Everybody Hwang Kum Tonight

Chris Erb: 11th Aug 2006 - 20:58 GMT

I think i've seen this place before. Is it near Co-op la Maison Verte?

EvilGentleman: 11th Aug 2006 - 21:10 GMT

I had no clue, so I Googled it. Co-op la Maison Verte ssems to be at 5785 Sherbrooke W, so Hwang Kum, at 5908 Sherbrooke W, must be a block and a half to the West.

Chris Erb: 11th Aug 2006 - 21:35 GMT

ok, I probably did walk by this place then. Next time you're in this area and you're hungry, definitely hit up Burrito National for the best burrito ever!

EvilGentleman: 11th Aug 2006 - 22:25 GMT

Did you just say burrito? Where did I put those car keys?

NOTE
EvilGentleman is presently not available, as he is roaring down the highway at insane speeds, headed in the direction of N.D.G.

Chris Erb: 11th Aug 2006 - 23:12 GMT

Hahaha, let me know what you think of it. It was my favourite place in all of Montreal, it's good too because all the inggredients are organic and therefore more delicious and the workers are, as a rule, all paid a living wage.

Sylvain: 8th Mar 2007 - 03:51 GMT

sometimes they close around 3.00 and they reiopen for dinner around 5.00.
Great food and service.

EvilGentleman: 8th Mar 2007 - 04:51 GMT

That might explain it. Glad to hear they are still in business. I have never eaten Korean food, I will have to try it one day.

emmanuel Pimentel: 23rd Jul 2010 - 22:30 GMT

One of the best Restaurants in Montreal !!!

lolo7980: 7th Nov 2010 - 18:02 GMT

This is from my friend's page:

First time eating at Hwang Kum today and most likely would be my last time. Not that the food was bad... actually, I quite like their seafood pancake but my entire experience there was unpleasant. When we sat down, the waitress (with eye glasses) came and took the order. Since this is our first time being there, we asked her what would she recommend. Her facial expression suggested that she didn't want us to ask any question as if we were taking her time (even though there was only 1 table other than us to serve...). Anyway, we didn't mind that kind of attitude because we see that in Chinatown sometime as well. We ordered 4 dishes ($14.99, $12.99, $18.99, and $14.99). The food came pretty fast and we started to eat. Once again, I have nothing against the food... it was just great! Everything seemed pretty good until I asked for the bill. She gave us an informal bill with hand writting on it. What I saw was:

.......... $15

.......... $13

.......... $19

.......... $15

Tax.......$8.12

Total..... $78.12

Something doesn't look right? 15+13+19+15 = 62... x tax (1.12875) = $69.98. How come she is charging me $78.12? I asked the waitress to come and showed her the bill. She looked at the bill with a weird face and took it back to the counter. She calculated once again and gave us the bill. I checked the bill and this time, she wrote $70.12. Even though it was not the exact number but I was like "who cares" and went ahead to the counter to pay. I was going to pay but since I was curious, I asked her how she calculated the tax in order to get her number .... $70.12. She then told me, this is the taxes (as if I was stupid or something). I once again restated my question, how she got this number. She then took her calculator and punch down all the numbers... and at the end, multiply by 1.13112. I then asked her how she got this 1.13112 number? This is not our taxes in Quebec. She then asked her boss (which is the cook) and her boss replied back with something in Korean. The waitress then told me that the number is correct and that is how they do it for the last 10 years. My father then told the waitress this is not how she should be calculated. The taxes in Quebec is 5% + 7.5%. The waitress got annoyed and asked us how much taxes we want to put then? We told her it is supposed to be 1.12875. At this moment, her boss came and started to argue with us. She once again told us this is how they calculated for the past 10 years for all customers and no one ever complaint. After hearing this, I was mad and raised my tone. I asked her if no one ever complaint, it doesn't mean they are right to calculate this way. She then told me "anyway! bye!" I got even more angry. What kind of attitude is this? I asked her what was her problem? I wasn't even mind to pay the extra 14 cents. I was basically just curious and asked them in a polite way on how they calculate the taxes and that they don't have to give us this attitude! She then said they got it and told us don't need to repeat it multiple times (basically asking us to shut up). I told her (still the boss) that she doesn't have to act it this aggressive... the world is small and nowadays word of mouth over the internet is very easy. She then once again look very aggressive and negative and said "have a nice day, bye!". After hearing this, we just left.

