Why do you eat out? Perhaps there's no energy to cook today. Maybe there's a celebratory occasion…read morewith friends. Maybe there's a viral new restaurant with the most beautiful interior. Or maybe we want to feel cared for. On those days, people tend to look for comforting flavours that are down to earth, simple dishes. These restaurants often get undeservingly relegated to a lower category. We don't dress up to go there, we don't take as many selfies.
But why? Is it because the interior is kitscht or "cheap"? Because there's no lobster or dollop of caviar? What if I told you that inside a little shaby restaurant was real, honest, painstackingly well prepared food?
Laon is a special little gem that moved into the Milton-Parc neighbourhood, near a street corner that sometimes gets rough. It took over a restaurant that changed hands several times in the past, and still carries inside the remnents of its other cultural memories. The man that owns it, Jinsoo (Steven), seems a bit shy and does not speak English very much.
But his care is immense. The neatness of that space, of each item placed for you to use, translates in gestures gratefulness, kindness and hope. The dishes are simple, homemade comfort classics of Korea. But done well, very well. They speak of the relief of getting home after a rough day at work, or of visiting parents after a long school semester away. They speak their own language, in the tenderness of the zucchini that is cooked just right, the small bowl of fluffy rice where each grain is distinct yet slightly clingy, the golden brown edges of the onions, bell peppers and beef in the cheolpan that are expertly even.
At Laon, I said thank you and I meant it from the bottom of my heart.
P.S. Prices are amazing.
P.P.S. Just go.
