Montreal’s Chinese food game is pretty strong, from Cantonese restaurants to Szechuan, to places that serve only dumplings; we’ve got it all. I think we can consider ourselves lucky to have restaurants that specialize in such regional specific dishes – this is something that means a lot to me and I am thrilled at the proliferation of the variety of Chinese restaurants around town. I recently had dinner at Hao Hao in Verdun. What I was told to be a Szechuan restaurant turned out to be Shanghainese Szechuan restaurant.
Everyone likes barbecue sauce right? The finishing baste of liquid that is set into your barbecue to impart a highlighting taste and flavour into your meat. It’s also great on almost anything else, from fries and sandwiches to cereal and salads… ok maybe not fries. There are different kinds of barbecue sauce that are specific to certain geographical regions in the southern United States. I’ve been trying to develop an all purpose barbecue sauce that would work in all different applications. Here’s the recipe for my super simple Sweet and Spicy Bourbon Molasses Barbecue Sauce.
On my never-ending quest to find Montreal’s best Pad Thai, I found myself at this place in Ville St-Laurent called Sawadika. Ever since my favourite Thai restaurant closed a while back, it left a Pad Thai void in the city – every Thai restaurant that I’ve been to (so far) has failed in comparison. To perfect the combination of flavours and tastes to tantalize all areas of the palate isn’t easy. The mastery of the taming of ingredients and having them succumb to the will of a fiery hot wok isn’t a skill every chef possesses and it was very evident when I had lunch here.
Today I’m launching my new series on the blog called “Balcony BBQ” which is – if you couldn’t guess by the name – all about barbecuing on your balcony! Who says you can’t smoke ribs and brisket on your balcony? Ok, maybe my condo association says I can’t, but what do they know? I’m doing this because I love barbecue and I want to share with you the tips and tricks I’ve picked up and discovered that have helped me work on my recipes in my urban setting. I wish to help those who want to have awesome barbecue but may have limited access to proper equipment and still achieve delicious ‘cue.
Some of these techniques are ones that I’ve adapted and have successfully achieved the tastes and flavours of legit smokehouse bbq. I know what you’re thinking, “the season is over, what use is BBQ tips good for in the autumn?” I think brining your barbecue cooking indoors in the off season is a great way to work on your foundation recipes.
The term “fusion” in the food world has become the ginger buzz-word that no one likes to use or knowledge anymore, instead, choosing words like, “nouveau” or “modern” in its place to rationalize a menu that interweaves two different types of cuisine or to exemplify a chef’s take on a particular food. What I enjoy (and don’t enjoy) the most is seeing Asian-fusion restaurants and menus. I often deem these places as serving food that tries to introduce Asian cuisine to non-Asian palates, easing in uses of Asian cooking ingredients that aren’t too weird or will freak out the masses. I recently checked out Restaurant Hà that represents themselves in the spirit of a “Bia Loi” – a Vietnamese street corner watering hole that serving quick bites – with a South-East Asian inspired menu.
I love Korean food. If you’ve never sat down to eat a Korean meal before, you’re missing out; hot stews, spicy soups, BBQ meats all accompanied by some awesome ban chan (side dishes) that consists of spicy kimchi and various pickles. I’m certain you’ve probably eaten elements of Korean cuisine that you weren’t even aware of. You know that kimchi poutine you had or that hot dog topped with the spicy gojujang sauce? KOREAN. How about that awesome bulgogi beef taco? KOREAN. Or that spicy packaged shin ramyun ramen you like to eat late at night and regret in the morning because it literally burned the lining of your gastro-intestinal tract so bad that your breakfast smoothie often includes a double shot of Pepto? KOREAN. I was excited when I learned about a Korean restaurant in Ville-St-Laurent – a relative wasteland devoid of anything Korean besides the snacks at the local Asian supermarket. I hit up Ave Seoul for some delicious Korean food and uncharacteristic Korean inhospitality.
Let’s face it, we all love to snack. I, myself am a savoury snacker and will often chose salty treats like chips, cheese and crackers, salami, several tacos or an extra large meat lovers pizza over anything sweet when a snack attack strikes. I was recently introduced to this new line of snack crackers Bruschette Maretti. It’s described as “gourmet bites” of everyone’s favourite Italian appetizer (bruschetta) but in snack-form. They contacted me and asked how I would incorporate these tasty snacks into my daily life as a Montréal food blogger while showcasing my city at the same time. I was up for the challenge and for 12 weeks my job as a ninja was compromised for people heard my coming from a block away as I toted a crinkly bag of crackers everywhere I went!
The best part about Chinatown in Montreal? The food; plain and simple. Although called “Chinatown” it encompasses tastes and flavours of all cultures in this 3 block radius in the Ville Marie borough. Looking for awesome cantonese food? Some of the city’s best Cantonese lobster, braised beef with bean curd, or even black bean bitter melon can be found here. Not to mention some of the juiciest xiao long bao soup dumplings, all-dressed pho (tokienese soup noodles), korean bulgogi and even Japanese sushi and sashimi. But one thing I think we can all agree on is that Chinatown’s taco game has been weak. Not until recently, La Capital Taco is changing everyone’s mind.
It’s tomato season and markets around Montreal are filled to the brim with farmer bounties of bushels upon bushels of ripe tomatoes. I recently had to opportunity to learn and more importantly participate in a tomato harvest haul and a variable late-summer ritual of making authentic Italian tomato sauce. I visit my buddy Tony while he was making one of his batches and I’m excited to share my experience with you!
DowntownÉtienne-DesmarteauFoodKirklandListLittle ItalyMile-end/Plateau Mont-RoyalOld Montreal / Old PortReviewsVille MarieVille St. LaurentVillerayWest-island
My Favourite Ice Cream Shops in Montreal – Part 2
by Jason
written by Jason
I noticed last night at 8:30pm that the sky was almost completely dark… you know what that means… It’s one of my favourite times of the year: ask all the teenagers and pre-teens in you life if they’ve started school yet, or ask when they start or if they’re ready to start school and watch them flip their shit. The best. But more importantly, we’ve still got some summer left to squeeze out a few more trips to La Ronde, fire up the grill and piss off your neighbours, sit on the balcony and watch your old Italian Neighbour hose down the sidewalk for 3 hours and pound down a few more litres of the quintessential summer frozen treat, ICE CREAM. If you follow me on social media, (Twitter or Instagram) you’d know I’m a complete fiend for ice cream and have traveled across the city to find the best. Here is my second instalment (part 1 here) of my favourite ice cream shops in Montreal.