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.

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.)

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...

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.

Takara - the treasure of Japanese restaurants?

Takara is upscale Japanese restaurant located on the upper floors of les Cours Mont-Royal shopping complex. It also has a more accessible entrance located on De la Montagne street. With a trained Japanese chef behind the sushi counter, Takara is recognized as one of the more authentic of the better-known Japanese restaurants in Montreal.

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.

Devilish Delights at Deville Dinerbar.



After a sleuth of midterms, my friend and I decided that we really needed a night to completely let loose and just splurge...

...Oooon sugar!

All you can eat not-so-Korean BBQ. - Restaurant Tianxia

 All-you-can-eat Korean BBQ doesn't seem to be very popular in Montreal, so much so that most of the AYCE Korean BBQ places here are owned by Chinese people. Tianxia is a prime example of one of these establishments; to anyone with any remote knowledge of Chinese or Korean, the name Tianxia is very obviously Chinese. Still, it was cold out and my friend really wanted AYCE Korean BBQ, and with so few options for Korean food in the downtown area, we decided to hit up Tianxia.

iPod, iPad, iPhone, iBurger?

So after working on a project, my meat-craving friend and I were looking for a place to chow down. He mentioned wanting to try iBurger, and we were in the vicinity, so we headed on over to this curious restaurant where waiters are semi-replaced with touch-screen tables. I'm still waiting for the day where McDonald's workers are completely replaced with robots...

Also, no legit camera AGAIN. So blurry pics ahead; you have been warned.

I'd like a burger, neat, please. - Burger Bar

Happy New Year, everyone! And here to kick-start the new year is another burger post!

So, I'm not a firm believer in high-end burger places. Then again, I'm not a firm believer in anything, so take that as you will. To me, though, a burger isn't a fancy food, and thus shouldn't be treated or priced as one (*cough$100burgercough*). I thought Burger Bar on Crescent was another one of those fancy frou frou burger places, until my friend took a bunch of us there for her birthday.

What if you could have a bit of Beirut in your garage? - Garage Beirut

Garage Beirut is a small and unconventional Lebanese restaurant situated on Mackay, which is apparently pronounced 'Mac-Eye' and not 'Mac-A'. Eeesh. Tom-eh-toes Tom-ah-toes. Anyway. I've only the typical fast-food Lebanese food, like the shish taouks, shawarmas and falafels, but I've never been to a Lebanese restaurant before. Having read some good reviews on Garage Beirut, I was eager to try this place out.

Can a burger be gourmet? It can, at Le Gourmet Burger!

Hey look! I'm reviewing a restaurant that's non-Asian! Ha... ha... ha....

Truth is, Gourmet Burger is a pretty popular spot with the students. It's right downtown, near Concordia, and serves great burgers to boot, so of course I was gonna check it out. While they didn't serve the best burgers I've ever had in my life, Gourmet Burger definitely blows the surrounding competition out of the water. The neighbouring A&W's and Mickey D's ain't got nothing on this burger joint.

Shucked oysters at the Oyster Shack.

The Oyster Shack is a small seafood restaurant and bar situated in the pub district of Bishop's street. As the name implies, their specialty seems to be the oyster, but they serve various other seafood platters as well, ranging from the simple Fish and Chips to the creative Clam Chowder Poutine, and even a fancy Seafood Pasta.

Snazzy sushi at Sakura Garden

Sakura is a classy Japanese restaurant situated on De la Montangue street, right in the heart of Montreal. The waiters and waitresses (and, I believe, the owner) are all Japanese, which is, sadly, a rare occurance in the Montreal sushi scene. The restaurant ahs a very zen and authentic feel to it. The food here is fresh and tasty,  the service friendly and accommodating, and the atmosphere is romantic, so it is an ideal restaurant for special occasions.