Le Petit Sao

Le Petit Sao is the new little baby in Pointe St-Charles. You know how much I love babies! Well, AND new restaurants :) It's not the BEST location, located almost at the end of rue Centre in PSC. It used to be no man's land, but it's getting a bit more popular. A bit.

The place itself is supes cute, with a bit of a tropical feel (the best kind of feel!), vibrant colours and plants on tables and along the walls. It was empty when I went because, like an old lady, I was eating dinner at 5pm. What??? I was hungry!

I had the table d'hôte, which included a soup, an imperial roll, and a grilled chicken 'bun bowl'. I loves me a good Viet bowl. The soup was pumped with MSG, like my colleague Margo would say, but hey, no one ever died from MSG consumption. It tasted so damn good! It kinda created a layer on my palate, you know, the way McDonald's does?! Mmmya. The chicken was perfection, and the green onions added a bit of a tang :) I just love myself some good green onions. The noodles were also perf, not overly cooked. I hate overly cooked noodles. I also hate underly cooked noodles. Bah.

The roll was hot, but not scorching. It brought me back to my young days in St-Laurent, when my mom used to bring us to Chez Lien. OK, I would never go back there in a million years, but Chez Lien used to be good (and clean), once upon a time. The grilled chicken was perf and tender and, cringe, moist. I actually wrote in my notes that it was like meat candy. Haha. I could've done without the salad and I wanted more mint. Mint is such a key ingredient when it comes to Vietnamese goodness like this bowl! This is what you have to tell yourself: ALWAYS more mint. Always. I think you get the point. I really loved the marinated veggies and also appreciated the hot n' cold aspect of this dish. Mama likes a good mix! I asked for more nuoc cham, and the guy said 'sure, I'll bring more fish sauce'... and I was like, wait a second. He just needs to learn a bit more about the culture and the food, it's ok. HAHAHA, said the expert. OK, there IS fish sauce in there, but to just call it 'fish sauce' would be a mistake. AND I'm OUT! The noodles were good and, mixed in with that sauce, were even better. I'd put that sauce on anything: noodles, meat, boobs. You know.

Service was supes quick, but I only got water refilled at the end of my meal. The waitress even joked about the fact that she was refilling it at the end of my visit. Why? WHY would you joke about my water? GOD! Hahaha. I kid. But not really. Also, she kept on calling me 'ma chère dame'. Honey, I am not 70. I appreciated the politeness but it was too much!

And now, the scores!

Food: 7.5
Service: 7

I went back yesterday for a sick day lunch and it was quite satisfying! Can't say I won't go back a third time :)

Tran Cantine Vietnamienne

Tran, Cantine Vietnamienne is one of the many new little Asian babies in town. I'm just happy this one happens to be on my side of town. Yay, South-West wins again! Or something. Anyhoot, I headed to Tran with my bud Margo on one of MTL's first VERY cold day.

There was no question as to where the resto was: it was lit up like the Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center in New York City. Like lightning. Like fireworks. You get it, it was damn bright. You could've seen it from space. Aaaand I'm totes exaggerating again. Very simple décor: white walls, black tables, open kitchen. It was quite cold, and every time someone would open the door, it would be freezing. There are ways to fix this problem. Buy an Abris Tempo :p

We shared everything, because that's how we dso. We started with the spring roll: vermicelli, shrimp, mint. Everything was very fresh and the noodles were perfectly cooked. Obviously, this was awkward to eat, split in two. We should've just taken two. You live and you learn. The peanut sauce was just thick enough and very tasty.

The pho. Margo was worried about msg (I'm more of an msg? No worries! kinda gurl). When Margo asked, the girl who seemed to be the manager/owner, kind of lowered her head and said 'there's a little bit'. Hey, at least she was honest. The noodles were perf (not too soft, not too hard) and the beef was perf too (just bloody enough). Basically, everything was perf. The broth was awesome too. A really good pho. I've read that it's one of the best in town, and although I find this a bit exaggerated, I don't think it's far from it.

Banh mi. I looooves me a good banh mi. Like, LOVE. The bread was soft and ubs  (short for uber of course!) fresh and the grilled chicken was nice and juicy. The veggies were, seriously, some of the best pickled veggies I've had in a banh mi. Dikon and carrot, HELLO! The level of sauce was also right on. Damn it, I want to get another one right NOW!

