Le Mousso

*disclosure: half of these pics are retardedly bad. Blame my phone in the darkness.

Sometimes, you get to experience a once in a long while experience (does that even make sense?). Le Mousso became one of those, very quickly. My really good friends were in town from the states (and yes, Donald Trump came up about 8 times) and Neush, I'll call her, had made reservations at Bouillon Bilk. Yep. When she said there was an opening at Le Mousso, I got so excited, I may have gotten some chills. See, Le Mousso is special to me because my mom's family are Mousseau! Whaaaaat! Dudes, I was basically going to eat at my 3rd cousin twice removed' restaurant! Or something.

The resto is located in the village on Ontario, near Amherst. Jesus, I wish all the awesome restaurants that have sprouted around there could have been there when I lived at the corner of St-Hubert/Ontario! This neighbourhood is definitely blossoming when it comes to restaurants! It has a definite vibe when you come in: hustling and bustling, the waiters are running around, aiming to please everyone. Le Mousso is still somewhat of a small restaurant if you think about it: a small dining room when you come in, you go up some stairs on the left and there's another space with roughly 8 tables, and then you continue and go down some more stairs and there's a couple more tables and a big booth where we were seated. FYI, those were the best seats in the house. It's kind of like a tiny maze, because if you continue, you hit the bar and there's no way out so you have to go back from where you came from. OK, you have to be there to get it. Geez!

It's pretty effin awesome to have a view on the downstairs kitchen from your seat. I absolutely loved that. I found it a bit weird to go downstairs, pass by the kitchen, say hey to the cooks and head to the washroom. To see all the spices, all the colourful veggies, the good lookin' plates and the communication between cooks/chefs was great. Especially since, even with that many dishes, things seemed to be running smoothly.

Le Mousso has a fixed menu of 7 courses for 65$ (55$ on Wednesdays) with an optional 8th course that you can add on for 15 buckaroos. All ingredients are either local or close to except, on this menu, the calamari, the daikon and the truffles. It's pretty darn tootin' awesome to know that everything on your plate comes from a field very close to home. It's like when I make myself a huge salad with the veggies from my garden. Mmmmmmm. OK, summer needs to get here now. But on another note...you can also get the wine pairing for 45$ I believe. They don't actually have a wine list so they just make you taste a couple wines. Tasting wine? Wait. Tasting a couple wines? Count me in baby!

Appetizers 'around the fire'. To be honest, I do not remember which one is which. It was very... black. One was a financier (a cookie) made from squid ink, with some caviar atop it. It was spongy and tasted just fishy enough! The black garlic calamari was oh so original but it could have been a bit hotter and the texture did not please me much. I must say though that the taste was as special as they come! So for that one, A for effort :p 

Foie gras cotton candy. Uh, excuse me? The waiter, in my head, just said: ' heaven, heaven, heaven'. Yep. And holy shizzle was he ever right! He instructed us to take the whole thing in one bite. I don't think anyone at the table did that but I would not dare contradict him and it was well worth it! Woooooow!!! So it was basically a cloud of loveliness. A CLOUD of LOVELINESS. Damn yo! Ya, I just yo'ed you guys. The whole thing melted as it should and then you had a hit of foie gras that was like butter (or should I say 'butta') on your tongue. It was the perfect vehicule for such a wonderful and fatty dish. Hands down the best foie gras I've had in my life. My LIFE! And ps, I ain't gettin' any younger!

Scallops with dashi, brown butter and dikon. OK, this specific mix of flavours sounds really far fetched and out there but you know what? It totes worked for me. Well, and for everyone else since we all absolutely loved this. Firstly, may I just say 'you had me at scallop'. They are like candy. Seriously, when I eat them, I'm like a kid in a candy store: I go all cray cray and I want more and more. The daikon was perfectly cooked and oozed flavour. Oozing is a technical term here, of course. The scallops were p-e-r-f-e-c-t: lightly charred and seasoned just right. The dashi added a certain umami to the plate, which, by the way, does not happen every day. Even when umami is trying to be reached, it does not transpire every time. Marie: umami expert! The brown butter added a certain nuttiness to the dish which paired really well with the scallops. They could have dialed down the sweetness a bit: for a second there, it was a bit desert-y. Dar thought it could have been served hotter and I thought it was just the right temperature. 

This is possibly THE worst picture my phone has ever taken. And it was such a pretty plate, gosh darn it! Arctic char with quenelles of borsch, onion, sour cream (or was it crème fraîche?) and caviar. The borsch quenelle was like beets X 100; yummy and rich and thick. The flowers and shoots atop the fish were actually quite spicy which was a surprise for us all. They were quite strong and tangy and a welcomed side to the dish! The onion quenelle was wooooowza! OK, imagine you are eating a french onion soup. Got it? Well all those flavours were concentrated in just one little quenelle. Yep! The cream quenelle was effin awesome and so smooth. I'd have a bite and it would melt directly on my tongue. Mmmmmm... meeeeelting. The caviar quenelle was my least favorite. I know, I know, it's caviar. But mama doesn't like it because it's expensive. It was actually overly salty and I didn't find that it went well with the rest of the components on the plate. The fish was just to dsie for. I know I say this over and over again but it actually DID melt in my mouth. It was so fragile and soft and just tasted like dynamite. Note: no, I've never tasted dynamite. Just take a little bite of the fish with a bit of the borsch or the onion or the cream and BAM, you got yourself paradise. It was seasoned perfectly and lord knows how important that is when you are eating fish, or anything for that matter. Everything is in the seasoning.

