The words “what just happened?” are clanging around in my head as I lean against my car in that sunny parking lot, trying to wrangle the right words to describe the meal I’d just had.

It’s hopeless, though.

I start with the word “lunch,” because the sun’s nice and high and I’m full of food, but my delicate Western sensibilities aren’t ready to prescribe a five-letter word to something with cheese, eggs, spaghetti and fish in one sizzling pot. “Korean food” is closer to the 10 ring, but I’ve had Korean food before and at no point did anyone fry rice in the leavings of my hotpot, certainly not with corn and nori in it.

No, this was something different. This was something spicier. Something weirder. Something better.

“That was awesome,” I say, because it’s the closest thing I’ve got to an explanation.

Topoki Pocha is located just inside the entrance of the New World Market on South 320th Street. Korean New World Market, just to clarify, is most definitely not Cost Plus World Market. To confuse the two would be pretty similar to wandering into a Love Zone when you really meant to go to AutoZone. You’re gonna have a weird day. New World Market isn’t a lascivious kind of weird, however. I’m talking clams, not clamps. Geoduck, not…. things that look like geoduck.

It’s a good type of weird. An adventurous type that leaves you heartier at the end of it. A more well-rounded person. And it is with this talk of hearty, well-roundedness, that I will return at long last to the subject of this piece, Topoki Pocha.

Slipping through the doorway, catching that K-pop in the face like “whoa,” hint of gochujang hanging in the air around the gas burners on the tables, neon lights rimming the ceiling, and Korean reality TV on a flat screen in the corner, one cannot help but feel immersed in this place. It is unapologetically authentic. Put your back to the windows and you might swear that you were in South Korea, popping in for some comfort food just to get away from the din of Seoul living.

Comfort food is exactly what topokki has become in Korean culture. Its origins are deep and shifty, with its first literary mentionings going back to the late 1300s and its actual origin most likely reaching further back than that. It was upper-class fare until the 1950s, when Korea won its independence and the huddling masses got their hands on the recipe, which at that time consisted of pretty bland ingredients in an underwhelming sauce. The commonfolk gave it that ol’ bang bang boogie, or gochujang (fermented chili paste) if you want to be technical about it, and street vendors started slanging it and twisting it until the dish had morphed and developed into what it is today. They added blood sausages and cheeses. New visitors to the area introduced different noodles and herbs. What has emerged from all that tweaking is nothing short of amazing.

Which is exactly how owners of Topoki Pocha describe the dish.

Mihyun Kim and Miso Kim are students of the University of Washington. The two sisters have been living in Federal Way for the last four years, and on top of pursuing their degrees in chemical engineering (Mihyun) and finance (Miso), they were looking to branch out and start a business. Mihyun’s love for cooking pointed the two in the direction of owning a restaurant, and when their grandmother decided that she was ready to retire from the game and vacate her spot in the New World Market, Miso and Mihyun heard opportunity banging the door down and jumped in with both feet.

When I asked them why they chose topokki, they said, “Because we love it.”

And what’s not to love?

Hot pan over an open flame, sauce bubbling up between the noodles, spicy paste percolating among the fish cakes and cabbage and green onions. The flavors grow more intense with every second they spend roiling together, and as I ate them I found myself making curious librarian noises between slurps.

“Oh.”

“Mhm.”

They were learning sounds. And the learning can continue anew with each visit, because the flavor variations are staggering.

They have pre-selected combos, which is a really good way to get a feel for the place, but if you’re leaning toward adventurous you can customize your dish. The last time I was there I opted for the soondae, a Korean blood sausage, and I found that it gave the meal a new and interesting earthiness. A totally different flavor.

Aside from their specialty item, Topoki Pocha also offers several other Korean dishes like kimbap, Korean fish soup, and, when you’re done with your topokki (if you opt for it), they do a fantastic fried rice in the leftover sauce in your pan.

When all the eating is said and done, you may find yourself leaning against your car, belly full of goodness, feeling different. Let me help you out.

“Awesome.” The word you’re looking for is “awesome.”

For more information on Topoki Pocha, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/topokipocha/?fref=ts

Kellen Burden is a local novelist and lunch enthusiast. More of his work can be found at www.goatfederation.com.