The beef salad had some great flavours goin. The beef was great and the coriander was, well, duh, it was coriander! They could've added somewhat of a sauce to make things a bit less dry. Also, even though y'all know I'm a huge fan of onions, there were way too many on there. Like a whole onion. A big one. It was a good dish, but it could've been better.

We were totes in to try a good Vietnamese dessert, but they didn't have any. Boo. It's a new resto, so there's always room for improvement :)

Service was just OK. The girl we spoke to at first was great and gave us info on the resto and how she came to open it, etc. The waiter forgot to bring us extra plates about 3 times. Hahaha. But seriously. We did get our food very quickly though, which was much appreciated since we were starving!

And now, the scores!

Food: 8
Service: 7

Well, as previously mentioned, I'll be going back for one of those banh mi. For SURE.

Pho Viet

I saw this restaurant on one of the 8 million best-resto, most-liked-resto, must-go-to-resto, anything-resto lists in Montreal. It was close-ish (the village) and it was Asian. Basically, the perfect place to meet a friend for lunch! Isa and I went a couple weeks ago.

First off, I literally had to open my eyes wider when I came close to the address but couldn't find the restaurant. I finally found it, only because I saw Isa waving frantically through the window. OH, it's there! I entered the restaurant and wow was it ever UN-wow!! No decorations whatsoever, brown paper on the tables, a decrepit coat rack, no ambiance whatsoever, and to finish it off, a huge piece of plastic covering the back wall. It's a good thing I was already in and Isa was already seated, because I had the instinct to get the f outta there! ***Note: Someone made me notice that I should've asked about the wall and, indeed, they had water damage a little while back and that's why it looks like this!

I had the beef pho. The waitress said 'oh, l'authentique'! Omg, she KNEW I was half-Asian! She gave me lemon instead of lime, which did not give the same flavour at all. You can't just give me any citrus; imagine if she had given me an orange. Alright, that's just ridiculous! The broth was very tasty and beefy: just the way I like it. The beef was actually perfectly red; not overcooked like a lot of pho places. The coriander is just always awesome. The bean sprouts could have been a bit fresher and crunchier. Those have a life span of like 2.5 hours. Every time I purchase some, I must cook them ASAP or else it's straight in the compost. Just add a bit of sriracha in there and booya, you got yourself somethin' tasty!

Service was OK. It was quick, and the woman did it with a smile but there was no water refill. And with that sriracha in ma mouth, I was lookin' for more o' that!

And now, the scores!

Food: 7.5
Service: 7

Clean it up a bit (a lot) and get fresher ingredients and THEN I'll consider going back. Muchas gracias.

Miss Banh Mi

I loves me a good banh mi. I made a list of banh mi places in Montreal and Miss Banh Mi was next on ma list! Plus, it's on my way to and from work. What did you say? Yes, you're right, it's in the perfect location.

Miss Banh Mi is actually in quite a large space on St-Mathieu, downtown. It came as a surprise because I'm use to restos that serve banh mi to be tiny! Well, except for Vua, but that dson't count, iz a chain! Some techno music was playing? OK, that's not a question, that's a fact. You know when you say that music just dson't fit? This was a big example of that. I really dug the brick walls and the pictures printed in sepia. There were wooden tables and silver chairs, but not enough. I'm the first one to say it when there's no room to move around in a resto, but it equally sucks (for them) when there are not enough tables. You are LOSING money, people.

The Tom Yum soup, although very, wait for it, yum-my (ya, I'm THAT good), was a bit  too sour. Guys, I know it's a hot n' sour soup but this was hot n' sour n' sour. I think the culprit was the piece of lemongrass that was stewing in there. There was some chicken that was very tasty and oozing with flavor, some green onions that, hello, and lime that gave it a nice kick. It was just spicy enough.

Le banh mi. I've eaten banh mi before. Lots and lots of them. I'd like to say I've been to Vietnam to eat them but sadly, that wouldn't be true. I will do it in the future though, I swear to Heysus. I had the traditional banh mi: lots o' meat, pickled carrots and daikon, cucumber, coriander and some sauce. The whole thing was very fresh and the baguette was just A+ and not stale at all (which would be D-).  The veggies could have been marinated a little while longer to let more liquid seep in for some extra goodness. There wasn't nearly enough cucumber OR daikon. And I LOVES me some daikon in ma banh mi! The sauce was somewhat of a BBQ sauce, which was different than the usual mayo type sauce. A good different. The pâté was BANG on and the cold cuts also. Not too salty, just fatty enough to have lots-o-tastiness. Everything, as I've said, was very fresh.