This was the extra course we paid 15$ for. We shared three for the table. I liked the fact that we could add something! Crab with green strawberries, wild leek and verbena. Let me first explain something. My name might be Marie-Christine but I could just as easily introduce myself as the princess, nay, the queen of all seafood. Let me explain somethin' else. I swam before I walked and I ate seafood as soon as I could eat solids. It's just how I dso. Alright, enough with the stories! The wild leek sauce may look like a slug on the plate, but it was the freaking best tasting slug ever. It was tangy and full of loveliness. The verbena was the wow factor. First of all, well, it looks damn good, and second of all, that special aroma it has paired uber well with the crab. That citrusy, almost lemongrassy taste was like lightly squeezing a lemon on top of the crab. Yes AND yes. Oh and that crab: dsaaaaaamn! Dsamn. I can't say it enough: dsaaaaamn. So tasty and, well, straight from the ocean pretty much. It was like they just fished it out and put it on my plate. And then I put it in ma mouth. And enjoyed the hell out of it.

Coq au champignons de Paris, poudre de peau de volaille et beurre blanc. I wrote it in french cause it sounds about 100% better and fancier. This was goooo-hooood! I'd totes go back for one these bad boys! So button mushrooms=boring right? Wrong. They were sliced very thin and seasoned just right and had almost a buttery texture to them. I would absolutely hate not being able to put at least a little salt on everything. We all know it brings out the goodness in meat, veggies, well, all food really. The beurre blanc was a tad on the salty side tho but it was still amazeballz. It was smooth and creamy. Mmmmm... I just want to dip everything I eat in THAT butta. The skin was the best part: crunchy tasty goodness. And the meat. OH, the meat. It was so tender that it was breaking in pieces just by looking at it. This plate was definitely a winner. Totes def. Man I sounded cool right there. I just ruined it, didn't I?

Holy Christmas! I just felt bad for my friend Beans who's pregnant and couldn't eat the lamb the way it is supposed to be enjoyed: blue. You do not eat fully cooked lamb. You just don't. It was tender and juicy and darn tootin' awesome. The flowers on top were so delicate and the basil, even more so. They kind of made up a tiny lovely salad atop the best damn piece of red meat I've eaten in a whhhhile. Oh and the smell emanating from that dish: dsamn! The basil and the harissa. Oh yes! The harissa seemed like a weird choice at first but it quickly became the BEST choice for this meat. Everything accompanied everything else so well. All the flavours married well together.

Obviously, I did not take this picture. I forgot to take one so thank you, Le Mousso facebook page.

How pretty does this look? Man oh man! Think about a beautiful painting and put it on a plate; you get this. The taste to prettiness ratio was up there too! They probably have their tweezers handy when plating because everything is so pretty and so well placed. Especially those little flowers. I love having flowers in my plates so I was a happy camper throughout the meal. This was the pre-dessert. Or the anti-dessert as they called it. It was described on the menu as so: 'shallot/blood/apple'. Mmmmya lemme jump right on that. Or not. But oh yes! This was full of textures: creamy, smooth, crunchy, soft. Blood sponge cake. It was really rich, moist and airy all at once. It tasted like cinnamon, which is an obvious pairing with apple. The apple butter was a bit tart but that was very nice. Apple=tartness. I don't like sweet apple thangs anyway! Anti-dessert hello! The shallot ice cream was, and I know I've written this word many times throughout this review, but, WOW!!! Naturally, I had never, neva eva tasted that before. I don't think anyone has! And it was so effin good. So original. Who knew? Again, very rich but the shallot was just present enough to not make it feel like I was eating a salad. Pouahaha. The cider vinegar was very sweet and kind of counter balanced the ice cream. Hey, a great dish is a well balanced one. The oatmeal crumble was needed on this plate. Again, with the balance! I needed that extra texture. It was just sweet enough.

Dessert! I'm quite saddened by the state of this picture because it was actually 1000 better than what it looks like here. Squash tuile atop frozen yogourt, buttermilk mousse, honey and honeycomb toffee. Hello! The mousse's job was to make sure the dish as a whole wasn't overly sweet because of the honey. I liked the contradiction. The tuile was pretty awesome and although I know how they did it, I still don't know HOW they did it. Hahaha! The crunchie bar... I mean honeycomb was such a great thought, flavour and texture wise. I would have liked a bit more of it but, hey, imma pig. The frozen yogourt melted in your mouth as soon as it hit it and it resembled semi freddo. It was a bit tart, which was much welcome. I could have licked the plate when I was done... or DID I?

