Cafe Platea an Asian oasis on Corydon strip

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/06/2011 (5568 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Don’t be misled by the name. The Corydon strip is becoming more and more Asian, but the name, Platea, is in the street’s Italian tradition. I Googled it and came away completely confused, but one of its meanings seems to have something to with the audience section of a theatre (if any learned person knows more about it, feel free to enlighten me). In any case, Platea’s food has nothing to do with either Italy or the theatre. Apparently, somebody just liked the name.

This little house was once a genteel tearoom owned by Koreans; today it is still Korean-owned but, less improbably, specializing in Korean and Japanese food. It’s a serene and charming room — less tea-roomy, more solidly Korean, with dark wood tables and chairs, and some lovely paintings and artifacts strewn here and there. For warm, sunny days there are, as well, two tiny tables on the little porch, and a few more on the street-side patio. The atmosphere is sweet and gentle, a calm oasis a few blocks removed from the busier part of the strip and (no small thing in this area) with easier street parking.

Mixture

The menu is a mixture of Japanese — mostly sushi and sashimi (about which more later) — and a few Korean dishes, but not a sizable selection of either. It was the cooked Korean dishes that really scored. The choice is limited — seven only — but all I tried were delicious ($7.15 to $12.25).

One absolute must is the chun — an addictive thin pancake, streaked with scallions and dotted with wee bits of octopus, so big it almost overflows the plate. It could be shared as an appetizer, but I’d have no trouble making a meal of it on my own. Another personal favourite is jap chae — a dish of light translucent glass noodles (made of vegetable starch), stir-fried with slivers of beef and vegetables and scented with sesame oil.

Bi bim bap doesn’t come in the traditional hot stone bowl, but it is still delicious — rice on the bottom, piled with bits of beef, shiitaki mushrooms, sautéed mixed veggies, and a final topping of a fried egg (the fried egg is one tradition, but I prefer the other of raw or soft-poached egg, to stir things up). It did have an underlying wee nip — possibly not enough for some, in which case ask for chili paste for an added kick of heat.

There are no table-top grills for the bulgogi, but the tender little squiggles of beef, marinated in slightly sweetened soy sauce, are grilled in the kitchen with a smattering of vegetables, and come to table sizzling on a platter (chicken or pork are alternatives). There are no panchan either — those wee, complimentary Korean side dishes — but main courses do include a bowl of well-balanced miso soup and roasted rice-flavoured tea, which comes in striking forest green little cups and teapots.

The nigiri sushi lacked lustre, but they are reasonably priced (from $2.75 to $4.95 for two pieces). I preferred the rolls (from $3.25 to $10.25), particularly the maki negitoro of chopped fatty tuna. My problem with the more intricate rolls was the fact that so many of them included imitation crabmeat, which I dislike. On the other hand, when I asked if it would be possible to substitute shrimp for the crab in the House Roll, it was agreed to cheerfully. And the roll, which also included salmon, tuna, tamago, cucumber and avocado, was not only delicious, but — boasting more fish than rice — a good buy at $5.95.

The sunomono salad of cold noodles with shrimp and cucumber in a light vinegar-based dressing is a tasty appetizer. The tuna tataki not only tasted good but was also pretty — cut into little circles that were white around the edges, red in the centre, and sprinkled with sesame seeds and scallions.

The only cooked Japanese choices are four stir-fried noodle dishes — yaki soba, or yaki udon, both of them made with either beef or chicken ($8.95 each). We chose the nicely chewy yaki udon of beef and veggies, which was good if a tad sweet for my taste. I love gyoza, but since I have to make choices (it’s impossible to try everything on any given menu), I saw no point in wasting calories on Platea’s, which aren’t house-made (I’ve yet to find a commercial version that I do like). The shrimp tempura are house-made, but they aren’t worth the calories either, encased in heavy batter, out of which the flavourless shrimp slid all too easily.

As well as the à la carte menu, there are several multi-course set meals that offer good value for money — lunches from $7.25 to $8.95, and dinners from $15.95 to $16.95. That top dinner price buys miso soup, sunomono, salad, bulgogi, rice and eight pieces of salmon and tuna sashimi.

The only desserts are a few ice creams, but the black sesame seed ice cream is wonderful. Presentation of all the food was elegant, and although patience may be needed to get through the difficulties of communication, the service by pretty young women couldn’t be warmer, more attentive or more charming.

marion.warhaft@freepress.mb.ca

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