Korean cuisine novice here.

Hoping to get some recommendations for favourite restaurants, AYCE BBQ and specific dishes. Plus some more insight into what all of those sides are, would be awesome!

Sounds like you need to talk to my wife,  because of the sides all korean meals seem to turn into all you can eat....

@Crystal - try Choonha Choo dong.  I haven't had their bbq but their other main dishes are pretty tasty!

In a nutshell: K-food is most of the time a bowl of rice with a bunch of banchan (side dishes) and a main (a type of soup, or: beef, pork, chicken, or fish)

The most popular banchan that is attached with Korean food is KIMCHI!  It's a spicy pickled cabbage.

The main ingredients in a lot of Korean food are- Garlic, Soy sauce, Ginger, Korean hot Chili paste,...

The Korean food non Koreans are most familiar with is Korean beef BBQ.  It's tender and delicious! I recommend starting with that before diving into other culinary Korean delights.  Other mains that can start you on your Korean palate are:

bibimbap (Rice bowl with lots of fixings you mix together with a spicy chili paste)

@Sarah O. (if you're reading this) -- am I missing out on anything here?

I'm hoping to organize a korean uye, but been so busy lately. maybe next month!

I loved Choon Ha Choo dong.  I've wanted to go back, but I never have enough people to go with for BBQ feast.

Kimchi, kimchi and more kimchi.

Also I like Galbi/Kalbi as well.

If you are in the West End I have ended up a few times at Apgujung which is open at all hours and is pretty tasty.

Reena, that sounds like a UYE to me!

I smell UYE too!

I just read Sarah O's review of Midam yelp.ca/biz/midam-burnab… and now I want to try Korean porridge.

I recently became a fan of this place for korean food: yelp.ca/biz/house-of-tof…
I'd say it's worth the visit even if you're not living in burnaby.

@Yoony and Sarah, what do you call the red sauce that you pour over the Dolsot Bibimbap? I practically use that sauce over everything. I've been asking the restaurants I go to, but they utter it in Korean language. Is there a place I can purchase this? Any famous brand? Thanks in advance.

How about Insadong?
yelp.ca/biz/insadong-kor…

I know it's a ways to go, but there are some great Korean places way way way out in Coquitlam.

There's a few places out in Burnaby as well.

Don't know much about any of the places downtown.  If I go for Korean, it's usually a drive out of town for some reason.
I like the place Sarah went to.
Sarah is cool.

You rock, Sarah! I do like the sweeter version at the restaurants, but it looks easy to prepare as long as I get my hands on those ju-cho-gang, err....gu-jo-chang, err....kidding! I wrote it down and am on a quest. Thanks again.

There is a place at 36 east broadway i think....the translated name is spring, summer, winter and fall. I refer to it as red box, blue box, green box yellow box. Great food, service etc recommendation is bringing a person who speaks Korean will take the dinner to the next level

My sister in law loves Kimchee.  When she lived in the States, she ate this every day.  Talk about Kimchee breath.
My father tried a swing at making it one time too.  Years supply worth for five families.

My favourite are the sides.  I like to make the Namul, but not too salty.

I've always liked the spicier kinds of foods and probably one reason why I like Korean food so much.  It's in my top ten for favourite ethnic food cultures.