Service was awesome. Actually we had two waiters. The first one finished his shift in the middle of our meal so a girl took over. She was less personal, less friendly, more get to the point. Not as fun for us. Our water glasses were always full, our utensils were changed between every course and our food came in a timely fashion. We had 8 courses so we left at aroud 12h15, which was waaaayyy too late for us old folk. But hey, we got there late too so it's all our fault. By the end, half of us were snoozing in our plate.

And now, the scores!

Food: 9
Service: first half 9, second half 7 (sorry girl!)

As you MAY have noticed, I totes fell in love with this restaurant. Every time I see one of their dishes on their facebook page, I drool. I guess the only thing for me to do now  is to go back!

September Surf Café

Val and I needed a cute place to eat at. We wanted something different. And cheap. OK, more cheap than different. But different nonetheless. I AM aware I just said the 'd' word like three times. Still. We decided on THE newest place around: September Surf Café. Which, by the way, sounds like they will have their first run in soon with the Office de la langue française. I mean come on, they're just begging for it.

So, we all know that for a new restaurant to be successful, it needs to have either extraordinary food, a great concept or really rich owners (as I've seen before, even uber rich people sometimes can't save restaurants). Well, I'm just going to go out on a limb and say that they are going for the concept here. This is a coffee shop with, wait for it, a DIY surf board repair shop! BAM! Whaaaaat! Oh and a little surf-related store-ish (definition: a couple shelves). I mean, I would have never, ever, EVA thought that I'd see this in Montreal of all places! I mean, we only have two natural waves for surfing and an indoor one at Quartier dix 30 if I'm not mistaken.The surf shop is in the back and hardly seems like anything else but an excuse to be uber cool and different.

The space itself is quite big, with really high ceilings and lots and lots of room wiiiith... one big table!?! I mean, they could be making much more money if they added a table here and there (think W Station on Wellington where every inch of the place has a table). Basically, it's that huge table, seats at the windows and a couple at the bar plus some random chairs in one corner. I don't believe that's using the space wisely. Anyhoot, it's very industrial meets cottage style: brick wall, single bulb light fixtures, big wooden table, clean lines.  The music was a bit too relaxed when I got in but then it became more upbeat which, compared to the first one, did not make me want to sleep ;) The vibe in there is nice tho: you can see that they already have regulars that come in often and that know the employees and on a weekend day, I've seen this place full with parents and kids and a many hipsters. 

I had to have a hot drink. When in Rome right? Val and I were there for lunch but a nice chai latte sounded like just the thing I needed. First off, they drew a heart with the foam! Aaaaaaw! OK, I know it's apparently not that hard to do but hey, it's the little things. It was smooth, hot and creamy. Three aspects I look for in my foamy hot drinks. 

To be clear, we had three choices for the eating lunch part: homemade granola (this is obviously a breakfast item), a cheese toast (it was more elaborate than that but still...) and the bol balinais (which is what we had---duh). I must say I was quite disappointed with the lack of choices, especially since I had read that you could eat there. The bol balinais was made up of coconut rice, cabbage, peppers, cucumbers, green onions, lime zest and peanut sauce. First off, the rice was largely (and this is an understatement) overcooked. I mean, when u can smoosh it as easily as I was smooshing it, iz because iz overcooked gurl. Oh, it's overcooked!!!! Plus, I did not detect any coconut until my last bite (to be fair, Val did). The lime, both our palates had a hard time finding. We could see some but we just couldn't taste it. The veggies were a bit too raw and crunchy for my taste: you got rice in there, why not cook the vegetables just a bit. Blanch them for all I care but having crudités in my rice is not what I like best. The peanut sauce was way too present and overpowering. It was too strong and this is coming from someone who absolutely loves her peanut sauce.

I had to have something better to make myself feel... better about going there. Hahaha! They only have a couple dessert type thangs so we had the zucchini and chocolate chip bread. The sides were a tad dry but the inside was moist and chocolaty but not at all zucchini-y. I could see it but there was no hint of it when I took bites. All in all it was still good.

Service was meh. Seriously. Neither of us were impressed. On top of it, we were AT the bar, right in FRONT of them. We had to ask for water, and come to think of it, we had to ask to get the menu AND to order. They were not busy at all; that would have been the only possible excuse. They were actually a bit rude, to boot! It seemed like there was a September Café club and we were totes not members. And I must mention this: when we were paying, she asked us if it was separate and we said yes and THEN she asked us if we wanted two bills. Some people.

And now, the scores!

Food: 6 (but only because of the chai and the OK dessert)

Service: No. OK, a 5.

I know I seemed harsh but hey, when you have a bad experience, you can't be Mr. Nice Guy. I might go back for one of those chai lattes tho.

Yokato Yokabai

I always want to try new and exciting AND awesome new restaurants. Especially of the Asian kind. What? Guys, y'all should know I'm totes half Asian! Or I'd like to think so. Maybe in another life? Anyhoot, I was totally excited to try one of the best (or THE best?!!!) ramen houses in the city.

My token Asian friend Jer suggested this place a couple weeks back and I was OH so damn excited. That's right, THAT excited.

You get in and it's a great looking isakaya with a bunch of lanterns and a bunch of cooks behind a bar. It was small and cozy looking. If you look really hard, you can see two other friends in the back that were there because I had mentioned it on facebook :) Ah, social media. 

We sat in the third room on the main floor (apparently there's an upstairs too, what!). We were welcomed by a very nice guy who you just know could become your best friend and go out on the town with you. But first things first: food. The menu is really simple: 4 entrées and 2 kinds of ramen (+1 veggie----but dat don't count---OK I'm kidding. But not really.) You can choose between the spicy ramen broth and the non-spicy one, with pork or chicken. I had to have the 'best' one: spicy broth with pork. Ya baby!

Karaage chicken. I've eaten karaage chicken before. Quite a lot of many times (yes, that's right). This was by FAR the best. It was lovely and crunchy and moist (God I hate that word), oh and all that chickeny (new word alert) goodness.With a sake, mirin and lemon sauce, this dish could have seriously kicked some karaage chicken competition butt. The chicken itself also had a lemon flavour to it and that was awesomeballs. Ya, awesomeballs. Oh and sesame and ginger too. I love that flavour profile. loves it. I don't know how, but they actually managed to make fried chicken taste fresh. What up.

Gobo fries. Or burdoch root. It was fun for once to not eat the same old fries that we're used to! It was nice and hot and crunchy but I found that it could have been cooked maybe for a few minutes longer. The sauce was somewhat of a mixed mayonnaise that went really well with the fries. Wait. Mayo and fries? Big surprise!

Chasu-don. This was one of my faves. Pork with veggies, seaweed and rice. Oh, and an egg, of course! Every dish should include an egg I say! The rice was so creamy and soft and all that goodness, the egg was unctious, the pork was melt-in-your-mother-freaking-mouth good. The seaweed gave it a bit of a salty side and the green onions gave a little kick to it and all in all, the different tastes came together in one big bang. Taking a bite with all the components of this awesome dish was like a little piece of heaven in my mouth. 

Ramen: pork kara-miso. Look at that heavenly dish. Just look at it. And then look at it again. Basically, kara-miso means spicy miso. You see that red ball right there? That's the miso ball. OR ball of oh-god-yes I should call it. It was pretty much an explosion of goodness. That kind of salty, kinda thick, very umami (that's right, I'm using the 'u' word) kind of explosion. The broth was thick and creamy (they make a 12 hour pork bone broth that requires lots of care and affection--yes, I'm still talking about food) and had so many levels of flavors. The noodles were perfect: not tooooo soft but not al dente, just perfect. The pork was very fatty but that's what makes everything good. It literally melted in my mouth (yes, I like this expression). The green onions were a bit tangy and obviously went really nicely with the dish. The egg was perfect. It was THE perfect egg. Just so smooth and warm and that yolk.

Yuzu sorbet. Holy effin Jesus. You know I'm serious when Jesus is mentioned. This was like a breath of fresh air. Seriously. There were pieces of citrus in there, like little bites of a citrus orchard. Is that a thing? Well it is now. And hello, they had me at Pocky sticks. I had some hot green tea with dessert because I have a tooth that started acting up and it worked like a charm, on top of being one of the best damn green tea I've tasted so far (as in, in my life).

Service was great. Our waiter was super friendly. So much so that I felt like we should have gotten his number so that we could hang out later. He explained everything to us and we wrote our order on that piece of paper. You can have extra eggs, extra green onions, you choose your broth, you choose your entree, you choose your meat, and your dessert.

And now, the scores!

Food:8.5
Service: 8.5

They have a tiny menu, but that only means I'll have to go back to taste all of it.

MKT

Recently, I, as, hum hum, the 3rd most read restaurant blogger (I's GOTTA toot my own horn people!) in Montreal, am getting treated very generously by some restaurants. And no one is happier than I am.... well my guests are pretty effin happy too!

This time, it was MKT on Metcalfe. I had never heard of this place and when I looked at the menu, I wasn't too too excited, to be honest: a Mediterranean restaurant with a simple looking menu but with a big chef behind it. Basically, I got there with absolutely no expectations.

MKT is located on a second floor of a building on Metcalfe close to Sherbrooke. We almost missed it. Maybe we should get better glasses, I dunno. When we got in, I got hit with the whiteness of it all. It really didn't fit my type of decor that I like to see in a restaurant. Everything white, big light fixtures, pastels, wine bottles adorning the walls. The open kitchen in the back seemed to move a lot, which was cool. And having known that I knew someone working there (ps: good job K!!!), I'd gone and say hey! There were only older people but when 8 o'clock came, the younguns came a-flowin' and the atmosphere became more... hip, I believe is the word I'm looking for. The tables were marble and there were about 80 seats in the house. And the music. Don't even get me started on the music! I think that at some point, they put on Much Music Dance Mix 94. Totes serious. At least it was good for a laugh. 

Anyhoot, the maître d' pretty much welcomed us with open arms to... take our jackets :) It was then decided that we were to taste many things on the menu, but with smaller portions. Perfect. This way, we pretty much get to taste the best damn things on there. Oh, and did I mention that the wine/drinks for miss J and I were flowin' all night. No? Well, I just needed an excuse to say that. Drinks. All. Night. Long. 

Mozarella di buffala. I loves me some cheese! I found it a bit on the cold side but it was still awesome in ma mouth. It was soft and just salty enough. The little salsa on top was full of flavour: tomato, olive, basil, more herbal goodness. Just dipping the [homemade] bread in that freakin' awesome olive oil was well worth it! Speaking of the bread, although warm and nicely textured (does that word make sense?), it felt like day old bread. But still. The dipping.

Crab and shrimp cake. Or should I say heaven cake? Yes, we're going with heaven cake. Crevettes de 'matane', pretty much fresh out of the water and for once, real crab! REAL crab people! They were put together to form the awesomeness cake. Mmmmyes. Shrimp: fresh. Crab: oh so fresh. Apple on top was, well, come on. Apple soooo fits with both that it was just a given. The whole thing was brought together by an herb yogourt. Yes. It made it that much tastier and smooth IN my mouth. The hot sauce was hotter than Sriracha! Dsamn! But it also fit really well with the dish. To be honest, it reminded me of my trips to Ogunquit with my mom and my sis when I was young. Cue the crying. Oh and the croutons were perfect. I ate it in 8 seconds. 

Octopus. A couple years ago, before I started this blogging venture, I would not have been caught dead with octopus on my plate (much less in my mouth). But hey, I grew (but not really... still need a step ladder) and my taste buds got, well, better. More refined I should say. White bean purée, white beans, parsley, veggies. The octopus might have been the BEST I've ever tasted. Cooked to freaking perfection and seasoned just well. It's a fine line when you're cooking octopus, just like calamari: a second less or a second too much and it's elastic city. Mama don't like elastics. The puree was smooth and a bit tart, which fit well with the taste of the grilled octopus. Who knew that octopus and white beans would go so well together. SO good. I would like some more right now please. Parsley added freshness to the dish which was nice; made it feel lighter.

Quail with smoked paprika. Yes AND mother f*ckin' yes. Although quail is a tiny bird that I usually dislike nibbling at... I mean it's bones and more little bones. This one was tasty and every little bite of it was oh-so-good. It was grilled which is a flavour profile that I absolutely love. The salad right under it was simple yet lovely and fresh. Carrots, raw onions (which J and I loooove cause we're awesome like dat), and some fennel. Fennel, I have a harder time with. I'm just not a fennel person, but this one was actually good. Everything was seasoned just perfectly and my mouth loved it. The balsamic went really well with the charred-iness (new word alert!) of the quail. 

Gnocchi with provolone and smoked pancetta in a rosé tomato sauce. The gnocchi literally melted in my mouth. It was oh-so-cheesy and well, shiiiiit, I want some right now! It was herbal and tender and smooth and all that jazz. I couldn't really taste the pancetta though. I could see it, but I couldn't taste it. Damn you, taste buds!

Bouillabaisse. Clams? Yes. Mussels? Yes. Shrimp? Oh, hells yes! Basically, this is my heaven. Perfectly cooked fish and seafood in a somewhat spicy and herbal tomato broth. The salmon melted in my mouth and the shrimp were perfectly cooked. And I KNOW shrimp, people! The mussels were perfect and juicy and oh so yummy. The clams were a tad disappointing, with a slightly plasticy feel. The scallops were a tad overcooked but hey, I like my scallops raw or just slightly charred, so I think I'm just being difficult here. The potatoes were too much for me. In my defense, I'd just had an 18 course dinner. OK, not 18. but close. J usually can't stand even slightly spicy stuff and she liked the hell out of this so that counts for 100 points. 

Yes AND yes! Wow, just looking at this, I can taste it again in my mouth. And I must go back. Uh, bebye. Damn it. This was A-mazeballz. Just awesome. Wonderful, really! The semifreddo was a bit crunchy and so creamy and the berries were so fresh and such a perfect match. The hazelnut ice cream felt like the nuts had just been pick from the freakin' tree. There was a bit of mint and lemon to make the whole thing even better and get those flavours IN-MY-MOUTH. The textures on this plate were just lovely and the plate was as good lookin' as the others.

Service was just plain wow. The maître d' took care of us from beginning to end and the waiters/busboys were oh-so-there for us. We actually felt like we were queens. Yes, QUEENS. Our water glasses were always full, our alcoholic beverages, always refilled (just the way we like it!) and the plates were described very well, every time. The last plate took a bit of time to hit our table, compared to the other ones but I think that was the only thing, really. The wine service was perfect, the way they put the plates in front of us was perfect. The everything was perfect. Damn I love it when shiz is perfect!

And now, the scores!

 

Food: 9

Service: 9.5

 

Seriously, one of the best experiences I've had in a restaurant in a LONG time. I urge everyone I know to go. Oh, just dso it!

La Luncheonette

I was walking near St-Henri station the other day and noticed this cute little restaurant. Well, gosh darn it, I just had to go back. La Luncheonette is this cute-ass (yes, it's a thing) little spot made for students and regulars, run by two sisters-in-law. They serve up some home-made staples at really great awesome wonderful (can you tell my wallet was happy) prices. 

This restaurant is oh-so-cute. I would even go as far as saying that it's 'mignon'. Ha, the French in me is always ready to bust out! It has around 25 seats with mix and match tables, chairs AND benches of different colors. SO cuate! Oh and there were wood and marble tables, round and square ones! Basically, nothing was the same. I LOVE it. Even the freaking light fixtures weren't the same! It had sort of a cottage-y, country feel to it. Chill music was playing and at first I literally felt like I was wandering in a forest. 

You order at the counter, with this really cute girl... and then you forget what you wanted. You know the drill. I was gonna have meself the breakfast sandwich. For, wait for it, 5,50$. Word.

Sandwich déjeuner: ham (or bacon), lettuce, tomato, egg, cheese on a croissant. You can choose between the croissant, english muffin, and bread. I obviously had to choose the most caloric option. Duh. Well, it did not disappoint. That croissant was so buttery and flaky and yummy and oooooh (yes, that was a foodgasm). It just melted in my mouth. Right in there. The egg was seasoned correctly and half runny. It kind of coated everything else which was nice...of the egg...to do. The fôret noire ham was smoky but a bit too right-out-of-the-pack for my liking. The cheese was gooey and elastic-y and on the salty side but it fit well in there. I don't really know what to say about the tomato except that it did not get the sandwich all soggy which is basically what you look for in that vegetable (oh excuse me, fruit); non-wetness. The greens were a bit on the old side but they still fit in there for some reason.

 

Hot chocolate. Oh, that foam! I would go back for that foam. I would totes hit on that foam. Fooooaaaam. It was airy and cloud-like. Like a cloud damn it! The hot chocolate itself was OK but not amazing. It was a bit too watery or I guess, not thick enough. I like my hot chocos on the thicker side. But don't get me wrong, it was still a hit. Well, mainly because of the foam. Foooooaaaammmm.

Service was good. I ordered at the counter and she brought me my breakfast in less than 5 minutes. Her smile was just great. And by great, I mean the 'I'm smiling back like an idiot' smile. She didn't check if everything was fine though... And for a second or two, I was pissed that I didn't have any water but then I noticed this little cute water dispenser at the counter. Very practical.

And now, the scores!

Service: 10 for the hot waitress. OK, but 8 for realz
Food: 7

I'm definitely going back because, damn it, it's too darn cute!

 

Le Smoking BBQ

I was invited (yes, yes, I'm THAT special) to try a new-ish restaurant recently. Le Smoking BBQ. BBQ? Fo free? Hallo! Actually, it was a food truck first and now they've opened a place on Ste-Catherine right in front of the Forum. I invited my friend Bridgert, who had been to a previous restaurant invite that had turned out to be God awful. This was gonna have to be good.

 

The place is huge: many big tv's (which I'm not too fond of, but I guess it was OK in this case), two dining rooms, a bar, a huge open kitchen. Country music was playing and I thought that was very fitting for a BBQ joint! The floors were half cement, half wood and the tables were made of somewhat used up wood, which gave a nice style to the restaurant. Oh, and I absolutely loved the light fixtures! SO cuate!

Our plad wearing waiter (seemed to be the theme-and it was oh-so-cute) came and introduced himself and told me that usually you order at the cash and get your own food (and then you place your tray on a garbage...) but that tonight we were going to get served. What up! My guest was late (hum hum) so I looked at the cocktail menu. The 'menu' was barely three drinks, which was quite disappointing. I mean, why do you have an actual bar if you only serve up three kinds of drinks? Anyhoot. I ordered a Bourbon Caesar. What! I thought 'hey, this will be awesome and different AND awesome'.

Well.... you guessed it: it wasn't different nor awesome. Grrrr. It actually barely tasted like anything. When I have a drink--and these days they are few and far between--I want it to taste like alcohol damn it! Although I did detect a hint of cinnamon and a tad bit of spice, it was unfortunately quite bland. Like something was missing. I dunno, maybe someone had replaced the alcohol tap with WATER. Ha ha ha. No, but seriously.

So, we pretty much ordered everything on the menu. Cause, well, we be pigs like that. And we just HAD to taste a variety of dishes. For the blog, you know!?!

Yep, this was THE plate. Ugh, I'm getting a stomach ache and gas just looking at it. Ha. Haha. But really. Let's start at the beginning: potato salad. I don't even feel like talking about this salad: it tasted like water. Like nothing. I literally felt nada on my taste buds. Tomato salad was a bit tastier but could have been better seasoned. The Mac n' Cheese waffle was very heavy, very cheesy (which is the number one thing that you look for in a mac n' cheese) but burnt at some spots and the taste wasn't particularly there either.  The corn bread was dry and very greasy and barely passed the corn bread test. The poutine was good and well seasoned and I think it might be the only thing on that huge plate that I would order again (and as you may know, I am not usually a poutine fan). The pulled pork was good but was half fat sooooo... Oh and everything, yes, EVERYTHING, was on the cold side. Bah. What a nice way to ruin my dinner! The sauces on the table were really nice though: the coffee sauce I actually really dug, the spicy sauce was the least appreciated by me cause I'm a spicy kinda girl and it wasn't nearly as spicy as I would have liked it to be, the mustard sauce had a nice kick to it and the sweet BBQ sauce was a tad tangy and went well with everything. I also just want to mention that eating on (read: cutting into) a piece of paper is not the best. There, I've said it.

This was one of two desserts on the menu. We both preferred the brownie over le pouding chômeur. As you can see this is brown on brown ON brown. It's very sexy; the new 'in' thing if you like. Juuuust kidding. It had a crispy, perfect crust, and inside it was a surprisingly great mix of hot and cold. But it was a simple brownie that I could have made at home. Nothing special. 

Service, as I mentioned, is usually limited. We got the good stuff because I was a guest that evening. Our waiter was pretty awesome and we got everything served to our table. I felt like I was in a cafeteria when I had to bring my huge 'plate' to the garbage after we were done.

And now, the scores!

Food:5.5

Service: 8

Mmmmya, I don't think I'll go back. Even though I'd eat that brownie again right about now.

ps: I am aware that I am a tough cookie and hard to please when it comes to restaurants. Hey, that's why I'm a food blogger. If I seem extra tough, it's for the good of the restaurant :D

pps: Sorry Bridgert, you are quite the unlucky person (well, we all know that!) :p

Hong Mère

My friend Jer and I had been meaning to go to this restaurant for about a year and a half and it finally freaking happened last weekend! What!!! I was looking forward to eating 'real Chinese food'. Not that crap Manchu Wok, Tiki Ming or the other ones that are advertising 'Chinese food'. Come on people, General Tao chicken is NOT ASIAN. Thank you for listening. That'll be all.

You could walk right past this place and not even know it: it's tiny and does not stand out in any way, shape or form. Even when you're looking right at it, you wonder if it would be a good idea to actually go IN. Anyway, obviously, we DID go in. Surprisingly, the place holds around 26 seats. The room is decorated with, you know, Asian-y art and stuff. Dudes, I ain't Asian-ist, I'm being realz. Lanterns, fake gold stuff, the usual, really.

This establishment serves up north-eastern Chinese and Szechuan (south-western) food.  I was letting Jer do the ordering because A: he had been there many times and B: he knew his sh*t. Oh and C, he speaks Chinese. You know, a detail. Jer has these evenings called 'Strange Meats' where we go somewhere to eat cartilage-y, squishy, gooey stuff, which, although I really tried, and as a food blogger, I should be open to everything, I just can't effin do those kinds of textures. So I kindly asked (read: threatened) him NOT to order that cucumber and egg soup or the intestines, kidney or ears.

Stir fried green beans with minced pork. This looks normal. This looks just alright. This looks almost a bit boring. No. It was effin amazing. Well, first of all the green beans were uber deep fried, which, as we all know, makes everything better (I hate that!). They were crunchy and greasy and delightful. I love grease. Damn it! Second of all, that pork. Oh, that pork. Little bites of goodness. It had something like Chinese 5 spice that made it pop with flavor. I write 'something' because Jer and I, after researching the dish, can't find any example of it with 5 spice. Hot pepper added another element to the dish. That heat was awesome with the 5 spice and the beans.

Chicken with special sauce. How special you ask? Oh, very! Tasty and on the thick side, I wanted to dip everything in there. The ingredients that we remember are the following: soy sauce, vinegar, black pepper, Szechuan pepper, brown sugar, Shaoxing wine and green onion. It tasted sweet and a bit sour. Yuuuuummy! The chicken was deep fried and then stir fried. Yep, fried was the word. Nice and crunchy on the outside, a tad dry on the inside. But there was the sauce so hey! The hot peppers and chives gave it that extra kick. I love me some kicks!

Leek pie. Yes. This was, according to Jer, from a usually-less-tasty part of China, if that's possible. Well, he were wrong: it was awesome. By the way, this was also fried. Ha, big surprise! I mean, why wouldn't it be good? It had leeks, glass noodles, egg. Everything was to perfection in there. But you know what made it even better? Just dip it in the sauce man! Ya, dip everything in the special sauce.

Service was wonderful. That guy spoke quite a rare language: Chifrenglish. That's right. Perfect Chinese (I presume. Oh, I mean, I know :p ), perfect French and perfect English. This is a rare occurence and I loved it. He was friendly and explained our dishes. Water service was good too. Hahaha, ok, it's becoming a bit ridiculous how important that is to me. Whatever, I like to be hydrated! 

And now, the scores!

Food: 8

Service: 9

I'm totes going back! There's a lot more deep, DEEP fried stuff I have to try.

Nouilles de Lan Zhou

I love G & D supermarket in Chinatown. Actually, it's probably my favorite: they have everything and it's clean. Oh and after speaking to 3 people, I usually get someone that speaks chinefrish (chinese-french-english, duh) that can tell me where I can find something that three other Asian grocery stores don't. Point is, it rocks. Other point is that on the main level, Nouilles de Lan Zhou is cookin' up a feast of hand pulled noodles, beef and spices! Just my cup-o-tea!

We were lucky to get a seat because the place is quite tiny! I'd say around 20 people can sit comfortably. It has beautiful lanterns right on top of the escalator bringing you down to the supermarket and little ones all around the room. The 'noodle-pulling station' is right up front with a large window so that passers by can see the gifted men (I've only seen men doing it there...) pull dem noodles. It's pretty spectacular and while I was waiting for my friend, I looked for like 5 minutes without a clue of how they actually get the noodles to such a small size from a pile of dough. If anyone knows this secret, please contact me ASAP.

I had the medium sized beef soup. The small one would have been enough! The one I had resembled the size of a large salad bowl and the large one, that our next table neighbours had, was HUGE! I'm thinking, fruit punch at a wedding party huge. Oh and they don't give you a spoon, they give you a tiny ladle! Just to make you feel like a tiny person (well, I always feel tiny but this was somethin' else)! The colours were B-eautiful! I just wanted to jump in there and frolic. Oooor... something else that wouldn't burn me to the third degree. Mmmmmkay.  

What's fun is that you can pick the width of your noodles. And yes, that counts as fun for me! I asked the waitress which one is most popular and had that one (my friend thought they were too big). The broth was very tasty: spicy (they ask you if you want some heat in there), tangy, and it just warmed up my insides. Green onions and fresh mint and coriander added that freshness I like in any dish and another level of flavour. Let's just face it, coriander and mint is just THE best herb mix you can get! The daikon was actually quite amazing in there and added some crunch! The beef was OK: in my opinion, it lacked seasoning, rendering it a tad bland. 

Service was quick and efficient (give me ONE example of non-efficient service in an Asian resto). We had tea in a matter of seconds and our soup in less than 8 minutes (why 8? because I just like that number... SEE, I AM half Asian!). We didn't get water glasses though and had to finish our tea to use our mugs for the water that was on our table. That was a bit bizarre.

And now, the scores!

Food:7.5

Service: 6.5

Yep, Imma gonna go back and try all the different widths of noodles. Now THAT's a life goal right there!

Le café Bloom

I discovered this cute little café last summer with Val and since then, I've seen way too many colorful pics of their dishes on facebook: I just had to go back. 

This place most likely survives because of all the regulars. Seriously, you get in there and it's like everyone knows everyone! Plus, it's not located in the best spot: near the end of Center street where no one ever ventures. It has a nice vibe and chill music with just plain friendly staff. With its mismatched tables and chairs and comfy lookin' sofas, you just know why people stay there for hours.

When I got in, since one of the waiters was busy, the one at the counter just took my order and it was just that much quicker. The menu is mostly really healthy and simple (even though it looks kind of disheveled on this pic) and I knew what I was going to order, anyway!

Hello, perfection! The Sweet and Sour bowl with tofu (you can also have it with pulled pork). If I could eat this every day of my life, I'd be a happy camper. Plus, they change it up every now and again. Basically, this was a mix of a shiz load of shiz that I love: quinoa with grilled veggies, grilled tofu and a little cabbage salad on top. The mix of hot and cold was great and always makes for a nice bite. The tofu was marinated in soya sauce and sesame and, although it was a tad on the salty side, I could have eaten twice as much (yes, I am now a tofu enthusiast, people! Watch out!). The quinoa, which, by the way, is one of my favorite things, was smoky, which is a flavor profile that I've come to adore (read: 'adsore' with the hand gesture) with some veggies cut up in brunoise (I know, I know, I sound fancy). The quinoa, compared to the tofu, lacked salt. I guess one would say they balanced each other. The corn added some sweetness and the peppers were grilled to perfection. Although I do appreciate somewhat crunchy cooked veggies, the carrots remained too hard for my taste. The cabbage salad on top (..of a salad!) was refreshing and had just the right level of acid. The whole dish was very sesame-oriented (I swear, it's a thang) and I just loves me some sesame!

Oh and right before leaving, a bunch of yumminess on their counter were calling out my name so I bought myself an energy ball made of oats, peanut butter, coconut and all that jazz and it was a-maze-ballz.

Service was great. Ordered on the spot and got my dish within minutes. Much more efficient than last time, if I remember correctly. Water was on my table about 15 seconds after I sat down so that was a plus! Although he didn't come and check how I was liking my meal, he was very present.

And now, the scores:

Food: 8

Service: 8

Ya, I'm gonna go ahead and go back the next chance I get!