Making list of the past year’s most memorable meals is like asking a parent to try and pick their favourite child… In the past year, I can safely say that I may have had more than one memorable meal that consisted of mind blasting dishes that I periodically reminisce about, recounting tastes and flavours, textures and cooking techniques like some sort of culinary Rain Man. Going back revisiting past reviews and write-ups about some of Montreal’s tastiest tables, not only led me to realize the calibre of gastronomic fortitude that this city encompasses, but the skill, passion and talent that exudes from kitchens across the island both new and old.
Cote-des-Neiges
Remember that last time when you ate something so often and so much of it that you swore you’ll never touch it again? I’d love to say that it happened to me when I went on a city wide quest to find Montreal’s best pho after slurping through over 30 bowls of it. But no, this elevated sodium and MSG ladened soup stupor opened some sort of heroine addiction like floodgate in me. I have since had pho at least once a month since – I know that is modest, a friend of mine once ate bananas everyday for three weeks, and now he can’t even look at a pack of Post-Its without dry heaving.
Countries in south east asia are relatively small share many common boarders, so it goes without saying that there’s a lot of mingling and sharing of cuisines. Some countries may borrow or appropriate elements from a neighbouring country’s cuisine and incorporate it in their own; unlike how my mother strangely develops a Jamaican accent when she comes home after talking to our new neighbours for a while. I mean subtle similarities, I’m not talking spring roll pho or crispy fried bbq pork noodle dumplings (but oh my God, how awesome would that be though?!).