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!

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.

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.

Montreal's own Mahal! - Bombay Mahal

Bombay Mahal is one of the many Indian restaurants on Jean-Talon street in Parc Extension, but definitely not one of the most eye-catching. In fact, this restaurant would have been very inconspicuous, tucked away in a corner, if it weren't for the crazy line-up in front of its doors. So why would people still line up at 8:00 pm on a cold November's night? Yummy, spicy Indian food for very reasonable prices!

Hot, hot, hot! - Cuisine Szechuan

Heeelloooo chili-heads. Look at those peppers. Now back to me. Now back at those peppers. Now back to me. Sadly, they aren't sweet. But if you stopped eating Americanized Chinese food and switched to authentic Sichuan food, you could eat spicy foods just like me. Look down, back up, where are you? You're at Cuisine Szechuan with the Chinese food your food could taste like. What's in your hand, back at me. I have it; it's a napkin with two chopsticks to that thing you love. Look again; the chopsticks are now hot peppers. Anything is possible when you eat authentic Sichuan food.

Now that I've filled my quota of incomprehensible humour, allow me to introduce Cuisine Szechuan to you! Situated conveniently downtown on Guy, Cuisine Szechuan specializes in Chinese cuisine from the province of Sichuan, which is known for their spicy and flavourful foods. What makes Cuisine Szechuan stand out is that, unlike most Chinese restaurants here, they aren't afraid to bring on the heat!

When slurping noodles, please ensure that you do not disturb the people in your surrounding area - Hakata Ramen

 Why, you may ask, is my title picture that of fried chicken slices if I'm reviewing a ramen restaurant? It is elementary, my dear Watson; I fail at taking pictures of ramen. And since the crispy chicken dish is one of the mainly featured ramen dishes at Hakata Ramen... Why not?

So picture this: it's a dreary October day, it's freezing outside, you're downtown and you have no idea what to eat because you're with the world's most indecisive people. Where do you go? What do you turn to? Pho! ... is what I'd like to say, but there aren't that many good pho places downtown. So what's the next best thing? Ramen!

Spicy, sweet, savory? - Restaurant Sawadika

Wow, I'm so sorry I haven't updated in so long! What with midterms running rampant, I haven't had much time to go restauranting or to write up blog posts. But now that I have thoroughly screwed over my midterms (or is it the other way around?), I present to you a blog post on a taste of Thailand - or is it?

Getting a boost from Restaurant Boustan

I know I haven't updated in a while, but midterms have started, so restauranting won't be happening for a while. I did manage to visit Boustan before things got too hectic, so here is a fast post about fast food!

Poutine Bananza at La Banquise

You know, despite being a self-proclaimed foodie and a Montrealer, I've yet to try the so-called 'greatests' that Montreal has to offer, such as La Banquise and Schwartz's. Yes, yes, ready your rotten tomatoes, aim, and fire. I had been meaning to try them for a really long time now, but the line-up in front of Schwartz's never fails to make me cringe, and La Banquise always seemed like a hassle to get to. Luckily for me, an opportunity arose when a few friends (with a car!) from out-of-town came to visit and wanted to check this place out.

Yuan, for all things 'un' of the Oriental sort.

So, as you may or may not know, I have some weird fascination for vegetarian and vegan cuisine, despite being more carnivore than omnivore. So when my friend told me about Yuan, a restaurant that serves Asian vegetarian and vegan cuisine featuring imitation meat, I was immediately intrigued. I had never tried imitation meats before, other than the good ol' fake crab, and was curious as to whether they really tasted like meat or not. The verdict? Read on to find out. (TBC... Dun dun dun!)

Vivre Aux Vivres!

 

Aux Vivres is a popular vegan restaurant/cafe on the Plateau that seems to also specialize in smoothies/juices. Even though the store is small and the location a little random, the restaurant is usually quite full, and with people of all shapes, sizes or food-religion. Or regular religion, at that. Despite having no trace trace of dairy, eggs or meat in their foods, it is not uncommon to find even big, burly guys frequenting this dainty establishment. Why? Because Aux Vivres manages to whip up foods that make you forget that the meat/dairy/egg is even missing.

Notre ami Amelio's.

Amelio's is a tiny family-owned restaurant on the corner of Milton and St-Famille. Amelio's specializes in 'gourmet' pizzas - pizzas that are of a higher caliber than your standard Domino's or Pizza Hut - but they also serve subs and pastas. Despite its low-key appearance and plain decor, the perpetual line-up outside its doors will be sure to alert you to Amelio's presence and to its quality.

Please refrain from kissing any grill, even if it's at Kiss Grill.

 



Kiss Grill is another hole-in-the-wall Asian joint, owned and run by a Chinese family, and specializes in hot pots and grilled meats. Everything is cooked in the kitchen and brought to you, and you can choose the level of spiciness you want in most of their dishes. They also offer complimentary (and refillable!) iced tea.

Crudessence for the recrudessence of my curiosity for vegan food.

Crudessence is a vegan and raw food restaurant, with various locations around Montreal. Yes, this means that not only do they not serve meat, eggs and cheese, they also serve food that has not been cooked in any form. What?You mean there's more to veganism and raw food-ism (...?) than salads? :O Le gasp!