Pum Pui

Another Asian persuasion resto, another lunch date with Jer bear! Interestingly enough, Pum Pui is owned by the whitest of Canadians (no offense to your skin tone, dude). He DID live about 5 years in Thailand and learned the tricks o' the trade. And we should all feel lucky that he did. Why? Oh, you'll see. YOU'LL SEE. I feel like I should put in a 'mouahahahaha' in there.

Pum Pui is located in the heart of... Little Italy! Perfect place for Thai food! I compared it to La Capital tacos in Chinatown. I mean, it's the only Asian there, so, kaching! It's a small resto, with a market portion, probs why it's called Épicerie Pum Pui. I am SO smart. I loved what was on the walls: very authentic pics and calendars and what not. Also, Jer bear mentioned that the sauce thang on the table was supes off the boat.

We had the papaya salad to start off with. I will just say that I've had papaya salads. Oh, I've had some. And this one was.... how can I put it... THE BEST I'VE EVER F*CKING HAD. It had just the right amount of acid and sweet. Also, I loved the fact that there were dried shrimp in there! Added a little crunch and lots-o-flaves! I'd go back right now for some more of that!

I had the beef green curry. Or green beef curry? Quwhatever. I'm gonna say exactly the same thing I said about the papaya salad. It was THE BEST Ì'VE EVER F*CKING HAD. Holy bejesus. Just by smelling it, I knew I was gonna fall in love with it. And yes, I'm serious about my food, god dammit. The beef was cooked with such perfectness, that it legit almost made me effin cry. Crying because of meat. Now that's new, even for me! The presence of lemongrass and kaffir leaves gave it a whole other level of flavor. With some peppers, it was hot but not TOO hot. As in, my lips weren't completely on fire. I may, or may not (I MAY) have told Jer bear that this was my all-time favourite curry. I'm talking EVER. Best thai curry in town made by some white boys. Who would've known!

Jer bear had the jungle curry: fermented rotten fish (wow, sounds WONDERFUL), green beans, bamboo shoots, thai basil, green peppercorns, kaffir leaves, ginger. This sh*t was spicy, and then some! Jer started sweating pretty much 30 seconds after his first bite. And then he got the 'spice cough'. And then his nose started running. The whole spiceffect, really. The fish was sooooo tasty and had obviously picked up all o dem flavas: I really didn't mind that it was fermented. Whatever, it's like kimchi: so freaking good. I didn't just make a random comparison, btw; kimchi is also fermented :) The veggies also took in all the loveliness of the broth, which was a-MAH-zing! Jer really wanted me to eat peppercorns, which, lets face it, I've eaten no more than 4 times in my whole life (and my life is pretty damn long). It was like a pop of flavor in my mouth! Soooo good!

You order at the counter and they bring it to the table. There was a mistake with Jer's order so he got his plate a bit after mine but the dude said sorry about 3 times. All is forgiven.

And now, les scores!

Food: 9.5
Service: 8

I heard someone say 'I think this is the best Thai food I've ever eaten', and I believe them. I, for one, will go back 28 times.

Hansang

As you may (or may not) recall, the first time we tried to hit up Hansang, it was a bust. So we had to return. Jer bear was there, duh. And his roomate/ma friend Em was there as well. Yay for Asian food discoveries!

The place itself looks much fancier inside than it does from the outside. Let's just say that the outside of it looks a bit meh, with two run-down looking signs, and inside is all supes clean, with dark wooden tables and some Asian art.

We had to have some starters, of course! First: the pajeon. I loves me a good pajeon. OK, it sounds like I eat this all the time, but, to be honest, I've had it only a couple times. Every time, with Jer Ber, and every time, it's to find out who would win the best pajeon contest. The winner (as of now) is Hansang! OK, this sh*t was SO good! Yes, it was deep fried, but sometimes, that's just totes acceptable. Right? RIGHT? The flavours were all there and the sides had a bit of crispiness to it. The green onions gave a little tang and the bonito flakes, well, hello. The only thing I found that I liked a bit less was the fact that there was too much tempura. But who cares! The rest was awesome.

The tteokqbokki. Well, that's a mouthful. Thick, gnocchi-like, and rice-based, these big-ass noodles were waaaaayyyy too thick for me. Wow. It was just too much, you know. Sometimes, it's just too much. I felt like I was eating dense pillows. They were comfy and everything, but damn, they were heavy. I liked the sauce tho. Yay for silver linings! It was ubs spicy and I just love those chillies!!!

