our return from Seoul was in search of soul warming juk and was only able to find this place. We ordered the ginseng chicken soup which comes with rice. We were surprised at how it was served. They brought a hot boiling pot of wanted and add sticky rice. They add a small chicken and we watch it cooked for 20min. The waiter would come once and a while and stir the pot so the rice doesn't stick. At the end of the part 1 of the cooking the chicken was cooked and soft and broken easily. Part 2 continues to cook the rice until it absorbed all the water and became congee. So the 2nd eat was chicken broth in rice as a congee. The 2nd part of the cook took another 20min. So by the end of it, we felt the dinner stretch pretty long. The food tastes great, as for the service they don't seem to speak English well so we couldn't understand them very well. read more

See all

Apkujung is one of those long standing restaurant that I've passed by a thousand time when I had to commute between Scarborough and downtown by TTC back in university times, but never frequented. We finally decided to give it a try. The first thought that came to my mind while going through the ordering process was Apkujung offers an authentic Korean experience??? I think. By authentic I mean the owners and servers have general difficulty communicating with customers in English (we managed it with a lot of pointing). Is it really authentic? I'd say their food is a bit unrefined and gives off that rural vibe (not in the good way). The ginseng chicken soup lacked flavour and was rather bland. They do have a nice concept where they add these green noodles into the soup once your rice is done, but the 'greeness' in the noodle did not give it any extra taste. And the blandness of the soup means the noodle just tasted like regular noodles. The seafood pancake is not very crispy and lacked the necessary seafood taste. The pork bone soup also had a pretty heavy ginger taste to it which is quite foreign to me for a pork bone soup. When there's so many decent Korean options along Yonge St., Apkujang would not be high on my list of to go places. read more

Authentic Korean food! Although they don't speak fluent English, the service is good and so does the food! We got the recommended ginseng chicken soup three ways. It offers their homemade macha noodle and then porridge. We also got the fried fish and seafood pancake. The portion is so large that me and my friend couldn't finish any of these and just pack them home! It's just very worth it! It took a bit long to get the main dishes out. But I guess it's a busy Friday? I would be happy to come back and try other stuffs. It's a bit hard to find the parking since there is no street parking and no so clear where to park at the back (there is a towing zone and I don't want to take the risk). So we decided to park at the mall right across the street. read more

See all

Very good food and very good service. The chicken soup transformed over the course of the meal which was very cool and tasty. The octopus was not spicy enough. Selection of banchan was a bit limited. read more

See all

Excellent food. Authentic. Decent price. Great service. I would give more than 5 stars and recommend to anyone who's interested in Korean food. read more

My favorite ginseng chicken soup near me, relatively! Not the cheapest venture, however I think taste pretty authentic Korean to me. Not the easiest to order, if only two persons; much easier if larger party. read more

See all

There are some dishes that are meant to be share, as sharing is caring?! or just some of the dishes are suppose to serve 2 and up? Apkujung Restaurant's Chicken Ginseng Soup with Noodle & Congee ($23/2 people servings) would be a dish that I would love to share with my friend or vice versa. BTW, Ginseng Chicken Soup traditional are supposed to be consumed on the hottest day of summer.. for me anytime is a good time! Watching the food heating up from in front of you while munching on banchen, hot pot style. Then when the chicken is ready, the waitress would come and cut it up and serve that to you..... then you wait again for the noodle to be cooked...and she came back and serve you again.... then you wait for the congee to be cook, and now you have this congee that has all the nutrients from the chicken and ginseng that suppose to be really good for you?! Healthy, Tasty and Wholesome! That's how I felt after having my meal. And drinking the yogurt drink after as dessert did help with digestion. The question now is when am I coming back to have that again? I need support, I could not do this alone.............. read more

See all

Disappointed. The whole experience was just disappointing and expensive. Arriving Friday evening at around 6:30pm, there were 1-2 tables occupied. We were seated and given menus. After much debate over the menu, there's quite a selection. A lot of items are meant for sharing with a friend. They had pork belly for 29.99$ if I recall correctly. We ordered the Beef Tripe Stew (27.99$) and Pan fried oysters (17.99$). The side dishes we received were salty and meh nothing to talk about. I usually always look forward to the ban chan :/ The oysters were flavorless and more or less tasted like it was battered with egg. There was no other seasoning besides the soy sauce they provided. For 17.99$ I expected something more appealing if not something that tasted remotely good. The Beef Tripe, ended up being being the Beef intestine (?). She gave us the wrong item and we didn't realize until it was entirely cooked. After, we told our server and she allowed us to order something else. We ordered Chicken and Veggies Stew (22.99$) which consisted of potato, onions and chicken. It tasted like boiled chicken and nothing particularly special about it either. My friend and I were very disappointed with everything. Our server never came back to check up on our meal after her error. It took double the time to dine at the restaurant and left dissatisfied. The food was mediocre at best. Never again will I come back. read more

