We’re going to start 2023 with a bang. Literally. A meal at this place felt like a straight body-shot to the gut. You may not know it but not only does Montreal have great Chinese restaurants, but we are home to restaurants that represent the various regional cuisines of China – as per my article for Tourism Montreal. The majority of restaurants in the city serve Cantonese cuisine- fried noodles, sweet and sour deep this and thats, rice dishes, sizzling platters, dumplings. It’s once you get into regional specialties can you tell the difference. The spices, the techniques, the ingredients. The regional cuisine that stands out is Szechuan. I recently discovered the small Szechuan restaurant – Mala Express – in one of the most obvious neighbourhoods in the city… Kirkland.
Noodles
Someone finally did it. Someone finally took one of the last humble dishes to the next level in Montreal. That dish; Pho. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’ve eaten my way though the city and have a pretty extensive list of restaurants where I’ve eaten pho. From spots in Cote-des-Neiges, to the Mile-End, West island to Rosemont, I’ve eaten them all. Yes, yes, I’m working on up updated “best of” post – will be out soon. The dac biet is my bowl of choice. It’s the gold medal standard. It’s got all the bells and whistles – rare steak, brisket, flank, tendon, tripe, meatballs topped on chewy rice noodles in a delicious bone broth. What can be better? It’s perfect. How do you improve on perfection? Well, this spot did just that. I checked out Pho Jean-Talon to try their soon-to-be-famous filet mignon pho.
It’s that time of the year; the air is crisp, the days are getting shorter, and the foliage is picturesque. But most importantly, I finally zip up the pant-legs to my cargo shorts and call it a season. Yes my friends, it’s officially autumn. This means we fall our clocks back an hour and it’s time for me to eat my weight in comfort-foods. Mainly big bowls of steamy noodles. I was recently asked about where is the best place to eat pho in Montreal. If you’ve been following me long enough, you’ll remember I put out a list of the best pho in Montreal. Don’t worry, I’m working on an update. Until then, here’s another spot at add to the list. This week I visited (got take out from) the newly opened location of the local chain I Am Pho in DDO.