Kimchi. If you ever see me NOT order kimchi at a Korean restaurant, something seriously wrong is going on. As in, it might be code that the person next to me has abducted me OR something else. Mmm, I can taste it right now and my mouth is legit watering. I'm serious, I just made a puddle on ma desk! It was just fermented enough, just spicy enough and it was really fresh. Which, by the by, IS a funny thing to say about kimchi, because it's fermented cabbage. Hahaha. I make the best jokes.

Beef teriyaki. Spicy, of course. This was right on the ball. You know, the meat n' spicy ball. That one. Don't even ask, I am aware that I don't make sense. The udon noodles were totes perf, thick and tasty. The veggies were not overly cooked, which is what I loathe. Why don't you make purée with that? GEEZ. They were good and just the right amount of spicy. Also, the sprouts were crunchy, which can add a whole other textural element to a dish. You think I'm exaggerating...but I am not. Dudes, I'm serious about my food, you know that! The beef was also the right amount of cooked. No one likes to eat a boot, am I right? It had all the right flavours: a bit sweet and a bit spicy. The perfect combo, basically.

Service was great throughout the meal: he gave us tea fast, food relatively fast, checked on us and was full on smiling the whole time. At some point we asked for cold water because there was lots-o-heat in our mouths and I found it quite hilarious that he only brought some for Em and I. As if the only Asian at our table was the strongest one. I think I cry less when I eat supes spicy food! He starts having the sweats way before I do :p (sorry Jer, tis true!)

And now, the scores!

Food: 8

Service: 8.5

I really enjoyed this place! On to the next Asian with my Jer bear! Do you even KNOW how many restos there are in MTL? Ya, that's what I thought.

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.

Cafe Neko

I stumbled upon Café Neko right after their opening, a couple months ago and had put it on THE list. The BIG list. The ever-growing list. Ugh. so many restaurants, so little time! Café Neko is this cute little Japanese restaurant right at the corner of St-Urbain and des Pins, and although it doesn't look like much from the outside, we were about to be pleasantly surprised! And you guessed it, I was having lunch with my main Asian squeeze, the Asian connection himself, Jer Bear.

There was a lot of construction right outside the restaurant, so once we opened the door, with the lovely classical music, it was like an oasis of serenity. Ya, I'm deep like that. The place is quite small with some tables and some seats at the window. Lots of pictures on the walls that were pretty god damn nice. It's owned by the two sole workers: a white dude and an Asian woman with a baby on her back. Basically, the cutest thing ever. I thought it was a back pack at first, but then realized it was a bébé and then I fell in love.

Jer and I started by sharing a couple very, VERY cheap entrees. Those are my FAVOURITE entrees. First: the Asian slaw with sesame dressing. Mmmm, mmm, mmmmm! So fresh, they had probably just picked the cabbage from their garden 2 minutes prior. It was nice and crunchy and the sesame vinaigrette was a bit gingery too which made it THAT much better. I actually don't think I've ever enjoyed a slaw that much in ma life.

Kimchi. I loooves me a good kimchi. I also hates me a bad kimchi. Thankfully, this one was up there! Perfectly fermented and just spicy enough. It wasn't my all time fave but kudos to the chef!

Beef dashi. FYI, dashi is a fish stock or simple broth usually made with kombu, bonito flakes, and it tastes damn didely delicious! There was rice, edamame, marinated ginger, green onions as well as some boiled onions. This was just wow. You should've seen Jer's face when he bit into a piece of beef. Holy hell that beef was tender. It was just falling apart in my mouth and oh, the flavor that it had absorbed!!! Umaaaamiiiii! Every time I say that word, I remember my Food Science teacher making a 'mmm' sound. Ah, ITHQ! The ginger added just what was needed to complete the lovely taste and the edamame added a nice texture. Oh, and the rice was perfect! Damn that dish was good!

Jer took the salmon tataki. I'm ALWAYS in for a good tataki. By the by, tataki means half-cooked. This was also a hit. The salmon melted in my mouth and the avocado just fit so well in there and had the perfect consistency! The nori added umami to it and the rice was perfect. YUM!

We were forced into having dessert. FORCED I say. OK, not really. We were full but didn't want to miss out on all that homemade goodness! I had the yuzu cheesecake. YES, a YUZU cheesecake. I'm gonna say that again: a yuzu cheesecake!!! I don't even know what to say to this except DAYUUUUMMMM! After each bite, it was like a punch to my taste buds with all that lovely citrus flavor. After Jer took a bite, his eyes opened wide and he said he wished he had ordered that instead of his homemade goodness.

Jer bear had the green tea ice cream sandwich. The ice cream tasted like green tea just the right amount and the homemade cookie was really freaking good and crunchy. But this had nothin' on my cheesecake. Nothin'!

