my first food stop since arriving into montreal! a little difficult to find since there's no name out at the front but the girl at the hotel that i'm staying at knew where it was since she said there's almost always a line out the door.
i arrived on a sunday afternoon and the place was packed - mainly tables of 2-4. luckily just waited less than 10 minutes for a spot. service was prompt and friendly - all staff, almost all customers were college-aged young asians. they automatically serve water and kim chi and the menu is nicely organized. looks like a lot of folks ordered the bimbimbap but i of course had to try their poutine.
all poutines come with tobboki (chewy rice cakes, fish cakes, cabbage, and egg) and at $8-9 it's a pretty good deal for the hefty portion that you get - would definitely recommend splitting if you're coming in for a snack. the food came out relatively quickly and was really fresh - french fries were crisp, rice cakes were awesomely chewy, fish cakes had a nice flavor, and it was perfectly spicy (good thing the water was there!). i was disappointed at first that they used shredded mozzarella instead of cheese curds i quickly understood that the chewy rice cakes balanced out the textures nicely. it was a bit messy to eat and i wasn't sure if i should use my fingers (since they're fries) or chopsticks (since it's a bit messy) but tummies don't care! clean single bathrooms, good place even for solo diners like me since they have kpop music videos playing. you pay at the counter (credit cards allowed).