 

Service was, well, counter service. At first, I didn't get much of a smile from the woman working there. But she did give me water quickly and le food was ready in a flash as well.

And now, the scores!

 

Food: 7.5

Service: 7.5

Well, I have a bunch of other banh mi restos to try. But I have a feeling I'll be back. Oh, imma be back, yo.

Pho Bac 97

When you're sick, you need a couple things: your mommy, Perrier, lemon and ginger tea and a good soup. This is why, when I was sick as a dsawg last week, I went for some pho. I asked my Asian persuasion friend, Jer, who, coincidentally, is in Vietnam right now, where I should head for some good pho. He mentioned that Pho Bang New York is a fave but HIS fave (in Chinatown) is Pho Bac 97.

Pho Bac 97 is located at the end of Chinatown on St-Laurent. OK, saying it's the end of Chinatown ain't sayin' much; it's so small that it's like pretty much when you get in, you're out again. The place itself is like a lot of Asian restos: lots of tables, a tad crammed, pots on tables with chop sticks/napkins/sauces, no music. Basically, get in and get OUT!

The fillers, as I like to call them. Or... the garnishes? Whatever. That! The essentials, basically. Thai basil, bean sprouts, chilis and lime.

I had the #7, or the beef pho. The broth was just awesome and so damn meaty and oniony. You KNOW how I feel about ma onions! The meat had had too much time to cook in there, damn it! It would have been even better with it being a tad less cooked. The noodles were cooked to perfection: not quite al dente and not soggy either. Oh, and I practiced my noodle slurping technique! I believe Jer would have been oh-so-proud. The coriander was oh-so-fresh, which made it oh-so-yummy. Putting the thai basil, the bean sprouts, the hint of lime in there was just the cherry on top. Oh and don't forget the hint/heat of sriracha. YA BABY! What better thang to help my sickness? NOTHING! I obviously added some sriracha in there to make it spicy and also to sweat out all the sick! And it worked btw.

Service was very quick. It's like, you turn around and BAM, there's tea. BAM, garnishes. BAAAAM, your meal is there. Very efficient. It would have been nice to have water tho. I only thought about it at the end of the meal. I think tea is like water to Asians. And yes, I'm very deep. Totes. Oh I must also mention that when I went to pay, the man at the counter told me they only accepted cash and I was like DANG! He told me I could either take out some money at their ATM with mucho dinero charges OR come back another day! Uh, what? 152 points for niceness right there! Actually, going back tomorrow to pay the nice man. And trust me when I say I'll be giving a GENEROUS tip!

And now, the scores!

Food: 8.5
Service: 7.5

Well, obviously I'm going back. To pay AND to eat some more amazing pho!

Viet Express

I was walking along Wellington Street in Verdun the other day, you know, shoppin'. And by shoppin', y'all KNOW I mean looking for restaurants. I don't necessarily want/need to go to the most popular/talked about restaurants. Actually, most of the times, I just want to do they opposite! Hey, I became the number TWO blogger by going to random restaurants and not by going to the newest places or the ones with celebrity chefs. That's just the way I dso shiz.

Viet Express is one of the new babies on Wellington, a very bustling and ever-developing street in Verdun (ps: Verdun rocks). It's almost like Notre-Dame West where there's a new restaurant every freaking week (ya, that's a fact). Anyhoot, I found this tiny place and, being half-Asian and all, I was automatically drawn to it. Tiny: 4 seats and very narrow. They have a tiny altar for Buddha and his friends on the ground, that is actually embedded in the counter. Wow, Buddha be special. They sell other things like Pocky (yes!) and Pringles (what?).

I knew exactly what I was having: something I had many times before at marché Hung Phat (oh how I love thee): grilled chicken with vermicelli + veggies with some nuoc mâm (a fermented fish based sauce). YES. For me this is some kind of heaven. I gotta say it was not nearly as good here. Don't get me wrong, it was aight, but the meat, although nicely grilled and tender, lacked in flavor and seemed a couple hours too old. The vermicelli, a tad on the overcooked side. The veggies were nice and crunchy and slightly marinated which was AWESOME in ma mouth. The green onions, like the chicken, seemed a bit on the old side. I loved all the different textures though. I just love putting everything together and mixin' it up. THAT is what I like. And then, drizzling that lovely sauce on top. YES!

