Breaking Brunch Regiment - Régine Café

(Sidebar: Okay, I'll be completely honest about my lack of blogging. Basically, Google is being an utter asshat, which has really put me off blogging. But my friend took me to this brunch spot a couple of months ago, which sparked something in my cold, Google-hate-filled heart. A second visit cinched it; I had to share this discovery with whatever few followers I had left.)

I know that brunch is a huge thing in Montreal. I mean, we probably have as many brunch spots as we do Starbucks, which is to say about five on every street corner (Starbucks... wat r u doing... Starbucks... stahp). To be completely frank, I never understood the fascination. Very few brunch places have every wowed me (Prohibition), and even then, on a scale of glassy-dead-fish eyes to giant-round-dinner-plate eyes, it only scored an eyebrow quirk and a slight surprised widening. For other much praise-lauded venues, I just didn't really understand the hype (Allo Mon Coco, L'Avenue - although the decor for the latter definitely gets brownie points). They were decent, but there wasn't anything that stood out about the food.

And then I met Régine. Oh, Régine. It really was food-love at first sight.

I mean, she really had the whole package going for her. Quirky but chic good looks, a menu with a unique personality, scrumptious food, voluptuous portions... 

Gawd, stop me before I embarrass myself!

May your dumplings be ever yummy - Restaurant Mei

Egads, I fell off the blogging bandwagon again. School's been rough, the holidays were rough (but in a totally different way), and the weather's been rougher, so I haven't had much time to go restauranting. But enough with petty excuses, you all came here for food, right? Onward, comrades!

I've actually visited Mei quite a few times now, but for some reason, decided only now to write about it. Mei is a small tapas-style Chinese restaurant situated on Mackay street, near the Concordia library building. They serve a variety of items, from fresh, hand-made dumplings to rou jia mo, or what my Western friends affectionately call the Chinese hamburger. But Kaz, you say, there are already so many dumpling places in Montreal. What makes this one so different? And I only have three words for you, my friend: xiao long bao.

My Little Dumplings - Mai Xiang Yuan

So apparently Montreal is going through a dumpling craze. Not too long ago, Qing Hua dumplings were all the rage, giving Montreal its first taste of authentic Chinese dumplings. Following its success, other entrepreneurs have tried to replicate Qing Hua's success, and only one to even come close - or surpass, in some people's opinions - is Mai Xiang Yuan.

Located on St-Laurent street, Mai Xiang Yuan is a tiny and particularly inconspicuous restaurant, nestled among the various pho restaurants in the area. But if you peek in the window, you'll no doubt see a ton of customers, because what can I say? Montrealers love their dumplings.

Do the wave! Do the wavy burger? - TKrestobar

Apparently two big food things happened this past summer while I was toiling away in the boonies. One, the invention of the cronut, and two, the ramen burger. The former I couldn't quite wrap my head around, and the second I pretty much thought was a joke. Until I actually found it at a restaurant. In Montreal. Yes, folks, you'll get your chance to try to (in?)famous ramen burger right here in la belle ville, at a certain TKresto.

Nudo soup fo' yu! - Nudo Noodle House

I'm baaaaaaack! And I should really get back on the blogging bandwagon... Well, here's one to start.

I heard a conversation on the bus today that made me really sad, because it's partially true. A Chinese guy was talking to his Caucasian friend about Chinese food, and the Caucasian guy asked him, "So, since you're Chinese and all, which Chinese restaurant would you say is the best in Montreal?" The Chinese guy paused in thought, before replying, "None." 

While I wouldn't say that none of the Chinese restaurants in Montreal are up-to-par, it is true that very few of them are good, and those that are are usually hidden away from the mainstream Chinese food spotlight. Which is pretty much why I never go to Chinatown to eat. However, it seems that more and more authentic Chinese restaurants are popping up around town, and, thus, so is my interest in the Chinese food scene in Montreal.

You spin my chicken right round, right round - Romado's

In celebration of Romado's grand reopening, here's a post featuring Montreal's favourite Portuguese chicken! If you've spent any amount of time in the Montreal food scene, then you'll probably know about 1) Schwartz's 2) poutine and 3) Romados. Well, okay, maybe not, but Romados is pretty renowned in Montreal for having the best roasted chicken in town. And after years of having included it on my to-try list, I finally got my hands on some yummy Portuguese roasted chicken.

Bah Bah Blackstrap, have you any meat? Yes sir, yes sir, here, have a seat (Except not). - Blackstrap BBQ

Hey guys, it's summerrr! And you know what that means... overdosing on marinated and grilled meat, a.k.a barbecues! And for those of you who don't have a backyard patio to perform this delightful western tradition, or are simply too lazy, then you always have the option of visiting Blackstrap BBQ for some premium barbecued meats.

Avenue O for Omnomnom - L'Avenue

L'Avenue is somewhat well-known in Montreal as the brunch place to go to, which is probably why it has insane line ups every day. From the outside, it's a pretty inconspicuous restaurant, with just a window lined with Nutella jars and fresh fruit that gives you a peek to the kitchen area behind the counters, and another window with a really odd-looking mannequin. That might explain whey my friend and I walked right past this place without a second glance while looking for it. Although how we managed to miss the epic long line-up leading up to the restaurant is beyond me... Because if you're planning on visiting L'Avenue, you better be prepared to wait for it.

Where do we live? The City of Poutine - Poutineville

So apparently, the week of February 4th was Montreal's official poutine week? Now, how did that happen? I guess some people on the council of poutine sat down together in all their poutine glory and decided it was a good idea to dedicate a random week in between the two coldest months in Montreal to the iconic Montreal dish. 

