Soondae Town

This unassuming stall inside of the Robson Public Market brought my tastebuds back to Busan.

Both the chef and cashier were super helpful and nice. They answered all my questions and offered recommendations, and were very welcoming.

Nam San seems to be very popular for their Soondae (blood sausage). However, I've never really tried Soondae before and I was feeling nauseous on the day of my visit--so I opted for something more mild and less "adventurous" instead. I will definitely be back to try their Soondae next time though.

Daeji Gukbap 10/10
This boiled bowl of stew was exactly what my upset tummy needed. The creamy broth warmed me right up and soothed my stomach so well. It was the only thing I was able to keep down in two days. There was also a generous amount of tender and flavourful pork inside. This bowl of stew honestly reminded me so much of the one we tried in Busan. Definitely recommend it to anyone who likes stews. There was no gaminess at all, and yet the soup was still so full of flavour. Absolutely delicious.

Have you guys tried this hidden gem yet?

10/10
‍10/10
$ ($15-$18/set)
Nam San Korean Cuisine | 1610 Robson St, Vancouver

So this place now operates under the name Nam San but is still an absolute gem. One of the three remaining stalls in the Robson Public Market food court, Nam San specializes in pork offal and homemade Korean blood sausage (soondae), incorporated into a variety of dishes.

I always order the same thing, a mixed pork offal and soondae soup. You can choose the spiciness level when you order but they also offer red pepper flakes and fish sauce on the side to add to taste. It comes in small and large, with a side of pickled radish, roasted seaweed, and white rice. Even with the small, you get a lot of meat in the hot stone bowl and it is so comforting. The offal is super tender but the star here is definitely the soondae. Pork blood and vermicelli with spices are encased in an intestine casing, making for a unique springy texture. It's even more tasty when you dip into their homemade fish sauce and the stew warms you to the bone.

I love supporting small mom and pop shops, and with how tucked away this place is on the busy Robson strip, I'll definitely make an effort to frequent them time and time again. Please pay them a visit and try their unique offerings out!

I have been on the search for some delicious soondae forever. Soondae town's soondae was probably the best I have ever tried. It was cooked fresh (had to wait 20min but it was so freaking worth it). The smell when it was first served was amazing.

Located on the second floor of the Robson Public Market, this is a new Korean fast food restaurant that serves up a very simple menu - just one item! Their specialty is their soondae-guk-bap or Korean sausage soup.

The soup base is similar to other Korean soups - spicy hot. Korean sausage is typically made with pork, vegetables and sweet potato glass noodles. I'm not sure what they are encased in but, judging by the color and thickness, it looks to be from a cow. It's nothing like your traditional breakfast sausage in both taste and texture. It does have a distinct meaty taste. The sausage combines with vegetables and other bits of meat made for a richer broth. It's fairly spicy so keep that in mind if you can't take spicy foods. The meal came with rice and some small side dishes (kimchi, picked onions and a slice of orange).

Overall, the soup was pretty solid. If you like Korean soup, then I'd say give it a try. For $7, it's not a bad deal. Good for a quick lunch stop if you don't want to go to a restaurant and contend with line ups and crowds.

A few spoonfuls into the meal, I realized that the chef was a genius. The soup, the sausages, the banchai, the rice, the noodles, were all perfectly balanced with savory, sweet, spicy, earthy notes. The textures. For $7 plus tax, this was the finest meal I've had in Vancouver in a long time. And yet, I could see that this could never become popular in the mainstream. There was an offal snout-to-tail trend a while ago that never quite took root in Vancouver. But this meal was delicious. Each element must have taken months to measure and balance. For example, I was astonished by the small pile of ground pepper doled onto the top of the soup, but it worked. It added a zest and flavor that matched the spicy broth.

Soondae korean sausages are a type of blood sausage, pork intestines stuffed with pork blood and rice. Yeah. In vegan-gone-mad Vancouver, this description would eliminate over half the total addressable market. The simple banchai were the best I've had in a while. They could sell jars of this stuff. The flavors sang a song that recalled small streetside eateries in Korea.

So..we really enjoy soondae and grilled pork intestines. We eat it every chance we get

My wife had heard about this place so we decided to give it a try

She got the soondae and I ordered the grilled pork intestines

It was ok..but not great. Found the pork intestines to be quite rubbery and not crispy. Soondae was dry

With all the competition in the area..bb pocha..yogi etc doubt we'll return

Excellent comfort food. Super homey, great value. Huge portions and the owners are super lovely people!! Highly recommend. Don't let the slow traffic of the plaza scare you away.

Enjoyed it very much. Awesome food, reasonable price, and great service.
Might not a right place to take ur date to tho ;)

Well kept secret in the Robson public market located upstairs. The k-sausage soup completely over delivers with a really big portion of food with complimentary side dishes and it was only $7 for everything! By the way, it's DELICIOUS if u like spicy Korean food. Only thing that I wish they offered was an option to pay with debit or credit cause it's cash only, but if they did I would definitely be going a lot more!

Flavors are excellent! I only had the spicy blood intestine/offal soup and am looking forward to their other selections as it's a small specialized menu.