While chain restaurants and coffee shops offer a good source of cheap food, there is nothing better than a local merchant who is just trying to give a great treat or snack to the people who live in their city or town.
Ever since I saw a TV segment about a local toast food truck here in Ulsan, South Korea, I’ve been meaning to go and try it.
The Toast is typically located right next to the ocean and pretty much every weekend the husband-and-wife team are out at their truck in the afternoon making delicious Korean style toast.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Korean-style toast, it is a slice of bread (or sometimes in sandwich form) with an egg and vegetable mixture on top, and then a variety of other condiments and toppings. I have written about a chain shop called Isaac Toast before, but The Toast is a single location only.
When I visited the food truck, it was quite busy as it was a holiday weekend. Fortunately, the weather was nice and warm, with a good breeze.
Walking up to the truck, I actually had to wait a few minutes just to place an order, and then was told it would be close to 25 minutes before my toast was ready. They offer three kinds of toast, vegetable, cheese, and cheese and bacon. I decided to order a cheese toast and a cheese and bacon toast to see if there was a big difference.
The Toast also offers various levels of spiciness, so I decided to get half of each toast at the “Nuclear” level of spiciness, and the other half without the spicy sauces.
While watching the owner doing the cooking, I asked her some questions and found out that they are definitely a weekend operation and only in the afternoons until they sell out of ingredients.
I was also able to get some photos of her cooking.
My favorite shots are of the gooey cheese blend being poured on top of the egg…
And her spraying mustard on about 6 different toasts at the same time!
I even got a video of her spraying the mustard! (She also does the same with the ketchup!)
One of the interesting things about Korean toast is that sometimes a large amount of sugar is put on the toast, and The Toast follows this tradition. This makes for both a savory and sweet treat at the same time.
After a long wait and some walking along the ocean, my order was finally ready. I also got a grape soda to go with my toast, and then it was time to sit down and enjoy it while looking out at the waves.
The first thing I tried was the bacon and cheese toast. I got a bite of the “Nuclear” half, and it was really hot! In fact, I actually got a few hiccups that it was so spicy!!!
The bacon cheese toast was pretty good, and the cheese was very melted and gooey, with some serious stretch factor.
I saved the other half to eat at home, and without the spicy sauce, it was a very savory sandwich with some really nice fried egg, and a good salty bacon on top.
The cheese toast was actually very similar to the bacon cheese toast, as the toppings are almost exactly the same. I did get a great picture of the gooey cheese stretching though, so it was wonderful for a photo op.
Overall, I enjoyed the toast from The Toast. The hot and economical treat right next to the ocean was a great chance to have a full belly and see some nice scenery. I would recommend going just after lunch to try The Toast, as by mid-afternoon on the Sunday it was very busy down by the ocean.
I’ve included a map, and The Toast can usually be found across the road from a restaurant called Yook-Il Raw Fish.
If you are down by the ocean in the East area of Ulsan, definitely stop by The Toast if you are hungry!
