Korean-style hot dogs have become increasingly popular. Not just battered and deep fried it corn meal, but stuffed with cheese and/or noodles, and topped with your choice of sauces and/or dressings. These are some of the most extra hot dogs sans buns we have seen.
The newest franchise brand to make it to downtown Vancouver is Ssong’s, located somewhat close to the only other Korean chain doing this in the game.
The snack shop looks inviting with its neon glow. Soft oranges and pinks from the sidewalk. Within more neon adorning the wall and casting the space in a pastel hue. As cozy and comforting as they made the space seem, I could not invest much time dining within. The scent of lingering grease sat heavy in the air. It stung and changed the atmosphere, but we endured to be able to try their product and to see if it rivals the original or at least the first in the city.
You order at the counter and are asked to wait as it gets prepared to order. If you stand at the right spot, you can watch your wiener being skewered, then enrobed in dough before being deep fried. We would order their 2 most creative sounding dogs to share. Their most popular is the potato crusted. Choose your filling between beef and chicken, mozzarella cheese, or beef and chicken with mozzarella cheese. We would go for all three in the last option and watch as a lumpy potato chunked dough got generously wrapped around our dog on a stick.
This was probably a mistake on the clerk’s part, but it benefited us, so we didn’t mind. Our potato crusted hot dog came out almost double the size of a regular one and was both a handful and mouthful. You had to unhinge your jaw to eat it as is and even then, cannot avoid the saucy mess of your chosen condiment topping.
Each hot dog is served on a tray so you can have your sauces as dips on the side. Although I find it more fun drizzled over top, so you can go all in and take a bite straight from the stick. In our case it was a mix of spicy mayo, ketchup, and mustard. This was a tasty salty snack that fills and satisfies your craving to consume. It took me a while to realize that the chicken and beef was not shredded chunks of meat, but a combination of the two proteins found within their juicy hot dog centre.
The potato chunks added additional chew and the hardiness of having it as a meal. Especially alongside our second dog, one stuffed with seaweed and noodles, so I guesst we can’t call them hot dogs anymore. This had the same breading-crust as the monster dog above, but without the potatoes and no cheese to pull from. This we had it dressed in sesame seeds, spicy mayo, and a sweet chilli sauce, as per the clerk’s suggestion and it was deliciously tasty. The soft noodles in contrast with the crispy breading, all pulled together with the generous portion of sauces swirled as one.
And for dessert you can help yourself to their in-house cotton candy machine. Spin webs of candy sugar in pink or blue yourself or have the staff do it for you. I went for both and got a purple tuff on a skewer, as they ran out of cones during our visit. A great end because you need to finish your meal on something as sweet as the dogs were salty.
Not my first go to for the cuisine type, as I am getting flashbacks of the heavy scent of grease. But as a fun grab and go option with a free dessert component they are certainly worth trying.
Ssong’s Hotdog Vancouver
795 Jervis St, Vancouver, BC V6E 2B1, Canada
+1 778-917-9595
ssongshotdogus.com