See all

The service is really really slow, but should be expected since the ginseng chicken needs to be cooked by the waitress 3 times per table, including all other tasks they have to do (they look really tired) I have been here a few times and all at bad timings because the restaurant is always full, each time the waitress tells us it's a really long wait and they don't know how long, in a tune that they want you to not wait and just leave. Each time I waited anyways and it turned out less time than I expected or what they tried to imply. The ginseng chicken is really good and all 3 ways of the cooking is delicious. The ginseng chicken, the noodles and the congee in the end. The 2 people portion is really big and just a good amount for 2 people and no need to order dishes of you came as a couple. However if you come here, expect to spend a long time here, because the cooking is really slow and it takes forever for the food to come. There is 6 side dishes (it's delicious) but no refills (75 cents per dish refill) They seat 2 people at the 6 person tables, which I think is a bit ridiculously, they should rearrange the seats around so they can maximize the amount of people that can be seated at this restaurant, so there isn't always people waiting. Anyways the food here is good and if you have a lot of time to spare for dinner, then it is fine. read more

See all

Came here for with a party of three on a weekday evening. Restaurant was relatively empty. The ginseng chicken soup with noodles and congee was comforting and warm. The portion size for two ($32.95) is definitely enough to satisfy two plus some. They first bring out the pot of ginseng chicken soup, then they cook green spinach noodles in the slightly salty chicken broth, and then after they dump in purple rice to make congee. This dish was featured on the foodie show Culinary Suburbia. The red sauce they have is mild and sweet and works well with the chicken, as it can be bland solo. The cold noodles ($12.95) were standard. They included bits of boiled chicken, which was strange but I won't complain about extra meat. I was surprised to see cold noodles on the menu as they are typically only offered seasonally in the summer. Minus a star for $0.75 extra for side dish refills. read more

See all

I've went back approximately once-every-year, almost like a Field Trip. Always had the Dak Hanmari. If you like au-naturel Whole Boiled Chicken. Spring Chicken pcs almost too healthy. Add Gochujang, Soya, etc as needed. Samgyetang is also on the Menu if you want the Whole Chicken to yourself. Tip: Waitress WILL be busy doing the 100-metre sprint all night Table-cooking. If you're Hungry and Banchan cannot satisfy you while you wait for Food. Order something on the Menu that is cooked by the Kitchen and sharable. Dak Hanmari is not a Meal to-be-rushed. Soju m a y b e helpful, F-Y-I. read more

Went there today - the first time since last winter. One word: OUTSTANDING!!! This is the way real, traditional, home cooking is supposed to taste like. The owner's wife does the cooking and everything she prepares is with the utmost care. Had the yanggogi jongol with minari and gaenip (lamb stew with watercress and shiso leaf). They give you extra seasonings on the side to add to it - OMG ... its impossible to stop at just one bowl ... The panchan was not as good as I remember but the yeolmu kimchi, baechu kimchi and the tofu were very, very well prepared. Be prepared to experience a LOT of red chili in the food. Spouse and I agreed that this is one of the best Korean meals we have had in a very long time. read more

This is a great place for ginseng chicken! It's so warm and soothing on a cold winter day. We got the two-person pot that comes with a whole chicken, noodles and congee. If it's your first time ordering this dish, it could be a little confusing. To ensure that each item is cooked correctly, the servers seem to like having full control of the entire cooking process. They don't leave you with a ladle or scissors, and whenever I tried to turn down the heat, they ask me to not touch it! Regardless, I appreciate their efforts to have my food cooked properly. You get to eat the chicken first, followed by thick and chewy noodles, and finished off with congee. The soup becomes increasingly flavourful as it simmers - the congee is a real treat at the end! I haven't tried the other dishes they offer but I highly recommend this dish! read more

Apkujung Restaurant - Banchan - Korean Near Me - North York, Ontario

See all

This restaurant doesn't even deserve a one star. I was verbally attacked and physically intimidated by a waitress working at this restaurant when I went to pick up my food order. The waitress shoved the menu into my face while screaming into my ears. This was over a miscommunication between her and the owner, about the bill. My husband followed up with the owner and he superficially apologized in a cool manner without really addressing the female aggressor. I'm traumatized and shocked from this incident. I have NEVER been attacked by a restaurant staff in my life. I DO NOT recommend this restaurant where the owner allows and turns a blind eye to violence. read more