...

S'all cool, s'all cool. As long as it means more crazy and innovative poutines, I'm down for that!

There are no Prohibitions when it comes to brunch - Prohibition

I've noticed that there's a distinct lack of brunch posts on my blog, and I must rectify that situation. I've always been rather indifferent towards brunch, since the brunch places I most often frequent are the generic brunch franchises, and I usually only order the typical eggs with bacon. I figured, just how interesting can brunch get? Well, with sugar bacon and fried chicken, apparently, pretty darn interesting.

KoReAn CoMfOrT FoOd - GaNaDaRa

Aaaahhhh, nothing eases a chilly, snowy February night like a nice big bowl of... tteokbokki poutine? Cheese ramyun? What?

Nestled away on the corner of Maisonneuve and St-Marc is a quaint little Korean restaurant that serves up an interesting variety of Korean 'street food', or what I consider Korean comfort food. Here, you can find the traditional Korean fare, like bulgogi or bibimbap, but you can also find some more creative and unique dishes, such as a tteokbokki poutine. Some other blogs have coined this place as authentic, and I really wouldn't know, since I've never been to Korea, but it's definitely unique, as far as Korean restaurants go.

Accio Chinese Cafeteria! - Shi Tang (食堂）

Shi Tang is kind of like the Leaky Cauldron of Montreal. Non-Chinese people walk past it all the time without even noticing its existence (muahahaha you muggles), and the few that do notice and venture inside are instantly repelled by the intense Chineseness of it all, including the fact that there's not a single English word to be found. ANYWHERE. Yeah, if the OQLF couldn't stand seeing the words 'pasta', 'calamari' and 'fish'n'chips', then they'd have an aneurysm by just setting foot in this place. Even the TV is playing Chinese news (CCTV 4, go figure). But I'm about to divulge a secret to you, a secret that will soon reveal all to the unknowing, and may ostracise me from my kind... 

...forever...

Knock knock. Who's there? Orange. Orange who? Orange you glad I went to Orange Café?

I know brunch is pretty big in Montreal, considering how there's a brunch restaurant on practically every street corner, but I've been to so many bad brunch restaurants that I've just lost interest in the concept altogether. I guess that's also because I haven't been actively seeking the good brunch places, but they're all so far away... Anyway, during one of my rare visits to NDG, my friend and I decided to check out a local brunch favourite, called Orange Café .

A bit of Caribbean in Montreal - Montreal Caribbean.

 

Ack, I know I haven't been posting very frequently since I got back from my trip. Truth is, I haven't had much time to explore new restaurants, and now I'm swamped with school work. I haven't given up yet, though! Just updating really, reeeeaaaaallly slowly. Anywho, I'm really too distracted by my impending exams to find a way to segway into the post, so without further ado, I present to you Montreal Caribbean!

Is Atti Gangnam Style?

As a matter of fact, yes. Just not in the literal sense.

In the wise words of the great and noble Psy, Gangnam Style is all about dressing classy and dancing cheesy. The decor at Atti is certainly classy, what with its modern yet zen feel, and the food is certainly cheesy. What, you say. How can Korean food be cheesy, you say. No, I don't mean that there is an abundance of dairy to be found in the cooking. Atti is cheesy, just like General Tao chicken is cheesy. As in it's typical Korean fare altered to suit Western palates. But heyyyyy (sexy lady!), is that such a bad thing?

Qing Hua 2.0 - Still like mom makes!

The name 'Qing Hua' is most probably very familiar to a large portion of Montreal's food-savvy population, as well as a sizeable chunk of the 'common folk', as I call them. Most of them probably know Qing Hua as the humble - if dingy - restaurant in 'New Chinatown' with appalling service but scrumptious dumplings. What people don't know yet is that Qing Hua has opened up a second restaurant in the real Chinatown. So just how does the dumpling shop's little brother compare to the original?

Lolling and lolly-gagging and Lola Rosa.

Where Concordia gets the Green Panther and Crudessence, McGill gets its share of vegetarian food from a quaint little cafe tucked away in the McGill Ghetto. This cafe, as many a McGillian will know, is called Lola Rosa. Dun dun dun...

The Green Panther, not to be mistaken for its sneaky pink cousin.

I'm sure that if I mentioned the Pink Panther, most people born before the mid-90s would automatically think of slick pink feline and its iconic theme song: do doo, do doo, do doo do doo do doo do do do doooooo... badabababum! Ehhh... you get the jist of it. In any case, Montreal seems to house that panther's greener and hippy-er cousin, the Green Panther.

Seoul Chako, not solely for Korean BBQ.

FINALLY! A GENERIC, CHINESE-OWNED AYCE KOREAN BBQ PLACE JUST LIKE THE ONES IN TORONTO.

...Hey, it's not necessarily a bad thing.

Seoul Chako just recently opened up on Ste-Catherine's street. After my last run-in with Korean BBQ of the AYCE sort, I was a bit scared of trying this place out. Still, armed with a student discount coupon, a small group of us charged blindly into the restaurant with very little ($10?) to lose.

Cold weather? Pho time, pho' sho! - Pho Tay Ho

What's the best type of food to have when it's snowing up a storm outside, your gums ache from having your wisdom teeth removed and your friend still insists on going out? Why, hot, soupy noodles, of course! And more specifically pho (pronounced fuh, as in fun), the tastiest soupy noodles around. Having tried most of the more popular pho places downtown and being unsatisfied with the quality, we decided to check out Pho Tay Ho in Saint-Edouard.