Friday, January 21, 2011

WOW! Restaurant

My parents and I usually stay home for dinner during weeknights. This is because there aren't many good Chinese restaurants in Mississauga;  it's just better to stay in for Chinese food since my Mom is such a good cook anyway (don't believe me? Check out some of my Mom's cooking here). But the reality is, even though my Mom is a good cook she still needs a break from cooking every once in awhile - she deserves and needs a break, simple as that.


Knowing that Chinese food sucks in 'sauga, we steer away from it and opt for other Asian food such as Japanese, Vietnamese, and Korean. For Korean, we frequent WOW! Restaurant (not a very creative name). It is a small restaurant in a small plaza - the exact address is 55 Dundas Street East, major intersection is Dundas and Hurontario. I find the area pretty ghetto though; well maybe not ghetto, not like I think my life would be in danger or something, it is just not in the nicest looking plaza / neighbourhood, that's all. Nonetheless, we don't really care because we are not there to fine-dine, we just want a delicious and quick meal.


WOW! is a family owned, typical mom & pop restaurant - the husband is the chef, the wife and kid(s) serve the customers. You actually feel like you're eating at home when you're at WOW! because there's really no decor. It is always very quiet on weeknights.



I always order the same thing there, which is the Soon Tofu - I alternate between the Seafood and Vegetable Soon Tofu.


We like to order this Spicy Rice Cake as appetizer. It has rice cake, cabbage, fish paste, carrot, green onion with a spicy and sweet sauce. I love this rice cake dish. I wish they would put more rice cake instead of cabbage though. I also notice that this dish used to be a lot more spicier; I'm not sure if they actually toned down the spiciness for us or if this is all just psychological on my part.


Speaking of rice cake, I love Shanghai rice cake too...


I just love the doughy and chewy texture of the rice cake (even though they have no taste haha)

Ah, but I digress.

Without fail, both my parents always order the Pork Bone Soup. It is meaty and tender and they love it. Usually, the Pork Bone Soup has a lot of spices on top too, not sure what happened that night with my Mom's since my dad's Pork Bone Soup had more meat and spices (almost overflowing) but his was too far away for me to take a picture. This Pork Bone Soup is not that spicy; I can say this for a fact, even though I haven't had it before, because if my parents can eat it, then it is probably not that spicy.


This was my Vegetable Soon Tofu with mushroom, zucchini, and onion. I always order the Soon Tofu because it is light, not too filling, but soooo satisfying to have that hot broth (which has just the right amount of spiciness) especially on a cold winter night. 



I forgot to take a picture of the side dishes, which are always the same four - cabbage kimchi, potato, seaweed, and radish kimchi. I've definitely had more side dishes at other Korean restaurants, with more variety too, but it's not a big deal and I'm not complaining about it.

WOW! is a small Korean restaurant in Mississauga. It has a small but focused menu, which is perfect if you're looking for a simple dinner.