Forget everything you know about “Dakgangjeong.” “Dakgangjeong” is korean fried chicken, and if you don’t know what Korean fried chicken is, then you’ll have no idea what I’m talking about, but follow me. If you can imagine it’s the crispiest, mind-shattering, twice-friend, battered fried chicken that would make a handful of autumn leaves look and sound like a matzo ball. If you’re looking for Korean fried chicken in Montreal, there are a few places to find it. Some of your favourite Korean restaurants serve their own signature versions, and then there are the places that specialize in it like it’s their job… err, wait a minute.
You know what’s totally underrated? Tea. Not the ambiguous white pouch of Orange Pekoe that’s haphazardly thrown on the side of a one-cup metal teapot that probably hasn’t been washed since the day it was bought; but proper English tea. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no expect in the fine intricacies of afternoon high tea, unless you count the times I helped the old lady next door as a kid, who was drunk off brandy in the afternoon and couldn’t hook up the oscillating sprinkler to her garden hose and offered me Club Social tea crackers in return, or the times I’ve mimicked a British accent when picking up a particularly pretty tea cup with my pinky in the air (admit it, you’ve done that before.) There aren’t many places that do English tea in Montreal, but the few places that do, do it extraordinarily well. I visited this place recently that doesn’t actually serve high tea, but does prove themselves as one of the premiere places to go for a spot of tea.
Remember the last time you were at the Asian market picking up your pickled mustard greens, pork trotters, salted fish and bottle of lye and saw stacks on stacks of aluminium tins with old Asian aunties huddled around them making deals and trading back and forth like they were gambling plaques from Macau? That coveted aluminium tins house one of the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival’s most illustrious treats – Moon cakes! [click to continue…]
If you happened to catch my post a couple of weeks ago, Pizzeria GEMA was handing out free pizzas at their shop on the corner of St-Dominique and Dante where hundreds of people showed up to cop a free pie. This event wasn’t to coincide with an opening per se, but it was a chance for the owners to give back to their friends and family and community in a show of gratitude for all the support they’ve been given. Recently, the modest pizzeria of the dynamic duo from Impasto (Stefano Faita and Michele Forgione) quietly opened their doors and realized Forgione’s childhood dream of owning a pizzeria.
Is it just me, or do you become a belligerent five year old when you’re hungry too? When failed attempts of being comforted by others often leave them with scratch marks and an earful of the mean things that people think but don’t actually say? Ok, maybe that’s just me. I’m glad that the restaurants in Montreal adopt the plain and simple philosophy when naming their restaurants and not force potential diners to meditate into a state of higher consciousness to delve deep into a pretentious psyche to decode a restaurant name like “Three…” or a straight up fucking smiley face, “:)” Remember that shit? That’s why last week when I was hangry and carried a “Beware of Hungry” sign around with me for the later part of the afternoon, I hit up a new spot in the plateau called Tacos & Tortas and knew exactly what I was getting.
On one of the hottest days of the summer so far, guess what I chose to have for lunch. A nice refreshing salad or a chilled spicy gaspacho…? That’s what you’d think. No, I made my way up to l’Acadie to this new spot right across Marché Central for pho… a nice hot bowl of pho. I noticed this place not too long ago on one of my pro-capitalism excursions to Costco. Always wanting to stop by for a pho, I could never get past leaving Costco without an obligatory hot dog and five cups of ‘Murrrica in self-serve soda. It’s not uncommon of me to go out of my way for a bowl of noodles – the first city-wide search for the best pho took me to over 30 vietnamese restaurants in the city!
Day or night, summer in the Old Port and Old Montreal is filled with tourists, wedding photo sessions, sun burnt people on duck boats, and first dates. With so many different kinds of people roaming the streets, there are equally as many eateries and restaurants that meet all their gastronomic needs. From snack bars and casse-crouttes to high-end fine dining, Old Montreal has it all. For this week’s review, I hit up one of the two spots that are representing the strong Portuguese community in the area.
What’s the one thing that we’ve been seeing popping up all over the city faster than you can say foraged bitters? Hipster bars? No, not that. Random unfounded Montreal “Best of” lists researched via Yelp? No, but yes, that too. What I’m talking about is one of the marquee dishes that put Montreal’s gastronomy scene on the map, no, not terroir or market cuisine inspired by locally sourced produce and seasonal ingredients; guess again. If you said dumplings, you’re absolutely correct! The heart, soul and epicentre of traditional Chinese cuisine is rivalling the timely casse-croute and bidding to redefine the term “steam-mei“.
I’ve always said that the best part about south-east Asia, is not the beaches, the cheap beer, or ladyboys… but the FOOD. This week’s recipe is one that I’ve been working on for a while that even upon the smell of the marinade, throws me back to sweltering nights sitting on the side of the road or public parking lot turned street food hub chowing down on plate after plates of these chicken satay skewers served to us by an Indian hawker who insisted we called “Little Brother”. My buddies and I were such great customers what when we sat down, he’d greet us as “Big brother” and immediately asked “how many plates?” – in Cantonese.
I try to actively search out places that offer unique dishes and thoughtful mid-morning meals. Too many are the places that serve up griddlecakes that resample rubber mouse pads and overcooked fried eggs encompassed with crispy inedible bits that look like the dry sheets of white glue you let dry on your palm in grade-school. For example, instead of offering inspired menu items like that ones seen at Biarritz (homemade corned beef and patatas braves hash) or Régine Café‘s “Un Peu de Tout” (a little bit of everything) a platter of homemade pastries, crème brulée made with yogurt, homemade compotes and jams, my local cookie-cutter breakfast joint is now offering VALET service… please, try not to be too obvious by making up for your menu shortcomings by offering to park my car for free.