Service was good. I had it as take out because of 2 reasons: a: I was in a hurry and b: I think I would've taken up the whole sitting space with my gym stuff. Took about 10 minutes to get my food. I just kept on looking at the girl preparing it, with her long black hair dangling over my food. Ugh. Trust me when I say I looked for hair while I was eating.

And now, le score!

Food: 6.5

Lots of places to try. Yep.

Baguette Cali

I would eat banh mi every freaking day if it weren't for the massive (yes, I'm going there) amount of carbs in that bread. DAMN that bread! Baguette Cali is strangely located: in a Thai Express. Except for the fact that both are Asian (I should write 'ish' for Thai Express), they have absolutely nada in common. NADA! I would NEVER eat at Thai Express (Disclosure 1: I've eaten there once, never again. Disclosure 2: also why I didn't want a pic of the resto!).

I spotted this place when walking to and fro the gym. Located on Wellington, it's about 2 blocks from my gym. Ever notice how I always describe restos in Verdun with how many blocks from the Énergie Cardio they are located? Yes, I'm that obsessed. So, you enter the restaurant and you look to the back, far far away. And then you see a little Asian woman and she has the cutest, most welcoming smile. Go to her. Oh, you go to her.

They have other stuff but I was there for dem banh mi. They do have quite the selection so I asked the woman what I should have. She said they are all good. I refused. She then suggested the Spécial Cali.

Pâté, ham and pork. Double pig; I love it. Obviously, there was the usual coriander, daikon, carrots and some mayo type sauce. Let's just say that for a girl that watches her carb intake, I did NOT watch my banh mi intake. I pretty much inhaled it. As in 'breathe in, breathe out'. Apart from the fact that there was a tad too much sauce in there, it was amazeballs. That's correct. She had asked if I wanted it spicy. How is that a real question? But seriously. She put some hot peppers in there and as I was eating my way through the sandwich, I found that the couple peppers were few and far between. And then, I hit the motherload. Tears came a-flowin'. But apart from the tears, all the other ingredients were perfect. The slightly marinated carrots and daikon were pretty much out of this world (yes, I'll go that far) and the meat was awesome. I can't say for sure which meat was what but I do know it tasted good. The meat that was most likely pork (I need a meat class) was a tad too fatty for me but added a sh*t load of flavor in there. Oh and there was cucumber that added a nice crunch and some freshness to it all. We DO like it fresh!

Service was fast AND happy! Not much more to say... I had it as take-out.

And now, le score!

Food: 8.5

Knowing myself, I'll try other banh mi places but this place was too good for me not to go back!

Hoang Oanh

I don't know why but I had been craving a banh mi (uber vietnamese treat) for about a month. Well, that craving was satisfied at Hoang Oanh last Sunday! Called up Lea, told her about my banh mi dreams and set to meet up in Chinatown (I just want to mention how much I appreciate the fact that when I go to Chinatown, I can eat chinese food, korean food, vietnamese food, japanese food etc! Now if it could only be a tad bigger!). Half an hour later, we were there baby!

The place is tiny and has no room to sit, which kind of sucks for people like us who had not planned on eating this loveliness at home. Iz ok, don't cry for me Argentina, we hopped over to the Palais des Congrès and found a comfy sofa to drop our crumbs on :)

Anyhoot, we practically were in and out in 3 minutes! These banh mi girls are fast I tells ya! We didn't want to eat the same sandwich so Lea got the veggie one and I got the beef one. Oh and a big ass ps here, it only cost 4$. Yes I say.

This is the veggie one (and the only good picture---the other ones, they just look like 'well I see some ingredients but it doesn't look like anythin'). Lea had the choice between tofu marinated in curry or marinated in soya sauce. Great choice with the curry; I hardly ever tasted tofu that tasted this good. Ok, rarely. Alright, never. My beef was really tasty too; they apparently really got their proteins right :) Seriously, it was kick-you-in-the-crotch, spit-on-your-neck fantastic (thanks Rachel) but in a good way. The bread in both sandwiches was a tad stale though which was not that super. Plus, you know, all the crumbs. When we got up, we actually saw a reverse body-shaped crumb infested area on the couch. The veggies were so darn good: just a tad pickled and oh-so-fresh! Carrots, daikon, coriander and a hint of hot peppers; so basically all the right stuff. Oh and there was a little bit of yummy yummy sauce that just made everything better. I's gotta say that the veggies were cut a bit too big but in the end, who gives a crap when it tastes this good? Precisely no one! Oh and the hint of really hot peppers was a good choice on our part; it just gave it a nice little kick.

