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.

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.