Montreal

Nocochi: Maybe the right gift for St-Valentine’s day?

Searching for something simple? And your girl likes to drink tea?  And your girl is trying to lose weight? Well, maybe Nocochi has the right gift!

ok- lol I’m being sort of sexist…it doesn’t have to be the guy giving a gift to the girl on Valentine’s gift. But I’m just trying to have a nice cool way to introduce Nocochi.

 

Nocochi is a great place where you like to take your time and have a sip of tea and chit chat with your friend. Or, you can simply buy some of their delicacy to home!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

These tiny pastries are expensive. But every single one of them is unique.  They aren’t for everyone. Some of them do not taste much. But it’s just the perfect balance for tea. My favorite would be the one the round white one where it has a hint of white chocolate.

 

Nocochi on Urbanspoon

Zuuchini

5000 ans: Good Bibimbap

5000 ans is a Korean restaurant I heard often about but never got the chance to try it until recently.

This place is very cozy but very HOT. So hot that I had to tell the staff to lower the heat – I was at the point of sweating…

Anyway. I will keep this review short and sweet. Why? Not much to say…it’s passable food… I wasn’t very impressed. I only found their Bibimbap good.

Note…They don’t really serve side dish for free…which is a bummer.

 

Salad

Salad

 

Udon

Udon

 

Korean seafood pancake

Korean seafood pancake

Not recommended at all. This might be one of the worst korean pancake I had…

Bibimbap

Bibimbap

A dish I truly enjoyed.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Not sure of this dish….i’m thinking it’s Galbi but it doesn’t look thick enough to be galbi though…

They actually come to help you cook the meat – which is something I don’t really like…cuz then I have to eat the meat all at once… I want to cook one by one! so i can enjoy one by one!

Bulgogi

Bulgogi

Can’t really screw up a Bulgogi can you? This bulgogi tasted like any other decent bulgogi…

I’m really searching for a good Korean restaurant in Montreal that serves homey authentic dishes (the unusual ones, not the usual Bulgogi, bibimbap…jachae….) Any suggestion?

 

5000 Ans on Urbanspoon

Zuuchini

Kan Bai: Delicious Szechuan food on Ste-Catherine

I am real difficult when it comes to Chinese restaurant in Montreal. They are usually filled with MSG and oil that I get a stomach ache afterwards. However, Kan Bai picked my curiosity when I saw that they are known for their spicy dishes. You know I am IN when it’s spicy food!

Just let me warn you – most of the dishes of this place is spicy. BUT they won’t kill you. But then again…i eat real spicy…

The day I visited Kan Bai, it was packed. But lucky enough, there was one table left for us!

I had a real hard time to choose what to order!  I like to point out that our dish came real fast. Almost faster than McDonald’s

But we finally chose…

 

This is not ordered! It is served to us once we sat down. I really enjoyed this side dish! It greatly reminds me of the times when I went to China where they would always serve salty peanuts. No fear – that red pepper is fooling you. Not spicy at all.

 

Sizzling spicy lamb

Sizzling spicy lamb

This sizzling spicy lamb was good! However, I wasn’t amazed. If you love lamb, you can order this dish. If not, skip it for other more original dish!

 

Chilli pepper fish soup

Chilli pepper fish soup

The most intriguing dish of the evening! I spotted that every table ordered this so I couldn’t stand to miss out this famous dish, can I? Looking at all those chilli pepper! I was almost scared that it might be too spicy. But disappointedly, it was just a bit spicy. The amount of oil that this “soup” has is really terrifying. But I am really surprised that I can’t taste the oil at all. (According to my mom, real Szechuan food has lots of oil and you cannot taste the oil – therefore I am taking for her words and claim that this place serves authentic Szechuan food because honestly, I never encountered any authentic Szechuan food). Also, I couldn’t believe how generous they are with this dish; The quantity of fish in there seems endless! This dish something I would recommend, not because of their exploding flavours, but because of the “rarity” that it could be found elsewhere.