Service was great throughout: water refill, quick service, smiles all around. Extra points for carrying the cutest little baby whilst doing it!

And now, the scores!

Food: 9 overall, 11 THOUSAND for the beef
Service: 9

What a great new discovery this was. Jer bear kept on saying he'll be going back and I'm for SURE going back too. OH, and it was cheap too! Excellent when you're on a budget!

Les Street Monkeys

This restaurant JUST opened up on Wellington. And you KNOW I needed to go! Hello, a new Asian resto, a 6 minute bike ride from my place? Uh, YES! I was QUITE excited to try this gem. See, I knew it was going to be a gem because my fave boy from CEGEP, Mike, told me it was THE best Cambodian in town. Oh, did I mention he is Cambodian? Mmmya. So off I went with ma girl Margo!

This place is nothing like the other places on Wellington in Verdun: it's hip, it's cool, it's happenin'! It has roughly about 60 seats, with cement floors and a long bar. They serve up tapas style dishes. I loves me some good tapas because I like tasting every damn thing on the menu. OK, I MAY be exaggerating! Sheesh, I ain't THAT rich (I wish!).

We had to start with a drink, duh. They have a very nice, very original cocktail list so that pleased us right away. I likes me a good cocktail! I had the Mango Monkey Mojito. The triple M! OK, no, that's not what they call it. Although it was a tad too much on the sweet side, it was lovely nonetheless. The Thai basil in there was so refreshing and the mango flavor was oh-so present!

Shrimp ceviche with wasabi. Wow oh WOW! Did I say wow? Yes, yes I believe I did. As soon as we took the first bite, our eyes started watering, and Margo's cold went straight out the window. I believe I actually wrote this in my notes: "Margo is dying". F*ck that was HOT!!! Just thinking about it now, my eyes are watering. I SWEAR! The shrimp were perfect (y'all know I loves my shrimp!) and the wasabi was a perfect match.

Poisson Amok. Le fish. Oh. My. Bejesus. This was like a gift sent down from heaven. Heaven I say!! It was crunchy, yet soft. It was oh so tasteful with the lemongrass hitting your palate like a ton of bricks. Ya, that much. The fried taro on the side added crunch and even if it was fried, it wasn't oily at all. Just the way I like eating fried stuff! I HATE it, nay, I LOATHE it when it's oily. Ew.

Chicken skewers with Khmer spices. You know when you eat peeeerfectly cooked chicken? Do you even know how good that is? OH, iz good! Perfectly grilled, perfectly cooked, perfectly chickened! The spices were perfect too. Oh, did you notice I wrote 'perfect' more than once? That's because it was damn PERFECT! Juicy, tasty chicken that literally melts in your mouth!

Beef laab. Yes AND yes! A little lime vinaigrette, thai basil, rice powder, galanga, dried peppers and fish sauce. Mmmmmmmm! That's what I'm talking about! All those flavours together definitely equaled a big win in ma mouth. So fresh. The lime brought out all the flavours, the rice powder gave another texture to the dish and the galanga was just a great surprise that my taste buds appreciated to the fullest. Everything went well together. Ah man, I want to eat more. NOW!

Beef skewers with Khmer spices. Super tender and super well seasoned. Oh, those Khmer spices, how I love thee.

Portions were a bit small, we thought. Yes, they are tapas, but the shrimp and the beef laab were way too small. And when it is SO good, you always want more!

Service was very good at first: we were seated in a moment, quickly got water and our waitress was uber nice and had a huge smile on her face. And then it got later and later and the restaurant got fuller and fuller and the service got slower and slower. That's the big challenge: how to maintain the same quality of service throughout the evening.

And now, the scores!

Food: 9
Service: 7

Duh, I'm going back fo shizzle! AND I'm telling all my friends.

 

Little Pink Fish 2008

Another lunch date with Jer Bear came along and we were to go try Otto Yakitori in downtown Montreal buuuuut they were closed for an event. DAMN IT. We then had a couple options: do a repeat and go  back to Maison du Nord, go to Ganadara once more (you can never go there enough) OR try a new place in this second Chinatown. Maison du Nord was a no. Ganadara, we actually checked and it was way too busy as usual, so it was going to be Little Pink Fish 2008. I love how Asian restos always be like 'we need to put a number in there'.

The restaurant is on two stories, with lots of decorations of only one thing: Chairman Mao. Cups on the walls and paintings of different colors are everywhere you look. Can you say 'obsession' much? Asian Christmas music is playing and, wait, what? Yep... Christmas music. CHRISTMAS. MUSIC. Ugh. Thank goodness there was only one Christmas tune. I would have lost my shit.

