Quietly nestled in a small strip mall in Port Coquitlam, lies an authentic Korean restaurant that goes by both Tongileo or TEO Korean Restaurant. I have never heard of this place until my Korean friend, Fish, told me about it! She lives nearby and this was her go-to for authentic comforting, homemade dumplings and soup noodles.

Her Korean grandma also approves of this place so that’s when you know it’s legit! I rarely go to Port Coquitlam but I made the trek out here one evening to try it.

Tongileo was located in quite a random location, off Lougheed Highway in Port Coquitlam. The storefront doesn’t actually say Tongileo or TEO Korean Restaurant on it.

Instead, it just advertises “Tofu back bone soup” and the restaurant name is on the strip mall sign post. I didn’t realize until driving back home, that it was only minutes away from Coquitlam Center. There is also a small meat shop in this plaza, and I read reviews that they are the same owners as Tongileo but not sure if that’s true or not.

We came on a weekday evening and the restaurant was at full capacity with COVID restrictions. We got the last table so we didn’t have to wait. Yay!

Banchan: The banchan that day was seaweed, kimchi, and sweet potato. They were all tasty and fresh.

Seafood pancake: The seafood pancake was jampacked with ingredients inside, and was flavourful. My only complaint would be that it could have been slightly more crispier but it was still delicious.

Kal-guksu with dumplings: This is Fish’s go-to order, and I ordered it as well! I am a huge lover of a warm bowl of comforting soup noodles. This was my first time trying Korean soup noodles like this!

The dumplings were jampacked with pork and lots of chopped vegetables inside. They were very comforting and tasted homemade, not too salty and simple. I loved how much chopped vegetables were inside and how plump and filled these dumplings were.

The broth was simple and clear, yet flavourful. It felt healthy and safe to eat with my sensitive stomach. There were also some slices of beef in the soup but the star of the show was definitely the dumplings.

The noodles were also handmade and knife chopped, so they were a bit rugged in texture which I loved. I find that these types of noodles carry more soup in the ridges.

Bossam and kimchi: Fish ordered the kal-guksu combo, which came with the dumplings and noodle soup along with bossam and kimchi. The bossam was tender and rich, with a nice fatty taste to it. The kimchi packed a lot of heat and was fresh and crunchy.

Overall, it was a good visit to Tongileo and I’m glad to have ventured out to Port Coquitlam with Fish to try it. It’s a hidden gem in PoCo and it could be hard to find especially since the name of the restaurant isn’t on the storefront, but the food was great.

Korean fried chicken is insanely popular right now! There have been a few places serving Korean fried chicken before, but seems like the popularity exploded after people watched Crash Landing On You and saw the same chain restaurant, k.bbq, in Burquitlam in the show. It was a bit ridiculous how many posts I saw on this place everyday! Product placement works y’all, as evidence by these people flocking to get their KFC.

Strangely enough, I have never been a huge fried chicken lover (except for chicken strips) but I had to see what the hype with Korean fried chicken was about.

The new Rib and Chicken Vancouver location opened up recently nearby so the fiance and I came here for dinner to check it out.

The original Rib and Chicken location is in Langley but they have since expanded to a few locations around the Lower Mainland. This Vancouver location replaced an old Italian restaurant who had seen better days. I remember always seeing it on Groupon so I’m not surprised they shuttered.

The layout is a bit strange, with a couple of closed off areas. There was a whole section in the back that we couldn’t see as well. Since this place is fairly new, it was pretty quiet on the weekday evening that we came but I did notice a few delivery people.

There was only 1 server that evening but she was really nice and attentive. Pandemic-wise (Lol @ the fact that I am including this in a review now), it felt safe as tables were distanced, server was wearing a mask, and there was only one other table.

Banchan: The banchan here was pretty decent, no complaint about it.

Mixed fried chicken: We ordered the small, which was more than enough for two people. There were a few different flavours to pick from, we chose the original, and sweet and spicy.

The chicken came out piping hot and fresh! It was delicious. The fried chicken was not oily at all which is evident of their skillful frying technique.

Both flavours were enjoyable but we both liked the original more. The sweet and spicy was a bit too saucy for our liking but it was still good nonetheless.

Tofu soup: I was actually really craving tofu soup that day which is why we came here. I ended up eating only a couple pieces of fried chicken and had the tofu soup instead!

The tofu soup packed a lot of spice in it that built. There was a generous portion of tofu and seafood inside.

My one complaint was that it was extremely salty! Coming from a savoury food and salty fish lover, I found it way too salty. I ended up asking for a cup of hot water to dilute the soup, which was more manageable.

All in all, Rib and Chicken was satisfying and a great new Korean addition to this area. We normally go to Kook which is less than 2 minutes away from here, so they will have some competition (even though Kook is BBQ but they do serve some other same Korean dishes).

There is also Yook which is 5 minutes away. It’s nice that we don’t have to go far for good Korean fried chicken!

Andamiro Korean Bistro has been on my to try list for awhile now. While looking for a place to have dinner with Sangria and Lager, I suggested this place. It was a delicious meal and we left very full and satisfied.

Andamiro is located in East Van along Kingsway Street. Parking was a bit hard to find because it is all street and residential parking. There are many other restaurants around so you’ll probably have to drive around a couple times during peak hours.

Walking in, the restaurant was cutely decorated and very Korean style. There was also a little play area for kids which I thought was awesome!

Banchan: The banchan was disappointing and I was worried this would set the scene for the rest of our dinner. The sweet potatoes were very bland and flavourless. You could probably tell judging by the colour, usually they are a nice, golden brown.

I haven’t been served lettuce as banchan before and it just seemed cheap to me (or maybe I don’t know banchan well enough). A single piece of lettuce cut up into small pieces. The beansprouts were alright but could have used more flavour. The only good thing was the kimchi, which had a nice kick to it.

Anyways, Sangria, Lager, and the fiance went with a set menu which was a pretty good deal. I wasn’t sure how my stomach would fare, so I ordered my own soup but had a bite bites of their items.

Seafood tofu soup: The first dish in the set menu. Although they ordered a mild spicy level, it still packed a good amount of heat. The broth didn’t look that spicy which was deceiving!

Short ribs & beef bulgolgi: The MEAT! This came sizzling hot and smelled delicious. It did not disappoint either! The meat was juicy and thoroughly marinated with a nice sweetness to it due to the bulgolgi sauce.

Royal seafood japchae: The japchae was delicious as well. I love crystal noodles – actually, all noodles in general, I don’t discriminate 🙂 The noodles soaked up the flavour nicely and it came with a good amount of ingredients.

Seafood pancake: The seafood pancake was a bit on the smaller side compared to other Korean restaurants, but it was a good amount to share. The pancake was crispy on the outside, while the inside had a good amount of ingredients.

Ox bone soup: I love my Korean oxbone soup! I was expecting to have to season this myself with the salt and pepper provided as with most Korean places, but this was already seasoned. The broth was very flavourful and milky due to the ox bone.

There was a very generous amount of sliced beef inside as well. The beef was soft and delectable.

However, near the end, it got a bit too salty for my liking. I kept needing to drink water.

Takoyaki: Lager noticed that you could get a free plate of takoyaki if you posted a photo on Instagram, so obviously we did that! I didn’t have any, but the rest of them had no complaints about it.

Overall, we left Andamiro with leftovers and very full tummies. I did find some of their items to be very salty though so just a heads up on that. Service was friendly and attentive, decent prices, and tasty food – I would come back!

Yay!