n a city that emphatically embraces Thai, Japanese, and Indian food, as well as Chinese dishes from a dizzying number of regions, there is still one major Asian cuisine so unknown to many Torontonians that it's as if it were meant to be a secret.

And it almost is. Korean food: bold, healthful, a treasure for the adventurous - has almost been reserved for Koreans, while restaurants have made little effort to reach beyond the traditional clientele. But that is slowly changing. Some wonderful dishes are emerging from their cloisters: delicious fried dumplings, crisp potato, and scallion pancakes, hearty noodle soups, and barbequed beef, sweetly charred along the edges.

Asia's most robust cuisine combines favorite flavors: sugar, salt, spice, and peppers. It is fresh, healthy, and low in cholesterol. Toronto’s Korean restaurants are found, for the most part, on Bloor and Bathurst. Yet, the sleekest of the lot is San, fitting in nicely on the other side of town, on Queen Street West.

San has opted for a sleek, cool decor that fits the neighbourhood like a glove. In fact, it looks more like another minimalist fusion lounge than the Korean eatery that it is. Fitted with handsome metallic stools and a sleek black granite bar that has an elegant, Brancusi feel to it., the decor is uncompromising black; the exterior is one black wall.