{"id":5350,"date":"2022-10-25T14:49:25","date_gmt":"2022-10-25T14:49:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/?p=5350"},"modified":"2022-10-25T14:49:28","modified_gmt":"2022-10-25T14:49:28","slug":"mapo-pocha-soju-bar-toronto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/?p=5350","title":{"rendered":"Mapo Pocha Soju Bar – Toronto"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mapo Pocha Soju Bar<\/p>\n\n\n\n

680 Bloor St W<\/p>\n\n\n\n

416.901.0678<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Website<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Koreatown<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mapo Pocha\u00a0Soju Bar is a\u00a0hotspot on Bloor that serves up different flavors of soju and comfort food dishes until late at night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mapo is a district in Korea where owner Becky Zheng’s grandmother once owned a barbecue restaurant. Pocha is an abbreviation for pojang macha, the street food stalls that are common late-night hangouts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"mapoSince coming to Canada in 2006, Zheng wanted to follow in the footsteps of her grandmother and has worked in restaurants for the last 10 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"mapoThe space which is now occupied by Mapo Pocha\u00a0was the original home of Zheng’s first business,\u00a0Mapo Korean BBQ, which has relocated down the street.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zheng realized there aren’t many spots for nightlife in Koreatown, apart from a few karaoke bars. She wanted to introduce a space where she could share her culture while filling in this gap. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"mapoWalking inside Mapo Pocha, I’m met with a ceiling covered in hanging orchid flowers with neon lights glowing in between. The detail adds to the party feel of the bar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"mapoThere are several wooden booths and tables for groups. Private seating arrangements are lined up against walls with retro Korean movie posters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"mapoAnother eye-catching part of the interior is a sprawling mural that covers the right wall as you approach the kitchen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It displays a scene of a night market in Korea during the 1980s with bustling vendors and after-midnight eaters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"mapoMapo Pocha carries an extensive list of sojus\u00a0in an assortment of flavors that are imported\u00a0from Korea.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether it’s strawberry, green grape, apple, blueberry, grapefruit, yogurt, or plum, you’re served the whole bottle along with shot glasses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"mapoI tried the Peach-flavoured\u00a0soju ($19.99)\u00a0which was mildly sweet. Although it contains 14\u00a0percent alcohol,\u00a0it didn’t taste too boozy when\u00a0sipped.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mapo Pocha also makes their own soju\u00a0by mixing\u00a0distilled liquor with fruit juices and pop\u00a0in four flavors: pineapple, yogurt, mango, and lychee.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"mapoI tried the Pineapple ($22.99) which was refreshing and fizzy. The order came to the table in a big glass bottle with an ice chamber at the bottom which keeps the drink cold while it sits on the table. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There seems to be an endless for food whether you’re looking for a full dinner or if you just want to order a few snack plates to accompany the soju. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"mapoOne of the most popular street food dishes on the menu is the Corn Cheese ($8.99). Here, a sizzling grill plate of corn kernels are covered in melted mozzarella, butter, mayonnaise and a sprinkle of parsley. \"mapoEvery buttery mouthful pops with the light crisp crunch of the corn, the salty flavours of the cheese, and the creaminess from the mayonnaise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"mapoMapo Pocha serves\u00a0a pizza-inspired Kimchi Pancake ($18.99). Bacon, onion, and thinly sliced kimchi are mixed\u00a0into a pancake batter that’s cooked before mozzarella cheese is added on top.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sweet and sour flavor of the kimchi is quite strong in this savory dish. I enjoyed the cheese because the hotcake-like dish felt a bit dry without it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"mapoThe Fried Chicken in Chili Sour Soy Sauce ($29.99) is pretty straightforward but is also a must-try when you come to Mapo Pocha. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s different about this fried chicken is that it’s marinated\u00a0in pineapple juice, lemon juice, and soy sauce. The seasoning gives the chicken naturally sweet and tart flavors.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Garnished with thinly sliced peppers and sesame seeds, the chicken remains crispy even though it’s covered in chili soy sauce. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"mapoFinally, the Cold Pork Hock with Veggies ($28.99) is one of the most vibrant dishes on the menu that is plated beautifully with layers of meat and vegetables. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A generous pile of sliced steamed pork sits in\u00a0the middle of\u00a0a platter that has sliced\u00a0carrots, cabbage, orange bell peppers, red onions, cucumbers,\u00a0and lettuce all placed in a flower-like arrangement.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"mapoThe dish comes with\u00a0a thin sweet and sour sauce\u00a0that’s meant to be used as a dip or poured all over the dish. It’s Zheng’s mother’s recipe made of\u00a0garlic, lemon, apple, pear, mustard, and vinegar.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"mapoMapo Pocha can be found in the middle of the busy streets of Koreatown between Bathurst and Christie on Bloor. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mapo Pocha Soju Bar 680 Bloor St W 416.901.0678 Website Koreatown Mapo Pocha\u00a0Soju Bar is a\u00a0hotspot on Bloor that serves up different flavors of soju and comfort food dishes until late at night. Mapo is a district in Korea where owner Becky Zheng’s grandmother once owned a barbecue restaurant. Pocha is an abbreviation for pojang macha, the street<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5351,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5350","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dining"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5350"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5350\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5352,"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5350\/revisions\/5352"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}