What’s on the menu at Hawk & Chick, a new quick-service Korean lunch counter

By Renée Suen | Photography By Renée Suen | January 3, 2019

By Renée Suen | Photography By Renée Suen | 01/03/2019

Name: Hawk & Chick
Contact: 1426 Dundas St. W., no phone, @hawkandchick.to
Neighbourhood: Little Portugal
Chef-owner: Joe Kim (Pinky’s CaPhe, Hanmoto, Grand Electric, Electric Mud BBQ, Momofuku, Origin)

The food

Bento boxes, house-made banchan, jjigae and more, prepared to-order and served with Korean purple rice. Kim’s menu was influenced by a few different things: his Korean heritage, the years when his parents operated Japanese restaurants, and his experience working in more refined kitchens. “This restaurant isn’t my opus where everything is coming back,” says Kim. “It’s just food I enjoy that’s hearty, filling and not pretentious.”

Using a refined version of his family’s recipe, Kim’s soon tofu features silken tofu in a spicy garlic-and-chili stew made with kombu dashi, oyster mushrooms, shrimp and egg. It’s sided with purple rice. $10.

The bibim box comes with spicy chicken, marinated beef bulgogi (shown here) or tofu, topped with a fried egg, spinach, carrot, zucchini, radish, bean sprouts, burdock root and gochujang sauce. $13.

The popular karaage chicken is topped with chili crisp and comes with house-made aïoli, crab stick slaw, braised sweet soy lotus root and kimchi. $13.50.

The spicy pork bulgogi box includes tender slices of marinated pork neck, two smoked bacon and caramelized onion korokke, pickled yellow radish, house-made cabbage kimchi and katsu sauce. $14.

Whitefish katsu is sided by Japanese-style tartar sauce, crab stick slaw in a miso-emulsion dressing, sesame spinach and cabbage kimchi. $14.

The drinks

Non-alcoholic drinks including soda, coconut water, iced tea, San Pellegrino and Vitamin Water.

The refrigerator case is stocked with banchan and drinks to-go.

The space

The no-frills takeout spot with an open kitchen can seat eight dine-in customers at window-facing benches—the rest will have to get their orders to-go. Delivery is in the works.