 

Fried lotus root

Fried lotus root

This IS my favorite dish of the evening. I have to admit that lotus root has a weak spot in my tummy, so I may be biased… On the other hand, I never tried to eat lotus root cooked this way: fried. It was real interesting. It almost like I’m eating french fries except with tons of fibers. Maybe it’s the heavy handed salt that makes the dish real addictive. Again, the oil is real apparent but I couldn’t taste it. To say the least, A MUST TRY.

 

Pork

Pork

Ok – my caption for this dish is real lame…but at least it describes what kind of meat it is! I seriously don’t know what this dish is called…but it’s a dish that all Chinese families, or even if I could say, all asian families are familiar with. Why? It’s something that my grandma (or for some people, their dad, or mom) would cook! I am real scared with those thick fats in the pork meat. But again, it’s what makes the dish so delicious. I had to refrain myself from eating too many. It is real savory and what’s unique is that they pair the pork with potatoes. Something I don’t see my grandma would do. This dish can get real scary after it cools down, you can see all the fat deposits coagulated in the sauce. Urgh. Not a nice scene. If you want a nice dish for the winter weather, this is the one!

 

Verdict of Kan Bai?

I want to go back! I really want to try more of their dishes as they have a lot more to offer on their menu. Important suggestion, go with at least 4 people in order to maximize your options.

 

Restaurant KanBai on Urbanspoon

Zuuchini

Happening Gourmand: Taverne Gaspar

Taverne Gaspar was voted by the majority this year as the restaurant to try. (although Verses was my first choice…no one seemed interested as we already tried last year).

Just let me get right into the drinks and food as I don’t have much to say about the service and environment as they are all mediocre.
I would show different kind of drinks and food we ordered. After introducing all the items from one category, I would draw a general conclusion on which one to order.

Old Fashioned
Maker’s Mark, sugar, Fee’s Brothers, Cherry Bitters 
Perle Noire
Sailor Jerry, Ginger syrup, Lime, soda
I chose this as the ingredients were similar to a Dark & Stormy – I am still in the search of the amazing Dark & Stormy I tasted at Blizzart. It was sour and sweet. Not bad…but I wouldn’t order it again.
???

