Midam Cafe

Came here for lunch after my friend and I did a big summer bike ride from East Van to Wreck Beach! We were in dire need of something cool and refreshing. Thankfully, Midam Cafe had cold noodles on their menu.

I admit that I haven't had a lot of cold Korean noodle dishes, but this one really hit the spot for me. The broth was flavourful yet very light, and the amount of ice/slush was a good balance for me (I don't like very cold things). The meat was delicious and tender, and I only wish there were more slices added! The egg and cucumber were a nice touch.

As for the banchan, my favourite was the potato and the kimchi. The kimchi was really delicious to me that day haha.

Can't wait to come back and try other things!

Decent, standard Korean food at least as judged by the veggie item I tried.

I stopped in after having seen their vegetarian section of the menu online. Almost all items have egg in them, so, to be vegan, you have to remove that; their kimchi has fish in it, so avoid that if you're vegan.

I got the vegetarian bibimbap ($16.50) -- I actually tried to order the tofu & mushroom bibimbap but the server mis-heard me and brought the former, then charged me $3 when I asked to add tofu.

The dish came out in about 10-15 mins in a stone bowl, which nicely crispified the rice, with spinach, bean sprouts, carrots, zucchini and radish, and a side of gochujang sauce. All meals come with refillable side dishes of pickled radish, seaweed, and kimchi (which they changed to garlic potato for me, which was nice). Pretty standard bowl really with nothing to set it apart.

Not a bad spot, but it pretty much failed to leave much an impression. Competent Korean food.

There's not much Korean options in the area but we've been a few times to Midam Cafe. They have a second location out in Coquitlam. This one is located nearby Sahel Market & Restaurant.

The inside is heavy on the basketball theme; basketball net, jerseys and hats. Service was okay but they disappear once you get your food. At least they drop off a large pitcher of water for the table.

The menu consists of appetizer, signature, soup, noodles, soul food of Seoul, KFC, rice bowl, vegetarian, pasta and dessert. They also offer a hansang lunch special ($23.00/set, limit of 15 sets per day) from 11:30am to 3:00pm.

Trip #1
- Banchan - kimchi, sliced fish cakes and seaweed. Kimchi was the best of the three; fresh and crunchy.
- Kimchi bacon yaki udon (#23) ($14.00) - my favourite dish of the night. The udon had a chewy bite. Bacon and kimchi were tasty but didn't overwhelm the dish.
- BBQ pork bulgogi stone pot bibimbap (#39) ($16.00) - bibimbap was light on the gochujang sauce but the BBQ pork was flavourful.
- Winner winner chicken dinner ($43.00) - all the fried items were excellent. The hotpot itself was standard. A lot of ttekboki (lacked bounce and clumpy) but the fish cakes were better.

Trip #2
- Sapporo ($6.00)
- Citron makgeolli ($9.00 for 500mL) - a light, slightly sweet citrus note.
- Banchan - glazed potato, cubed radish and seaweed.
- Bulgogi set with spicy kimchi pork tofu soup ($23.00) - lunch set was decent. Bulgogi was tender and the tofu soup had plenty of tofu (but not much depth/heat to the broth).
- Honey mustard fried chicken (#34) ($16.00 half) - everyone enjoyed the honey mustard KFC over the sweet and spicy.
- Sweet & spicy fried chicken (#36) ($16.00 half) - nothing memorable about the sauce.
- BBQ pork bulgogi stone pot bibimbap (#39) ($16.00) - rice didn't get crispy at the bottom and needed more sauce.
- Vegetarian truffle japchae (#48) ($22.00) - my favourite dish that we ordered. Good variety of vegetables and the truffle added a nice subtle note.

Decent eats at MC but slightly overpriced for what you get. 3.5 stars.

The second I walked in and opened the menu I love the restaurant. The food I rate 9.5/10, severs were very nice. The scenery was so cool, the whole place was basketball related.

Great place for comfort food Korean style.

They've kept the NBA theme decorations from their old richmond location.

Lunch set was substantial enough for two to share. Will be back for their bibimbap and special dishes.

Came here for dessert and it was fabulous! Tried the Oreo dessert and the strawberry shortcake ice. So so so good.

Delicious Korean comfort food to eat at the end of a long day. Have been here on a couple of occasions and was not disappointed. My only critique is the fried chicken is a bit on the smaller side portion-wise for its price, but still delicious. The platter (we got it with bulgogi) was the highlight of all things I've ordered here and was large enough to share between 3 people.

First time at this restaurant and decided to try their cold noodle. I like it.
Fried chicken.. I like it too.

Lots of families having their dinner here.

Service is ok.

One-line review: This was pretty good.

We ordered:

- Bibimbap stone bowl
- half an order of the Korean sweet and spicy fried chicken
- BBQ spicy pork sirloin

The food was good, if not exactly what we were expecting. The stone pot, which keeps the food hot and makes the rice 'crusty,' was wonderful. The fried chicken remained crunchy under the sweet sauce drizzled over the top; word to the wise: This is NOT spicy. But it was not sicky sweet and pleasant enough to the taste. The BBQ spicy pork was the biggest surprise. It was saucier than we expected; we thought it would be drier. Again, this was not spicy -- a bit of a letdown for us -- but still well-executed for what it was. Portions were fair; we did take a little bit home.

I don't often comment on the decor of a place, but this was memorable. The whole place is decked out in a basketball theme, with jerseys, basketballs, shoes, a basketball map, and a tribute to Kobe Bryant, of all people. That was a fun surprise.

Service was friendly and competent.

We parked for free in the neighbourhood -- always preferable to paying.

Bottom line: This merits a return trip.

Delicious dinner for a birthday celebration tonight with courteous wait staff, delicious food and reasonable prices. Good thing we made a reservation for a Monday night because this place was pretty busy yet the two hard working waitresses remained helpful and friendly.

We ordered the:
Midam Platter (with bulgogi) - this huge platter of food was arranged and then brought to our table to be heated up. I admit, a little bit of the price was for the show of it but still this came with kimchi udon, rice and egg, cheese, corn mayo and bulgogi beef. The beef was tender, not fatty and very flavourful. The other aspects of the platter were all only okay in taste but it was the variety that really drew us in! We could have a little taste of everything and when mixed together, it was a great combo. The cheese did get a little bit stiff after coming off the hot plate though.

Original Fried Chicken - we got the large portion and this was a good sized dish of crispy, boneless chicken. I found that the batter was light and stayed crisp through the entire meal and the meat itself was not that fatty. Delicately flavoured and great for snacking.

Bibimbap - coming in a hot stone bowl, this was again a good sized portion of rice topped with veggies and a tiny bit of ground beef. I wish the amount of beef was a bit more but then again, we went with the original for the plethora of sautéed veggies. The crust that formed was very minimal but the dish was still very flavourful and tasty!

Fried Dumplings - nice and juicy, supposedly homemade and quite tasty. A bit pricey but a great appetizer.

Spicy Seafood Soft Tofu Soup - one of our favourite things tonight, this came bubbling and was FILLED with seafood, tofu, egg and of course, red hot soup! The spiciness was actually perfect being enough to add lots of flavour but not so much that your tongue burned. We finished this bowl without a problem!

Overall, the food was quite good and although the price wasnt cheap, it wasnt unreasonable either as we packed a bit home. The platter is probably not something i'd order again but a great meal tonight at Midam!