Although I won't be grading the service because of the super duper short time we were in there, it was great! Fast, efficient, nice. 

And now, the score!

Food: 8

I'll be back every day I can. Now THAT is a promise!

 

Pho Bang New York

My friend Val and I LOVE restauranting (oh ya... btw I invent verbs now) together: she doesn't care that I spend a third of the time taking notes and pictures and I don't mind if she talks on the phone. Anyhoot, Val and I decided that, since we are uber poor right now, Chinatown will be our new hang out spot. Many restaurants, some of them good, most of them cheap!

That evening, we decided on a place that had gotten mostly great reviews; Pho Bang New York. Well, for me, any place with 'Bang' in its name is a done deal. So we're about to walk in and notice that it's full, overly lit and cafeteria style, meaning there are long tables and many dining groups sitting beside one another. I know it's not going to be a long dinner so cafeteria style sitting is ok by me.

We were seated quite quickly and as soon as we hit the chair, some tea was on our table. Thank the little baby Jesus (or as I like to call him, Heysus) for that hot tea 'cause I believe it was nearing the minus 8000 Celsius outside. Not cool man, not cool. We looked at the menu but knew what we were going to have, we were there for some Pho (more on pho: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pho). I really needed something hot to thaw my insides (insert picture here).

We decided to share a spring roll entree and both ordered the grilled chicken pho.

The spring roll. I LOVE spring rolls. This one, unfortunately, did not live up to our expectations.  I was dry and quite hard. Plus, I did not even taste the shrimp. And y'all know how much I loves me some shrimp.

Grilled chicken pho. Not the best decision ever made by either of us. The broth didn't taste like much; let's just say we added a lot of sriracha and hoisin to make it taste like somethin'. The chicken was good, thank Heysus, and the charred taste really came through. The choice of veggies... I mean, who wants what I call 'carottes d'avion' (you know, those tiny stooopid carrots) or cauliflower in pho? It smelled amazing when it was placed in front of us but even the yummy thai basil, the lime, nor the sprouts could save it.

Service was lacking, as it is in a lot of Asian restaurants that serve a shiz load of people per meal. Water was on the table quickly and we got the food really fast too but our waiter was looking around while taking our order and that just pisses me off. 

And now, the scores!

Food: 6

Service: 6

I'm not sure I'd go back, even for another kind of pho. Pho sho (hahaha, get it? mmmmya).



 

Pho 198

So, I lived for many years 2 blocks away from this marvellous spot and had never tried it. Bravo Marie, Bravo. Anyhoot, Pho 198 (so it's called Pho 198 because the owner's address is 198...)is located close to many restaurants in Côte-des-Neiges and right beside a Subway. No competition there!

I was sick (and still am...grrrr) so I decided to get myself a nice soup in an effort to try to get better. You know, soups do that. The waitress was very nice and considerate. She asked me if I wanted them to add ginger in there, you know, cause I'm sick. I thought that was nice. And then when she saw me take pics, she gave me a card and I told her I was a food blogger and she practically threatened the cook: 'if you FORGET to put ginger in there.....'. Hahaha.

Broth and goodness

I ordered the chicken pho. Mmmmmm....phooooooo! It had been a while for pho and I and this reminded me why I like it so much. Just opening the bag, you get a wiff of goodness. The thai basil brought so much flavor to the broth...so wonderful! The noodles were perfectly cooked. The chicken was charred and had great spices. Thing is it was a bit chewy. Meh. There were big chunks of ginger in there which could have been overpowering but it was actually very nice to bite in a big piece like that. The green onions and the bean sprouts added a needed crunch to the soup. Oh and they give you a mix of hoisin and hot sauce to either dip your chicken in or to simply put in the soup. 

And now, the scores!

Food: 8 Damn chicken!

Service: 9

You want pho? Go to Pho 198 and you will be pleased, I guarantee it!