Yes, it took me three visits before I get to eat at Satay Brothers. First time, it was during spring before they moved back to the market, full house. Second time, everything was sold out. And I told myself, if my third visit can’t make it, I will totally give up!

But yay, that didn’t happen!

One thing I dislike about Satay Brothers is their attitude “I’m all that”. I felt like I should feel so fortunate to taste their food. If I walked away, they wouldn’t care at all.

Anyways, service could be ignored if food was fantastically and absurdly delicious. But…

The famous satay. We had beef.

My comments? Taste like ordinary brochette with a layered glaze that was tasteless. The sauce that came with it did not add any punch either. I was there clueless and wondering what is the line up all about?

Another thing. I found it a bit pricey 6$ for 3 satay.

Papaya salad.

This one I loved! