No. 900

I bike passed No. 900 pretty much every day on my way to work. And every damn time, I tell myself I could go for a good pizza. Yes, even at 7am. I'm like that, you know. SO, the other day, when Val called me to tell me she was there and needed someone to share her pizza with, I was like mmmya j'arrive. I mean, I gotta say I was going more to see my girl, but a bit of pizza would also help. Hahaha. Pizza ALWAYS helps.

I left my house quite quickly, and I was interrupting a very chill session watching somethin' on my computer, so I got there in jogging pants and a sweatshirt. Ya, that happened. I mean, it wasn't a chic place by any means, but come on, girl could've made a bit of effort. Yes, I'm talking about myself.

All pizzas are cooked in a wood fired oven, for 90 seconds, at 900 degrees. dang that's hot. It's also why it's called No. 900. They so smart! BTW, there are, like, 120 No. 900 in Québec. I exaggerate. I believe there are 18. That's a lot of dough. A LOT of dough. It also makes for very quick service, which is what everyone wants. Show me ONE person that likes slow service. I dare you.

Val had ordered the caclocavallo and porchetta pizza. These pizzas were quite big and, in my head, obviously not made to be eaten by only one person. Let's face it, people, it's for one and a half person. I was more than happy to be the half person in this case. On top of that lovely meat, this pizza had pecorino romano, fior de latte, parsley oil, and roasted mushrooms.

With the pecorino AND the fior de latte, it was veeeery cheesy, veeery lactose intolerant non-friendly. Hahaha! But who gives a sh*t. Cheese is so good, I was just going to suffer the consequences later. The crust, even if it was super thin (just the way I likes my crust), it wasn't falling apart like cray. The mushrooms were charred to perfection, and the pesto was quite a great addition. Who knew parsley could be so good?! To make it even better, you know what you dso? You put some spicy oil on yo pizza. For me, that's pleasure X 100. Our hands were all oily and nasty by the end. And then, you know what we did? We licked those hands. YASS!!!

Service was great! I got there, sat down in my stupid jogging pants, and the waiter came by, asked if I wanted to order food or drinks. When we said that we would share, he brought me an extra napkin AND a plate. Oh, and much needed water (that oil was a bit a on the spicy side!).

And now, les scores!

Food: 9
Service: 8.5

Oh ya, I'm going back.

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.

Cari Mela

Cari mela is literally right around the corner from my house. It's really a mystery why I haven't been before. I just...I don't understand it. I went with my girl V, who is a big fan of the Indian persuasion, a couple weeks back, for lunch.

The place itself, like a lot of Indian restos, is nothing special. Dark room, old tables and chairs, crap on walls. That sums it up, I think. We got there for a late lunch and had not realized that they close again at 2PM until dinner time, so our lunch was cut short a bit, which kind of sucked. But hey, we should've checked! My bad!

We had the midi table d'hôte, starting off with the dahl, a lentil soup. This was such a great soup. WOW!!! The lentils, the coriander; so fresh!! Really... wow! There was a hint of lemon that added a bit of tartness and went really well with the lovely coriander. God, I love coriander. If I could marry it, I would. I would've ordered another if it wasn't a dish that was about to make me fart up a storm. Ps: gym peeps, I'm sorry, it was me.

The vegetarian thali. I loves me a good thali. Usually, I have the non-veg one, but this time, I didn't really feel like eating le chicken. Don't get me wrong though, butter chicken is oh-so-effin-good! That was a sh*t load of rice though, damn! The chick peas were perf and the coriander, once again, was so fresh! Seriously, I'd eat a big bouquet of that, any time. Just imagine a big rabbit, but instead of a carrot, it's coriander. Anywaaaaaayyyy. The eggplant was uber tasty but salty AF. Damn! The boiled veggies were very good but I thought they could have used more spice.

The naan. I'm serious when I say this was the best naan that has ever touched ma lips. Ever. It was so buttery and soft. Basically, what dreams are made of.

Dessert. I'm not going to say much about this. I WILL say that they had just taken out of the freezer and mine was still... frozen. Everything was just wrong.

Service was very quick and efficient, like in most Indian restaurants. GO GO GO! $$$! Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

And now, the scores!

Food: 8 (let's just NOT take that doughnut into consideration)

Service: 8

Well, I can't NOT go back: they are my neighbours AND they have the best naan. Hello.

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.

 

Sammi and soup dumpling

As you know, I'm half Asian (it's basically a fact) and so, being half Asian, I like to hit up some Asian restos. Makes sense. My Asian connection, Jer, told me to go to Sammi soup and dumpling when I asked him where I should go eat near Concordia. And so, I went!

 Sammi is a small spot on Ste-Catherine right in the middle of le second Chinatown. Ya, it's a thing alright. They have lots of tables in a small space and have benches that hurt yo ass. Kinda like the old McDonald's. Meaning, DON'T take your time to eat, we want more money. OK, McDo was like that but I'm sure Sammi just took the benches from the resto that was there before. There were a couple people sitting at the back, a couple at the window and a man, that looked quite miserable if you asked me (until the buns arrived) sitting on the ass-hurtin' bench. It felt a bit weird to have absolutely no music and no ambiance. Just not used to it.

Obviously, I was there for the buns. According to Jer, they are some (if not THE) best in Montreal. Well hello there! I like big buns and I cannot lie! Or something less weird.

 Hot and sour cucumber. This did NOT look awesome. But as the rule goes, it WAS awesome! First of all, this was like 3 bucks. 3 bucks for awesome? Yes please! Huge pieces of cucumber marinated in vinegar and lord knows what but packed with flavor. On top, it was spicy and lovely with some chilies, chili oil and a bit of vinegar. And then, as I was digging, I found more awesomeness in the shape of ginger. WOW!!! Intense and oh-so-good! I'd like some more now please!

Los buns. Or xiaolongbao (check it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiaolongbao ). OR tiny little heavenly thangs. I asked which ones I should have and she said that if I had never been there, I should have the pork buns. Done!

So, ten buns. TEN! Let's calm down here, people! I obviously brought some home for a friend. Who can eat ten buns? They were just perfect. Totes serious. Perfect size, and perfect level of juiciness, as in they didn't actually explode in my face when I took a bite. The meat was very tasty and very moist (ugh!). The dough to meat ratio was perfect! The sauces that were on the table were also uber awesome (do you even have any idea what 'uber awesome' looks like?). There was this sauce with chilies in it that was just like DSAMN GIIIIRL. Let's just say I was satisfied.

Service was mmmkay. It took my waitress all her might to crack a smile. Come on, is it that hard? I didn't have any sauces on my table so I had to go get em' from another table, which is just fine, but I'm thinking it's part of her job description (yes, I'm harsh). Water was served quickly and refilled not so quickly. Service was fast though, which was great because I needed time to digest before le gym.

And now, the scores!

Food: 9
Service: 6

I'd totes go back for a bun or TEN!

Haru Hana

If you haven't noticed, I'm part Asian. OK, I'm not. But I swear my great great great great GREAT grand mother was half Asian. OK, that's a lie too. I'm sure I was Asian in another life. You know. My friend Jer from the real Asian persuasion said we should hit up Haru Hana, this Korean resto in the village. And when Jer says we should try a place, I'm always in. You hear that Jer, always. Cue creepy music.

Haru Hana is a tiny restaurant on Maisonneuve right next to Berri Uqàm metro station. It's a good thing I had the address because I would have missed it fo shizzle. It's a very modest place, with two workers, a small counter, some shaky fake wooden tables that seated  around 23 and mix matched chairs. The menu was written on a black board on the wall although they also gave us the paper one. Hey, it's nice to have options. Every time someone would open the door, I'd brace myself for the cold because they didn't have that thang most Montreal (read: Québec. Nay, anything from here to the north pole) have when they don't have a second door. Somewhat of an indoor abris Tempo sorta thang. THAT was lacking. Brrrr. You know when you just can't warm up? That's how I felt. But enough about my body temperature.

They brought us hot water, which was nice considering it was -8000 outside (and inside :p). At some point during the meal I would have preferred some cold water though. Anyhoot, we were warmly (haha) welcomed by a very nice waitress/possible owner/possible cook. I'm somehwat of a creature of habit so I just had to have me the bibimbap. Jer also chose a little somethin' for us to eat before. I never question his decisions when it comes to Asian food. Well, except when he wants to order body parts and such. That's a no. I just can't do urine tasting(kidney) and/or cartilage. I just can't.

Pajeon: Korean savoury pancake with seafood and green onions. It was kind of crêpe-y, dough-y, egg-y, omelet-y. I really liked it but Jer said that usually, it is less dough-y and that this one was a tad undercooked. It should've been golden brown instead of light yellow. Listen to Jer. He knows. I really liked the onions in there and I could taste the mussels but the rest of the seafood was kind of lost on me. Just didn't taste it. The simple soya based sauce was lovely and I could have drank it all. But that's just not good table manners. I found it just fluffy enough and quite tasty! But Jer was right, it should've been cooked a bit more.

Ah, kimchi, my love. Last year, I made my own kimchi (cause I'm cool like that) and I have to toot my own horn here by saying that it was deeeee-licious!!! Well, obviously, this one was better, but gimme a break, it was my first try! This kimchi was amazing. It was fermented goodness! Just spicy enough, it went very well with every bite of my bibimbap!

Le bibimbap. First thought was that they served it in a cold bowl. Oh no. No. It should always be served in a steaming hot bowl. I loved the pickled veggies, the egg was just cooked right for my taste, and the rice was also perfect. The red peppers, I didn't necessarily care for and the meat was a bit tasteless. Seasoning people, seasoning. All in all, I've had better bibimbaps.

Service was nice. As soon as I entered, I got water and menus. She also brought us a pitcher (of hot water...) and took down our order quite quickly. She did not check to see if we liked it and only asked at the end of our meal.

And now, the 악곡! Yes, that's score in Korean. Sheesh! (Hopefully, it's the right kinda score...)

Food: 6.5

Service: 6.5

Many more Asian restos in Montreal! You know where I'm going with this...

Nantha's kitchen @ Fabergé

Fabergé is an awesome breakfast/brunch resto that just happens to have a chef serve up Malaysian food on Friday nights (https://www.facebook.com/nanthaskitchen/?fref=ts). Slow Down Papa is the awesome name Nantha is giving it, and I'll take it! Nantha being the chef, of course! He's been doing this for a couple years: transform an awesome resto into an even awesomer (yes, it's a word, I totes checked) one on Friday evenings.

Fabergé has a chill vibe with chill people. It's chill. Super chill. You feel like you're in a friend's living room kind of chill. It's white, with drawings on the walls, with white seats and lots of wood. The music that's playing is, wait for it... you guessed it... chill! As soon as you enter, you get hit by an Asian wave. You know, that one! That great smelling wave. I could ride that wave all day :p

I was there to take pics of the food in the kitchen and you know, eat the good stuff. Ah, my resto blogging job really does suck. Aaaaaand scene! Of course I'm kidding! I get to be invited to try food at awesome restaurants. Ya, that's pretty much the best damn job in my book.

Pad thai. Nantha made this especially for me: a very thin omelet that was wrapped around the pad thai. Like the most tasty gift ever. He said it took some time so that's why he just can't always do it. Usually, the egg is in there but in pieces. Just as tasty but not as pretty! The omelet itself was so thin, I wondered for a moment if it was a crepe! It was a tad cold which was unfortunate but the pad thai inside was hot and perfect. The noodles were done to perfection, the spices were all there, the coriander and the thai basil were just wow. Well, I'm biased because my all time fave herb is coriander. Ah, coriander and me: a love story. The sprouts were nice and crisp and the shrimp, albeit a bit small for my taste (y'all know I like huge 16-caliber shrimp), were cooked perfectly. The lime added some freshness to it and the level of spice was right on. Seriously: I would not have wanted it spicier nor less spicy. There were also shrimp chips in there! When I was in the kitchen, the cook showed me what they looked like before he threw them in the fryer! Increeeeeedible! All in all, I could say, without reservation, that it was the best pad thai I've ever eaten.

Service was great. As the place was filling up, the only waiter was still super chill! I would have shot myself 8 times in the head by then. He brought me a bottle of water and a glass of wine. The second one, he finished the bottle in my glass. Yes. That's what I like :) He came to check up on me a couple times, which was nice!

And now, the scores!

Food: 9

Service: 9

Awesome food was had. I'm going back next week and the week after that until Nantha can't cook no more.

Bitoque

I did a summer internship in a '5 star' hotel kitchen in Corsica 4 years ago. It's hard to beat that summer: it rained a grand total of about 5 hours over 3 months. And I met Emy. Even if she is over 10 years younger than I am, her and I bonded and it was so much fun traveling with her to neighboring villages and what not. But enough about the best summer EVER, let's talk restaurant! Her and her boyfriend are in town for a couple weeks and after spending Sunday together perusing Montreal, I was looking for a good restaurant to eat at. In my hood (sud-ouest), not that many places are open on Sunday. Seriously, sometimes it seems like only a handful are open. We chose Bitoque for 3 reasons. 1- I LOVE Portuguese food. 2- It's BYOW 3- Well, it was open!

Bitoque is located right where every other restaurant in MTL is located. Living here, I can bet you that at least 1.2 (this is a very specific number, as you can tell) restaurants open every 1.4 weeks (again, very specific!). I don't even need to get out of my hood to go eat, and I could do so every day for a good 2 months. I swear.

The restaurant is actually quite big, way bigger than what you would think from the outside. Its décor is sort of mixed, which I wasn't too fond of: different artists painted different paintings and they did not match at all. Brick wall here, old booth there, it was a mix and match kind of situation.

