I love Korean food. If you’ve never sat down to eat a Korean meal before, you’re missing out; hot stews, spicy soups, BBQ meats all accompanied by some awesome ban chan (side dishes) that consists of spicy kimchi and various pickles. I’m certain you’ve probably eaten elements of Korean cuisine that you weren’t even aware of. You know that kimchi poutine you had or that hot dog topped with the spicy gojujang sauce? KOREAN. How about that awesome bulgogi beef taco? KOREAN. Or that spicy packaged shin ramyun ramen you like to eat late at night and regret in the morning because it literally burned the lining of your gastro-intestinal tract so bad that your breakfast smoothie often includes a double shot of Pepto? KOREAN. I was excited when I learned about a Korean restaurant in Ville-St-Laurent – a relative wasteland devoid of anything Korean besides the snacks at the local Asian supermarket. I hit up Ave Seoul for some delicious Korean food and uncharacteristic Korean inhospitality.
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What is your relationship with food like? Do you have a favorite meal that you go to when you’re feeling down? Is there a dish that evokes certain memories and emotions that you can envision yourself in particular place and time? As I’ve come to eat my way across Montreal, I’ve created associations with restaurants and dishes that will either bring back a flood of delicious memories, or the horror and fear of getting stuck in traffic after an unpleasant run-in with a bowl of ice cream and a bottle of diet coke.
Little did I know, I would forge a very special relationship with a restaurant before I even stepped foot in the place; it’s been going on for the last 2 years. Someone suggested to me, Hwang Kum, a Korean spot on Sherbrooke. I went twice to check it out, only to find the place closed both times and I took it as a sign and decided to shun it off my list forever; if I’m not meant to eat there, then I’ll stop trying. Then it happened… from the corner of my eye, like spotting accidental cleavage, I notice the “OUVERT” side of the sign was facing the window, I parked the car and IT.WAS.ON!