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.

Ramen Ya

Ramen and I: a love story. I swear, I was meant to be born in Japan. I just LOVE ramen. I might even be IN love with it. OK, calm down. But seriously. My token Asian friend (everyone needs one of those fo realz) has made it his mission, nay, his life goal (ya, it goes far) to make me try every ramen in Montreal.

We've done Kinton (just no!), Misoya (aight) and Yokato Yokabai which is pretty much the epitome of ramen. If I could eat Yokato's ramen every day, I would. It was now Ramen Ya's turn. Jer told me on our way there (sheesh!) that it wasn't the greatest ramen. He told me I needed to try more ramen so this is why he was bringing me there. It felt kind of like I was training to be a ninja or somethin'. OR somethin'.

Ramen Ya has two rooms, lanterns everywhere, small wooden tables, and looks like I've just entered Japan. YES the whole country. We get seated right away in the ramen side of the resto (the other is the isakaya). And then we wait aaaaand we wait some more. We finally order (yes!) and then well, it's more waiting. Didn't they get the memo about QUICK Asian restaurant service? I guess not.

Beef with enoki and chives in teriyaki sauce. The sauce was f*cking amazing. Effin awesome. Seriously great. Point is, when all was eaten, Jer and I looked at one another, and by staring each other in the eyes, you could see that we were both thinking about licking that plate. The meat was very flavourful but a bit on the dry side (daaaaamn you to hell, dry meat!). The enoki were, like the meat, full of that yummy goodness, but like shitake, enoki have to be cooked just the right amount of time or else its near inedible. Near. Of course we ate it. Of course. The sesame and the chives added some texture and some tang to the dish. I just really wanted to lick that plate. Next time, I'm lickin' the plate.

Ramen: spicy beef! Jer had told me time and time again that this was part of me testing all the ramen in MTL for my blog and that I had to, in my quest of finding the perfect ramen, eat some bad ramen too. Sheesh dude. I guess he wanted me to hate it before I freaking LOVED it! The ONLY thing I didn't like in there were the obviously-store-bought noodles. Basically, they called my restaurant (where we make AWESOME sushi and not-so-awesome ramen) and asked us where we bought our noodles. Ugh. No. The broth was thick and very pork-y and reminded me of the Montreal king of ramen's broth, Yokato Yokabai. Let's face it, every ramen must be compared to the one I ate at Yokato. The beef was perfect. PER-FECT! It was spicy, it was tasty, and most importantly, it wasn't dry! It's actually quite the rare occurrence to have beef ramen: 82 % (just an estimate :) ) of the time it is pork. And then add another 14% for chicken. The rest is beef. Maybe. The egg was perfect. It was all very harmonious in my mouth and my taste buds were very satisfied.

Service was on the slow side unfortunately. Damn it, I just hate slow service. Especially when you think it'll be quick! Damn you slow Asian service! Said no one ever. But it does apply in this case. Took a while to get food and I was pretty much falling asleep. Water was not refilled when, well, we totes needed it with all the spices and what have yous.

And now, the scores!

Service: 6
Food: 8

Let's just say if Yokato Yokabai is closed or full that day, imma gonna hit up Ramen Ya!