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.

Mystify Me, Misto - Restaurant Misto (Montréal à Table)

I really wish I had more time and money to blog about food. Eh, what else is new about being a food-loving engineering student...

So from November 1st to November 11th, we had our second annual Montréal à Table event (which I totally should have told you guys about, I'm so sorry), where over 100 restaurants in the greater Montreal area offer a specialized, themed menu for a set price of either $19, $29 or $39. The theme this year was maple syrup. I had the pleasure of visiting two such restaurants, one of them being Misto, an Italian restaurant situated on the Plateau. 

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.

Don't cry for me Argentina... (the truth is I've died and gone to food heaven) - L'Atelier d'Argentine

Sooo I just came back from my first restaurant invite ever, courtesy of L'Atelier d'Argentine, and it was simultaneously exciting and terrifying, since I generally have no idea how these things go down. I kind of felt like a country bumpkin entering the city. But enough of my deep-seated social anxiety issues... This is a food blog, and food is what you're here for, right?

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.

Ermahgerrrd brrrgrrrs. - M:Brgr

M:Burger is one of the better-known and older classy burger joints in Montreal, having kick-started the trend of fancy burgers. They're the restaurant that serves the legit $100 burger... for an actual whopping $100. For a burger. It blows my mind. (Obviously, I didn't order $100, but their other burgers do the job just fine too, mind you.)

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.

Roses are red, the Nile is blue, and now I present le Nil Bleu to you - Nil Bleu

Aaaahhh, this blog is not dead, I swear! I've just been really busy with school and exams. But now that that's over with, I'll be bringing you some more ridiculous posts and delicious venues to eat at!

If any of you have been on urbanspoon a while back (maybe a year?), you're sure to have come across le Nil Bleu as either a nearby restaurant, or a recommended restaurant. I was curious to try it, but a little wary, as I am with all things heavily advertised. However, a few of my friends had recommended Nil Bleu to me, including a friend who normally doesn't stray too far from her culinary comfort zone. If I hadn't been interested in trying Ethiopian food before, her recommendation definitely piqued my interest. And so, when a coupon rolled around for Nil Bleu, I snatched it up as soon as I saw 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!

Don't let the mean cow bull-y you! (Ha!) - Le Méchant Boeuf

My puns are so lame, even your weird punny uncle is curled up, bawling in a corner. Ooohhh yyeeaaahhhhh.

Our decision to visit Le Méchant Boeuf was actually somewhat a spur-of-the-moment decision. My friend and I had actually planned on going to Suite 701, but we were too intimidated by their chic up-scale setting and fancy 'smart casual' dress code and so we chickened out at the last minute. No, really, that place scares me. Alas, what are two scraggly students hauling around huge backpacks of books to do? Head to the more casual Méchant Boeuf, obviously.

Le gasp! Tavern food! - Taverne Gaspar

It's the month of January, and you know what that means... Happening Gourmand is back! For those of you unfamiliar with Happening Gourmand, it's when several select restaurants in the Old Port offer an exclusive table d'hôte menu - including appetizer, entrée and dessert - for either $23 or $27, depending on the restaurant. It's a perfect opportunity for people who can't often indulge, like us poor students, to splurge a little and eat fancy. Taverne Gaspar, to my knowledge, has been one of the more popular choices on the list since last year, and this year, I finally got to go and check it out.

Yodelei-cheese-hooo! - Restaurant Alpenhaus

Being Asian, I'm no stranger to fondues, or - as we call them - hot pots. But Asian hot pots consist mainly of throwing random ingredients into a boiling pot of seasoned broth and cooking them until they are well done, and then eating them. There is no finesse to the process whatsoever. So when a coupon for Swiss fondue rolled around on groupon, I had to check out what this fancy cheese-based fondue experience was all about.

Chocolate, chocolate everywhere, and not a drop to spare - Cacao 70 (revisited)

The first time I visited Cacao 70 was not long after it first opened its doors. Back then, the menu was smaller and less eccentric, and the place hadn't seemed that special to me. A year later, I've revisited this place multiple times, trying something new each time, with each chocolatey experience outdoing the last. 

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?

High time for tea at Le Maître Chocolatier

Do you realize that whenever someone tries to imitate a British accent, their back suddenly goes ramrod straight, their hands imitate the dainty posture of holding a teacup, and their first inclination is to ask - in an altogether posh, but decidedly not British accent - something like: "Would you like some tea?" Because, I guess, that's how we think all Brits behave - like the royal family.

Well, if you do want to feel prim, posh and proper for an afternoon, you can do so at Le Maître Chocolatier. A chocolate shop on the ground level and a tea room on the second floor, Le Maître Chocolatier serves High Tea from 2pm to 6pm from Tuesdays to Sundays.

Ryu, I choose you! Tapas attack! It's super effective!

I'm pretty sure I've used the 'I choose you' joke already, but whatevs. Pokemon is classic, yo.

Ryu is a tapas-inspired Japanese fusion restaurant located in Outrement, conveniently situated on Laurier. Their menu consists mainly of small, appetizer-like dishes of both the hot and cold variety, as well as a selection of maki rolls. 

Shabu Shabu, Korean BBQ, Karaoke and Virtual Golf????

Well, this is a bit confusing. The restaurant is called 'Shabu Shabu', which is essentially Japanese hot pot, but this restaurant is 100% Korean, from the proprietors to the food. But the culture clash is not what stands out the most about this restaurant; the weirdest/coolest selling point of the restaurant is their simulation golf and karaoke entertainment built into the restaurant. 

...Yep, you read that right.

So, while we know that you can stay sufficiently entertained throughout your meal, how does the food fare?