In good Marie and Jer fashion, we ordered too much food. That's what happens when everything looks too good and when your Asian connection wants you to try 'everything'.

Beef shank with hot chili sauce. This was niiiiiice. The beef was very tender and literally melted in ma mouth, the peanuts added a nice crunch, , the coriander does NOT need any introduction, the garlic either (hello!). Schezuan peppers made our lips turn from cold-ish to ON FIRE. Wow! It was weird because the inside of my mouth was just fine and dandy, but my lips had turned red and were all tingly.  

(With all this good food, I forgot to take a pic of this dish :/ ) Fried green beans with ground pork. I had this before at Hongmère in Verdun and had loved it. I gots to say though, it's VERY fried. As in, fried FRIED. As in wooooow that's fried. And I'm done. Obviously, as we ALL know, all fried things are awesome so this was no exception. They were very flavourful and the dish had just the right proportion of meat vs veggies.

Chinese fish in a hot broth. The fish was catfish and it was uber deliciousful. Yes guys, another new word, invented by moi! The fish had absorbed the beautiful flavours of the spicy broth, and it was so buttery and melt-in-your-mouth good. The bean sprouts were fresh and crispy and it was garlic city. Hello. Hello garlic, old friend. Lots of pepper corns gave some more spiciness to this soup. Yummy!!

Service was OK. He answered all our questions but did not check on us at any point during the meal. We got water quickly but even with all the spice, we did not get a refill fast enough.

And now, the scores!

Food: 8
Service: 7

I don't think I'll go back, you know, on account of the Christmas music.

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.

Omnivore

I passed by Omnivore, I'd say, a good 148 times. I'm totes serious. Obviously, I had to go (and it took me 149 to go in). Ma gurl Cat came along to taste some Mediterranean treats on the corner of Marie-Anne and St-Laurent!

I must be honest, I had already tasted a bit of Omnivore's awesomeness: my friend Isa has take-out all the time and I just happened to be there one night when she had some. But that wasn't enough; I needed the real experience!

Omnivore is this super cute place right in the heart of the Main. Or maybe a tad to the north, but who really cares about geography, am I right? It occupies quite the small space with around 25 seats, has some great indie music playin' and lots-o-plants adorn the windows. It legit makes you feel like you're in a jungle. Ugh, I'm not made to write/say 'legit', am I? Don't worry, won't happen again.

We shared (obviously) the herbivore plate and the carnivore plate. Cause that's the way we roll: we are extremists. OK, I'm definitely going too far. I can be really intense sometimes. But only when it comes to food :)

La carnivore. I loves me some good meat! Cat was actually a vegetarian for a good, pfff, 14 years maybe. And then, she came to her senses :p The meat (or kofta) was, wait for it, just wait for IT... moist! Herbal and exploding with flavor! The baba ganouche was full of spices and so f*cking good I'm even ready to say that it is the best I've EVA had. Like EVA. And I'm getting old. The garlic sauce was not strong at all and it was nice knowing that my breath was going to be ok for my business meeting the next day. OK, I had no meeting. I'm not that important at my new job. YET. I'm used to eating garlic sauce and having uber bad breath for a good 2 days. OR 8. The hummus was just thick enough and one of the best I've had. The rice with lentils was very nice and the marinated eggplant on top were out of this world: marinated to perfection. Just wow. I never thought I'd say this about eggplant. Like, at all. The pink turnips were also uber wonderful. Dang, I'm using so many adjectives, I should give English lessons. Fo realz!

La végé. This was one good lookin' plate! I just wanted to take the plate in my two hands and go to town. Please, look the other way :) The taboule was on the awesome side of things: just citrusy enough, just the right amount of parsley and, to top it off, oh-so-yummy! The orzo salad was just BANG ON: super fresh, vibrant parsley (yes, I'm serious), some nuts added a nice crunch and cranberries added a sweet side. Oh, and by the by, I'm legit in love with orzo. OK, I had to try it again and it is official, saying/writing 'legit' is just not for me.   The green beans/carrot salad was also a hit: it tasted of ginger and sesame, two of my favorite things. The chickpeas and eggplant would've tasted better warmed up. They were nicely grilled and that's why my palate was like 'dude, this should be hawt'.

Service was just ok. The girl that took our order could have smiled a bit. I only ask for a hint of smile. Please. She was a bit nicer in the end. Yay. Food came fast though :)

And now, the scores!

Food: 9
Service: 6

The food was soooo good so I can't say I won't go back. I'll obviously have to try other places before I do!