If I knew this is what's gonna happen, I would be doing the same thing as other youtubers... take a picture of the bill and record the entire conversation in video using the phone. This female cook (apparently the boss) was so aggressive and took our questions in a negative way. Now, I really feel like calling the government's tax department and file a formal complaint. Have them send some people to inspect their invoices and see how they keep charging people 1.13112% taxes "for the past 10 years" (handwritting and not using the cashier). Who knows, they might be "eating" the taxes all this time! Anyway, rant over.

EvilGentleman: 8th Nov 2010 - 05:38 GMT

Most interesting, and definitely not the first time I have heard of such things.

Unfortunately, many people, regardless of origin, simply cannot grasp the way Quebec's taxation laws work. It's fairly simple once you get the basics down, but piggybacked taxes are so unfair, that many people simply assume it cannot actually be so, and come up with different calculations that seem more logical.

From 1991 to 2006, the federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) was 7%, and the Quebec Sales Tax (QST) was a piggybacked 7.5%, meaning it is calculated on the aggregate total of the original price PLUS the GST.

When you bought an item at the dollar store, it was $1.00 plus 7 cents GST plus 7.5% QST on $1.07, which was 8.025 cents, making the total $1.15 when rounded to the nearest cent. The "magic number" at that time would have been 1.15025, which you could multiply any price by to find the total with taxes.

Then the GST was lowered to 6% on July 1st, 2006, making the item at the dollar store $1.00 plus 6 cents GST plus 7.95 cents QST, for a rounded total of $1.14, and a "magic number" of 1.1395.

On January 1st, 2008, the GST was lowered again to 5%, making the dollar item $1.00 plus 5 cents GST plus 7.875 cents QST, with a "magic number" of 1.12875, which still stands until January 1st, 2011, when Quebec is supposed to raise the QST to 8.5%.

At that time, the dollar item will be $1.00 plus 5 cents GST plus 8.925 cents QST, for a total of $1.14. The "magic number" will be 1.13925.

See? All simple as can be.

What the waitress most likely did was accidentally use a different number used for calculating taxes owed by people working in tip-earning jobs, since they are taxed according to net sales while they are on duty.

The Oh: 20th Mar 2012 - 03:48 GMT

lolo7980. The whole heat in the restaurant kind of seemed unnecessary, but there must have been a reason if the waitress and owner reacted in such a defensive way. It is very rare that only one party is at fault. anyways, lolo's friend is right. He did only had to pay 14 cents more to be on the dot. Although it is a little bit weird that the combined GST and QST rate did not amount exactly to what it should've been at the time 12.875% or the number 1.12875,it's a very minimal difference. besides, occurrences like these happen everywhere on a daily basis. Had I seen his friend's comment when they had written it, I would have suggested them not to file a complaint, since businessmen lose everything when they lose their business. And seeing how Hwang Kum still exists, I'm glad no one was harshly penalized for such a mundane stupidity :)

The Oh: 20th Mar 2012 - 03:52 GMT

I actually came on here to say that this Korean restaurant is pretty greaaat! I've been to many countless Korean restaurants in Montreal, and this one does stand out. It looks pretty shabby from outside, but once you've tasted the food, its outside appearance will never again make you a skeptic!

Duh: 20th Mar 2012 - 04:00 GMT

^^^ I came here to make "positive comments" about my own restaurant and try to get some "advertisement" from a blog. Derrr!