When I was in high school, my dad would bring home Korean food every once in a while, and the more I ate it, the more I loved it. I really enjoyed trying different dishes while staying true to the classics. I think Korean food from the right place can be packed with so much flavor. I also like how some of the heavier dishes are balanced out by lighter, pickled vegetables and fresh sides that keep things from feeling too heavy.
I used to live about two blocks away from a restaurant I walked past all the time: Mister Tiger. If you're walking or driving by without paying close attention, you'll probably miss it. It sits on the corner of Grand and May on the edge of West Loop, and the only signage for the restaurant is the name written small on the front door. It blends pretty seamlessly into the brick building. It was one of those restaurants I'd constantly pass by and take a mental note to myself that I needed to try, and I'm so glad I finally did.
Mister Tiger has a simple and sleek ambiance. We were surrounded by couples on date nights, friends grabbing dinner, and families out with their kids. I could pretty much immediately tell this is a neighborhood "if you know, you know" spot. We absolutely loved the food and will definitely be going back. Here's everything we ordered:
Cocktails - More Rice Please and Yuja Next Door: The More Rice Please is a described on the menu as a "boozy Korean horchata" made with toasted rice grains and soju. For being a sweet cocktail, I was actually pleasantly surprised that it wasn't over the top sweet. The Yuja Next Door is a spin on a margarita with yuzu and wasabi, and I loved this. Both cocktails were creative and good.
Starters - Banchan, Jeon, and Korean Fried Chicken: Banchan are small complimentary side dishes that come out before or alongside the main meal at Korean restaurants. While all of these little dishes were good, the cucumbers were my favorite. Both of the starters we ordered after were excellent. Jeon is a crispy, fried savory pancake. We decided to go with the Kimchi Jeon, and I'm so glad we did. For the Korean Fried Chicken, you were able to choose between soy garlic and sweet and sour. Our waiter recommended the sweet and sour, and this was packed with flavor. I love the little rice cakes mixed in with the chicken, too.
Spicy Chicken + Ssam Platter: This Spicy Chicken dish was incredibly good. It definitely has a good kick to it, but we ordered it with the Ssam Platter that helped balance it out. The Ssam Platter is lettuce wraps, pickles and dipping sauces to accompany the main Korean BBQ dish. I loved how flavor packed this dish was, too.
Bulgogi Bibimbap: Bibimbap is a popular Korean dish so we were very excited to try this. It's assorted vegetables, fried egg, gochujang sauce, and we chose bulgogi over tofu as our protein. The gochujang sauce came on the side to mix in and the whole dish was very good. I like how the rice crisps up on the side as it sits in the hot pot over time.
Japchae: I absolutely love japchae. The glass noodles and mushrooms are two of my favorite parts of the dish. It's a lighter noodle option that's great on its own. I've noticed that japchae can sometimes fall flat on flavor, but Mister Tiger's definitely did not.
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