If you enjoy Korean Ginseng Chicken come here!! Came here with my family for dinner on a weeknight at around 8pm so there were plenty of seats and no wait time. If you wear glasses and if it is cold outside your glasses may fog up the moment you walk in due to the the slight humidty inside from all the boiling soups and hot dishes. We decided to try the Ginseng Chicken, bibimbap, and korean beef with purple rice. The Korean Ginseng Chicken was great and was also my highlight. I was impressed with the soup as the Ginseng really added a nice and interesting bitter but earthy sweetness to it. The chicken itself was pretty big and tender, and stuffed with sticky rice and a red date. It came with a couple pieces of ginseng root which really enhanced the flavour of the chicken and the soup. If you chew on the Ginseng root it has a strong bitter taste but in a good way that may take some time to get used to at first. Not to mention Ginseng roots are super healthy as well! The bibimbap was nice as well and tasted good with the Korean hot sauce. I also enjoyed the Korean beef with purple rice as the beef was soft and sweet. As for the side dishes, it came witth potatoes, kim chi, tofu, seaweed? And radish with vingear. The potatoe side dish as well as the tofu seemed uniquely home cooked in a korean authentic way. The tofu slices were nice as they serve the whole piece of tofu rather than a hollow one with the just tofu skin, and was not dry. The potatoes were more of the stewed potatoes so I really liked it. The kim chi seemed tastier as well in comparison to other korean places I have tried that serve side dishes to start. The plates that you eat with are moon shaped plates The service was relatively quick possibly because it was a week night. In terms of the restaurant itself its not too fancy inside but still comfortable. Not to mention we got yoduly drinks for dessert! Would definitelty come back again for Gingseng Chicken. read more

See all

Koreans love this place! But it wasn't for me, they have a signature whole chicken dish, it's a must if you go there, so I'm told. I thought it lacked flavour, but it was the dish that kept giving as 3 dishes came ou of this one pot. Also I'm not a fan of cooked fish and we got the table top with fish in it. Really just might be the choice of dishes that were ordered. The staff is super nice and price is fair, just not my Kind of Korean resturant, I'll try it again tho read more

My friend suggested we go to this place, and I did my due diligence on Yelp to see what to order. Ate the Dak Hanmari as most suggested (it wasn't written like that in English, but it was on the first page of the menu as one of their main specials: Chicken, Noodle and Congee). The 6 dishes of Banchan were delicious! They bring a big pot over and cook the chicken in front of you. The chicken itself is as it sounds: boiled chicken, so the meats were moist and pretty good. The buckwheat noodles cooked in the broth was even better, but the congee cooked in the remaining liquid was the star of the show for me. Not that I have had much experience with Korean juk, but to me it was way more delicious and hearty than Chinese Congee! It was super busy but the 2 waitresses did their best to attend to every table's pots and grills. It only came out to 26 dollars after tax for this, and both of us came out super full! Parked in Centerpoint across the street, very close by. Would definitely come again! read more

Horrible service. They don't serve you the tea until the food comes. Only serve well to Koreans. Definitely won't come again. When you say hi to them, they just ignore you even if they see you. read more

Food is actually pretty tasty, but service was the worst. We ordered the ginseng chicken soup (3.5/5- not much taste, chicken was kind of dry), the sliced tender beef BBQ (4/5- meat was really good) that came with a side soft tofu stew (4/5). The BBQ was brought out without any lettuce or rice, we had to ask for it, and then the side soft tofu and rice weren't brought to our table until we finished our entire meal. We had to stay a little longer to finish it. The owner was really nice but the server we had didn't check on us once during the entire meal... which is a shame because I did enjoy the food. read more

This isn't your typical korean bbq, soon dofu, or ricecake place. gladly consumed: potato pancake kanpungi - sweet spicy deep fried chicken sam gae tang - Whole poached chicken ginseng soup; noodles; congee. Great selection of banchan! on the downside, I was very thirsty later that night. if you know what I mean... limited (double) parking in the back OR park across the street at Centrepoint mall and walk over; there's a traffic signal steps from the entrance read more

1 hr to get food. Horrible service. How does someone take 15 mins to clean a 4 person table. They literally had 2 waitress doing stupid task like arranging the menu at the counter instead of cleaning up tables or seating customers. 1 hr to get food and I'm still waiting on 3/4 of my other dishes. read more

