I love brunches! Weekend it’s all about waking up at 11pm. And by the time, you’re ready to step out, it’s way past noon. No fear! Brunches solve everything! Breakfast and lunch!
I introduce you to Porto Vino’s Sunday brunch! Best I had so far.
It’s 30$ per person, but it’s buffet style. Yet, they have cooks assigned to each area to serve you! They cook the omelet the way you want on the spot. Even better! You can make your own combination of waffle, pancake, crepe and french toast. (they are flambe!!!) Can’t decide? Just have them all! And skip tonight’s supper. hahahaha
What’s even more amazing to make your 30$ worth is…ALL YOU CAN EAT RAW OYSTERS! YES!
and many dessert selections! Even a chocolate fountain!
Just talking about it makes me want to go back this weekend!
I’ll let my snapshots do the talk now. (Sorrry, I didn’t try harder to make my plate more appealing…)
Zuuchini
I have walked by this restaurant for a few times to take the metro Peel. Their hot pink LED light indoors attracted my attention every time I passed by.
If i am not mistaken, they use local food supplies. Always a plus right?
I went ahead and searched on Urbanspoon to verify their reviews….Pretty good review?! So i jumped ahead and tried it….
Happening Gourmand is an event in Montreal where a few restaurants located in old port (probably from the same management) offer very generous pricing for a taste of their food in January (sorrry for such a late post. A heads up for next year!!). Why not take this opportunity to try out new restaurant that you would normally find a bit pricey?
How does it work? You would need to make a reservation. They post their menu online available for the event. You have an option between 2 differently priced menu (if I remember correctly, 30 ish or 40ish). It’s a 3 service course, which means an appetizer, entree and dessert. There are choices within each category.
This year I went to 2 of them! AIX and Verses.
Here are the dishes that I especially enjoyed…
I went to eat lunch at ITHQ ( Institut de tourisme et d’hotellerie du Quebec). It’s a school that specializes in tourism, hotel and restaurants.
My colleagues were intrigued as Prince William and Catherine went there to eat while visiting Montreal. Therefore, they have decided to try it out as well! All the staffs were students. I couldn’t tell if I didn’t know it was a school.
The staffs were very friendly and professional. All the tables were taken and the clients seem to be from business professions as well! It’s serious business! Not amateur at all so far!
How was the food? Why don’t we just look at the pictures and judge 😉
Some duck confit….something like that. I simply loved this appetizer…I might go back just for this! But sadly, i think their menu changes very often…
I have no clue what this soup is…Judging by the color, i would say pumpkin…Did not taste it…so can’t tell!
Another star appetizer!! It’s scallop with celery !
This is the appetizer that I chose…it comes with such a dainty bowl!
It is a mixture of mushrooms and cheese. The server made it sound so good as it was the special of the day…They said “it comes with shitake!” Sure that is exotic for them…But it’s not exactly exotic for me. It was okay. It didn’t make my tastebuds go crazy.
And then we moved on to main dishes!
Wapiti. I once ate a wapiti tartare that got me loving this meat so much. However, this dish left me quite disappointed…
Roasted beef with beer. I heard my colleagues said this wasn’t impressive at all…
Cod fish. My colleague that eats very little (known to never finish anything on her plate) actually ate the whole thing! I guess it was really that delicious?
Lamb. It is actually the most generous portion of all the main dishes.
Chocolate mousse to complete the meal. The server highly recommended this chocolate mousse. However, I’m not very fond of mousse cake…but creme brulee was the other choice which I am not very fond of either…so I ended with chocolate mousse (and they delivered an extra creme brulee by mistake so i ended up having creme brulee as well!).
The chocolate mousse was better than the other mousse cakes i have tried in the past. But i still don’t like mousse cake…so I’m a biased here to judge. The creme brulee was a total disappointment. It was very liquid…I thought it was suppose to be gelatine? Anyway..the taste was fine but the texture not so much.
My verdict? ITHQ serves amazing appetizers. For the rest, it is left to be desired. I have to admit the food is all nicely cooked. Just the taste is missing something (I guess that has to be blamed on their recipe that their professors have chosen).
Have you been all eaten well in these holidays season?
Zuuchini
Nowadays, Montreal is populated by so many all-you-can Japanese restaurants that it seems like it’s the first choice of many due to pricing and quantity.
However…I’m a big sashimi lover. All those all-you-can usually have their sashimi come with rice, which full me up very quickly. Also, their sashimi is usually not that fresh…at least nothing like Mikado…
Sure, times to times, all-you-can could be fun! But, for that price (that I probably won’t make it worth it), I rather go to a menu restaurant because I rather enjoy my food than stuffing my stomach.
So which Japanese restaurant do I suggest? Mikado!
It is located:
1731 St-Denis
Montreal, Quebec
H2X 3K4
It is not a traditional Japanese restaurant. So do not expect the sushi rolls to be authentic. Their rolls are a bit inspired from the cuisine of Thai and Vietnamese. Before, my criteria for a good Japanese restaurant has to be owned by Japanese because then i would think “Hey! It’s owned by Japanese, it gotta be authentic and good!” Well…i guess it’s not always true!
Mikado honestly served the freshest sashimi I have ever eaten in Montreal… They cut their fish so well, that every bite of sashimi is heavenly! I highly suggest their red tuna.
So…you’re not a fan of sashimi? No worry! There are many rolls and many unique ones only to be found in Mikado! I think every time I go there, I try different rolls. My favorite so far has to be Dragon Eye and Chardonnay (a bit of wine in it).
Although I’m not very fond of deep fried food, I have to admit that Mikado deep fried food (tempura, and tempura in their rolls) are rather well made! They are not oily at all and very crispy. You know that they change their deep fried oil very often due to the freshness of their oil.
Fan of scallop and love crispiness? Try their scallop of heaven (or something like that…their dishes names are slightly too fancy to remember). They serve BIG FRESH SCALLOP!! it is enrobed with very crispy thin noodle (??? i don’t know how to describe better, but i do have a picture!) The sauce that comes with it is so very delicious! a must try!
Not only does the food is good. Their service is impeccable. You will never be left unattended. The moment you sat down, within less than 5 minutes, a waiter or a busboy will pour water to your glass. I guess I am very strict at that because I drink a lot of water and I hate when my glass is empty and have to be on the lookout of a staff for more water! Before I could finish my water, they always come on time to fill it back up! I love! Their service time is rather quick too! I never need to wait overly long for my food to arrive! They actually have quite some sushi chef working at the counter!
If you were to go there Fridays or those busy days of the week….I would suggest a reservation. 🙂
Zuuchini
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