I Tried Chung Chun's TikTok-Famous Rice Dogs In Toronto & This Is My Honest Opinion​

If you're a fan of street food, you might have heard of the Korean fried hot dog on a stick that came to Toronto in 2019 and has been blowing up on TikTok ever since.

Toronto's Chung Chun Rice Hotdog serves up Korean rice dogs — a popular Korean street food that is basically a hot dog wrapped in rice flour batter and fried. Chung Chun has several takes on this, from a mozzarella cheese hot dog to one wrapped in ramen chips, and even has a version dipped in squid ink batter instead of rice flour.

It's been a favourite for TikTok users, with the hashtag #chungchunricedog earning more than 2.5 million views on the platform.

If you're wondering whether you should try it for yourself, let me help you decide.

How To Order

For my taste test, I went to the Chung Chun at Yonge and Wellesley, close to the Village. The small restaurant is nestled in a pink building on Yonge Street next to an adult movie store.

Katherine Caspersz | Narcity

Placing my order at the small take-out bar, I decided on four rice dogs — two whole mozzarella cheese hot dogs (cheese wrapped in the restaurant's rice flour batter and freshly fried), one Gamsung (potato) hot dog (similar to their original offering but covered in crispy fried potatoes) and one Chungchun, the original hot dog with a "crispy outside & soft chewy inside."

Once you get yours, you can drizzle any sauce you want on top, like teriyaki, sweet mayo or ketchup, and choose from several flavours of seasoning. I opted for a simple combo of sweet mayo and ketchup.

It took less than 10 minutes to get my order (pretty good for a rather busy-looking Sunday). Unfortunately, there were no chairs or tables around to eat on-site, but just around the corner is a park with benches that came in handy.

The Rice Dog

First off — check out that presentation. The rice dogs are fried fresh so they're crispy and golden when you get them.

Katherine Caspersz | Narcity

I tried the original Chungchun first. Biting into it, the batter was crispy on the outside, delivering the perfect crunch, and was slightly chewy on the inside. The hot dog was, well, a hot dog, but tasty nonetheless. The sweet mayo complemented the hot dog nicely. Pretty good for my first rice dog.

Katherine Caspersz | Narcity

Next, I tried the whole mozzarella cheese rice dog. You have the option of getting just mozzarella cheese, or half cheese and half hot dog with this item. I decided to go for the all-cheese option.

That cheese pull though.Katherine Caspersz | Narcity

The outside of the rice dog was crispy, just like the last, and the cheese inside was warm and not too hot. That being said, I did wish it was a little hotter so that it would have melted more and been a bit more stringy (it was pretty hard to get a good cheese pull out of it). I definitely like this one more than the original hot dog. I did notice, however, that the whole cheese rice dog was a bit harder to keep on the stick, likely owing to the fact that there isn't actually anything solid in this to keep the stick from moving around.

Katherine Caspersz | Narcity

Finally, I tried the potato hot dog, or Gamsung. This one is coated in crispy, fried potatoes, almost like the kind you'd find served at brunch. The potatoes went perfectly with the hot dog — like eating French fries and a hot dog in a single bite.

My Honest Opinion

At about $4.99 per rice dog, I think these are a nice treat and a great bang for your buck. The rice dogs feel like fair food, which is always fun, but I don't think they'd necessarily make for a complete meal. They hit the mark as a tasty snack, and were freshly fried and not overly greasy.

While their Yonge-Wellesley location was busy, the wait time wasn't too long and ordering was easy and efficient. You'll likely be seeing me again, Chung Chun.

Chung Chun Rice Hotdog

Katherine Caspersz | Narcity

Price: 💸

Cuisine: Korean street food

Address: Multiple locations

Why You Need To Try it: If you're a fan of unique street food items, the rice dogs are easy to eat, offer several varieties sure to please everyone, and won't break the bank.

Website

The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.