I forgot what my friend had but it wasn’t something on the cocktails menu. It tasted incredibly sweet – like candy in liquid form. For now, just enjoy the picture 🙂
Appletini?
Not quite there…It was bitter. Although, who am I to judge, I never had an appletini if I remembered correctly…
Bellini a la mangue
Did not like this one. But I can’t remember what it tasted like. I just remembered it was more in the bitter side.
From all the drinks we ordered, I would suggest the Perle Noire if you like sour and sweet drinks.
Beet carpaccio, Arugula, Parmesan Shavings
According to my very picky friend, this entree was up to par. I did not taste it, I cannot add more. But usually, we agree on food.
Onion soup with bone marrow
I did not order but it seriously looked real delicious. With all the cheese and onions! I could tell my friends really enjoyed it!
Warm tomato tart, goat cheese
This entree was surprisingly good. The tart was just warm enough. Very soft and is layered as like a croissant. 
Raw oysters
They were selling their oysters for 2$ each while if we ordered with the table d’hote, 6$ is added to the price. For my entree, I opted for raw oysters as none of the offerings interest me. If you look at the left most oyster, IT WAS SO TIIIIINY! Other than that one, the others were in decent size. They were fresh. 3 types of dips were served with the dish. 2 types of vinegar, which I like none of it. and then lemon, which I normally use. 
Worth the extra 6$? Hmmm…no regrets, I would put it.
But I would suggest to try the onion soup or the tomato tart in all of the entrees.
BBQ Bourbon burger, bacon, french fries, coleslaw
Mr.Butter found the burger not bad. I had a bite and I would to say the same if not worse. We had better burger… I would suggest to skip this. Le Fumoir and Le Gros Jambon have much better hamburger… Mr.Butter agreed with my statement as well afterwards. kekeke
Roasted salmon, lentils from le puy, sauce vierge
According to my friend, she said the salmon was quite tasty! I did not have any of it, so I could not comment. 
Baby back ribs, Jim bean BBQ sauce, french fries, cole slaw
To my surprise, they gave a very generous amount of baby back ribs! I thought for the Happening Gourmand menu, they would chop off the amount. But not at all! They were perfect cooked. Not to the point that the meat falls right off the bone (to the point they don’t give you a chance to bite), and not to the point where you have to use your teeth and tear it off like no tomorrow. Just perfectly cooked!! But I would have to say that Le Fumoir bbq sauce is so muuuuch tastier than this one!
Rosemary braised lamb shank, potato fondant, braising juice
What a disappointment! and I was looking forward to this dish! The lamb was way too light. Tasted like it was used in a soup already that all the flavor has been flushed away. Just boring and bland. 
In all the dishes we ordered, I recommend the ribs – the other dishes were merely passable…
Pudding Chomeur, Caramel ice cream
To avoid if you cannot handle overly sweet dessert. This pudding chomeur can become quite heavy to take in. But delicious if taken one scoop only.
Fine Quebec cheese platter
This plate needs 4$ more. I did not try it but my friend seemed to enjoy the rich flavor of the cheese after the deception of the lamb.
Molten dark chocolate cake, pistachio creme anglaise
Ok, when I read the description, I imagined this incredible image of a molten dark chocolate with melting chocolate and pistachio inside. Well guess what? It’s nothing like that. You see the liquid stuff? It’s the PISTACHIO! OMG seriously? They put that tiny sauce that you can barely taste anything pistachio?! Why even bother to add it in the description. Might as well add raspberry to the description too then! But aside from the pistachio frustration, the cake was quite pleasant. It was just so misleading the description…
From the desserts, I would suggest the chocolate cake. 
Is a Taverne Gaspar a must try? Not really. It is a good time to go if it’s on your restaurant wishlist to benefit from the great discount.
Taverne Gaspar on Urbanspoon
Zuuchini

Happening Gourmand: Modavie

Modavie is one of the restaurant in Happening Gourmand. Its main attraction is that it plays live Jazz music – which is a total disappointment for me because I did not see any live band playing, but only heard jazz music playing from the speaker. It could be that the live band is played on the 2nd floor while I was sitting on the ground floor.

The bread was warm and delicious – just like Premiere Moisson.
Beef Carpaccio, truffle oil
I love my raw meet! therefore choosing this dish was a must. If we look at their usual menu, this dish would cost already 9$ ( although the portion may vary?). The beef was fresh but I think the truffle oil was making it taste bitter, which I am not very fond of. Wish they would simply put lemon drops on the beef instead, or simply something non-bitter.
Striped bass, agrodolce sauce
It came with vegetables (more like ratatouille style) and very light risotto. The ratatouille was very mediocre – something very easily reproduced at home. The risotto was good, perfect for those that cannot handle rich risotto. And then the bass. I think the bass could be handled better. It’s not the best way to cook bass. Grilled or even seared would be the best way to enjoy a bass. But i guess it’s because the meat is so flat that they did not use that way to cook it. Not saying the fish was bad…I just wish they would do something better so my tastebuds would go a bit more excited.
Tiramisu
Fine. This tiramisu tasted very good actually. No complaint here. BUT, I was eating at Modavie right? I should expect some kind of nice dish presentation, right? But look at the plate! It’s just a puny cake with some kind of chocolate powder all over the dish. 0 plate presentation. Anyways…these are details. 
I don’t think Modavie is a restaurant I would revisit again. The staff wasn’t friendly – sort of had an attitude. Their plate presentation was very weak (my friend had a large piece of fish skin on the side of her plate when given to her). 
Agreed. their food was not horrible. But for this kind of money, you can get something much better.
Modavie Wine Bar Live Jazz on Urbanspoon
Zuuchini
Instagram
Categories
Archives