We decided on only tapas, which suited me just well. I loves me many small dishes, so I can try lots of different dishes! The menu suggests (yes, the menu can talk) we have 2 per person so just to be sure, we ordered 7. Something that must (yes it MUST) be mentioned is that on their tapas menu, some items have * besides them and those aren't available on weekends. When we asked, we were told that yes, they were available on Sunday. This makes me rethink the whole concept of weekends. I mean, can we say that Friday and Saturday is the weekend? Why not Tuesday and Wednesday. You know, life is full of difficult dilemmas and questions. And THAT, kids, was my thought of the day.

We were absolutely and positively starving when we got there so imagine my face when they start us off with tiiiiny little olives. Well, I devoured them. It was like I was on a deserted island and I had just found a fruit or something. You know that feeling? :D I also devoured the warm bread they brought us. The loveliness of the warmth was somewhat ruined by the fact that they put it on the table with butter in a cup. Butta in a cup. Butta. Cup. Come ooon! In a cafeteria, yes. In a restaurant, no!

Grilled sardines. I used to loathe sardines. I remember, in grade 4, Ed used to bring a little box of sardines for lunch and whenever he would open it up, half the class would start gagging. But I've learned to know that those were tiny, insignificant. ugly, stinky sardines. When I visited Portugal, I ate real mamas. And dem mamas were good. Makes no sense but y'all know what I'm saying! These sardines were packed with lemon and pepper and were nice and crispy. They were a bit dry but I think the flavours made up for it.

Tapa do dia OR tapas of the day: shrimp and chorizo. We were three, there were two shrimp. Not cool man, not cool. The chorizo was amazeballs. A-MAZE-BALLZ. It was juicy, it was spicy, it was screaming to be eaten. And be eaten it was! The shrimp were of a disappointing size. I'm a shrimp girl (some would even call me Bubba... OK.. no one ever called me that) and I know good shrimp. There was also some pepper and onion that were perfectly cooked and quite garlicky which fits me just perfectly. I loves me some garlic and I loves me some onion! Basically, I love all the stuff that will make me stink. Maybe that's why I'm still single.

Cherry tomatoes with basil and goat cheese. First of all, hello lactose. Or more like hello indigestion. Let's just say I sacrifice my stomach's health a lot when I go out to eat in restaurants. The tomatoes were hot as f*ck, the basil obviously went well with them and the cheese was lovely and soft. It was good but it wasn't special. By that, I mean I could have cooked that exact dish at home. If I can say that, I usually don't order it.

Piri-Piri mussels. I love good mussels. I am a fan. These were OK. They weren't big enough and sometimes I'd have to look really hard to see if there was one in the shell. OR maybe I just need to get new glasses! The sauce was what I loved and the chorizo. Wow! Seriously, chorizo in all the dishes was BANG on. Totes. That spicy loveliness in a spicy sauce. Mmmmmm! My lips were screaming out but I did not care! In the end, I was just scooping up that sauce with an empty shell. F*ck the mussels, I want the sauce!

Veal and pork meatballs with tomato sauce and parmesan. It was tasty and moist but nothing special and that salad... What in the holy hell was that salad doing there? I hate filler salads! And on top of the filler salad, a piece of caramelized apple. Why? Why I ask you.

Cod croquette on wakame with aioli. I need to know one thing: is wakame in any way Portuguese? Any way? That's what I thought. It was good, actually one of the best wakame I've tasted (I am not a fan) but why? The croquettes were a bit dry and I felt like there were still many fish bones in there which made it quite unpleasant to eat. It was like 'when will I choke?'

Pulled chicken poutine. See the fries? No? That's because there were 4. And they were old and soggy. I'm already not a poutine fan so giving me crappy fries really doesn't help here! The chicken was, AGAIN, on the dry side and the sauce reminded me way too much of the narsty brown sauce that is usually on that bad 'regular' very Québécois poutine. It was just not as good as expected. I'm kind of sad about it actually. Imma gonna go cry now.

Service was very good and efficient at first but as it always tends to do, became slower when more people came in. We had water on our table 3 seconds after sitting down and our wine bottle was uncorked 1 minute later. We were very warmly welcomed and our waiter was quite patient (we didn't know what we wanted to eat at first). He changed our plates many times throughout the meal and although he seemed new to the service world, he did a great job. Pat on back.

And now, the scores!

Food: 7
Service: 8

Imma gonna go ahead and say (again) that there are 8000 units of restaurants I need to try so I'll get back to Bitoque when those are done (and hopefully, sh*t won't be as dry).