UPDATE: Went there 2 weeks ago. They changed the kind of chicken they used for the Ginseng Chicken. Very disappointed with it. The chicken has no taste, the soup had no taste, can't even see any ginseng in it. _________________________________________________ It's a very authentic and humble place. No fancy decorations nor fancy eatery. However, the food is very good, especially those cooked at the table. Their signature ginseng chicken is a must. Ginseng taste is not too strong (it was stronger before, guess they changed it over the years to cater for most people). The chicken is tender but not too tasty. It is best to eat with their homemade hot sauce. However, the best part is the soup which they used to cook noodles and congee after you eat the chicken. Other dishes like bulgogi, BBQ duck (available on the board), lamb stew are all very good. They make a very yummy fried rice with the remaining sauce when you finish the lamb stew. Service can be slow when they're busy. Only 2 girls work in the front, but they are extremely nice! The owner will also come out to take care of his customers when he's not tied up in the kitchen. Not to mention the price is unbeatable! Only downside is they have specials written in Korean only on a board at the back. You may have to ask what's on it if you don't know Korean. read more

Disappointed..first time come and this is our last time too.. not tasty and dirty place! Not recommended.. but service is good read more

Apkujung Restaurant - So dirty, i don't think they clean the glass after use - Korean Near Me - North York, Ontario

The chicken kalguksu (noodle soup) was the best part of the dinner. Also had seafood pancake (very good) and army stew (budae chigae) which was quite bland. Will come back here for the noodles. read more

I love this place! Apkujung is a real gem with what I believe to be super authentic Korean food. It is really spicy, for real. The service is nice. The dishes are nice. The atmosphere is really quaint and nice too. read more

This place is the 2nd closest korean resto from my work (the closest one is not even worth a mention). The side dishes are okay. Kimchi is on the fresher and definitely spicier side. Dumplings mandu from here are pretty good - I like em boiled. The taste is clean and the portion is sufficient for me - but these dumplings are pretty hard to mess up. I just ordered a chicken congee from them (love hot foods) and it looks really unappetizing I think because they use several types of gains so the colour is greyish like gruel. I could tell they are using some pork broth because the flavour tastes more like pork than chicken which is a bit overwhelming when I wanted a cleaner not so rich taste. The congee is more 'ricey' as opposed to 'smooth'. It's the closest place I can get congee in my belly.. would not order again. read more

Apkujung Restaurant - side dishes - cold tofu dish, warm marinated potato, kimchi (these vary day to day - Korean Near Me - North York, Ontario

See all

One of my favourite Korean restaurants seems to have changed owners or something. The sign is new and the menu choices have changed a little. Prices have gone up with no improvement in quality, and they are much more stingy with the side dish refills. Like most Korean places, they seem permanently understaffed. Prepare to take forever to get a hold of the server. They still specialize in Chicken Ginseng Soup 3 course (dak han mari) but it doesn't taste as good as before. Also, they seem to be getting into more exotic Korean dishes like duck or maesengyi (seaweed), which I suppose is nice niche filler since most Korean places don't serve these. I would still come back but my perception of this place has changed. read more

Ginseng chicken will be cooked in front of you. Great dish to have in cold Toronto winter. It can certainly warm you up! Their price is reasonable as well. read more

Still didn't serve tea until all food came, waited almost 30mins for food when it's not that busy, we ordered a beef bone noodle on the side but we found out there are same noodle comes with the gingsing chicken soup. Gingsing chicken with noodle was not bad tho. read more

If you are craving traditional Korean ginseng chicken - look no further for the very best provider in the GTA. The glutinous rice that is stuffed in the chicken was stewed with ginseng and herbs, and it is steeped with the rich flavours of chicken and of course, the deep richness of ginseng. This dish is great for sharing with friends and is perfect for nourishment during the hot Toronto summers. You must also order the Korean grilled short ribs or kalbi, which has the delicious char from the grill and of course the famed Korean bbq marinade. read more

Good food, but treat your servers better. The owner got really belligerent and poorly treated the servers while the customers were still present. Despite all the unpleasantness the servers acted in the utmost professional manner, and they are unsure as to if they would get paid for the day's work.I have left my number with them. I would not return given these circumstances. read more

I went here today for the first time after reading reviews at around 2pm for a late lunch. I ordered pork bone soup (quite the standard dish). There were about 6 side dishes, nice sized. The pork bone soup was not spicy. Like at all. I am very sensitive to spicy food so if I think it's not spicy, it really isn't. The menu said pork bone soup with potatoes. Not a potato was seen in my food. It didn't taste bad, but it was just okay. I would give food 3/5. Now the reason for the 2 stars is the service. I was the only one in the restaurant by the time I finished, no one came with the bill (but I was sitting in an enclosed area) so i called the waitress over and got the bill. I gave cash, she gave me back $10 in change. I took the change, with the intent of leaving the tips on the table (as I customarily do) and this waitress called me back. "Excuse me, no tips?" I was tempted to just walk out there. I for one, always tip every place I go. To ask for tips, I consider very rude. Tips are optional, based on good service and I reserve the right to tip. That left a sour taste in my mouth, I won't be coming here again. read more