The Petit Tokebi is one of those hole in the wall restaurants that without directions and a referral – you’d never find. Well – what can you expect in a city with over 5000 restaurants – not all of them can be on the ‘Main’.

I always look forward to my Bibimbap dinner here – it’s a tiny space, the service is lovely – if a bit hard to understand, the menu is simple, but never disappointing.

Even the parking is free. How can you lose? And it’s walking distance to Loyola, right on Sherbrooke Street, perfect for a quick meal before the theatre or a concert meal.

Tea is free, and presented as soon as you sit down – the price is very reasonable, and the food surprisingly good.

Back to Bibimbap. This is a typical Korean main meal. It’s served in a sizzling bowl (really really hot in the case of the Tokebi). The meal starts with a bowl of Miso soup – which I would have enjoyed more if they had waited a bit before serving my Bibimbap. My sizzling bowl was filled to the rim – a nutty rice mixture at the bottom, then portions of meat and vegetable on top – crowing the dish is a raw egg. You mix everything together – give it a bit of time to ‘cook’ – and then enjoy.

Koreans don’t generally use forks. They use metal spoons, and metal chopsticks. The reason for the metal, I’ve been told, is their penchant for cooking at the table. If you’ve got a really sizzling dish or bowl – you want to use something that isn’t going to melt!

They also LOVE hot sauce. I’m not such a fan – so it’s great for me that they put the hot sauce right next to the bowl – then you can add more or less as your taste buds can stand.

The meal ended with a nice (and free!) bowl of green tea ice cream. Not the best green tea ice cream I’ve ever had – you really need to serve it a bit less ‘cold’ – but a nice way to end the meal.

And all that food for under $15. What more do you need – good service, nice location, and filling, well cooked, delicious food. I guess that pretty much explains why I keep coming back.