Weekly Lunch Pick: the $7 stew at Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu

What this little Korean institution lacks in decor it more than makes up for with its namesake specialty, served as part of a set menu ($7–$9). We’re greeted with a cup of barley tea and complimentary dishes of kimchee, simmered soybeans and blanched bean sprouts. Soon, a bubbling cauldron of kimchee-tofu stew peppered with bits of pork and beef arrives with a small egg that we crack into the spicy broth. While the egg poaches, a server ladles black Japonica rice from a hot stone pot into a cool dish, then fills the empty pot with water for the meal’s second course: burnt rice soup. The tofu stew is a filling and fiery affair, and the soup acts as a hearty digestif.

The time: Everything arrives within 10 minutes, but it takes 28 more to finish the ample food on the table.

The cost: $10, including tax and a $2 tip.

Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu, 691 Bloor St. W. (at Manning Ave.), 416-537-0972.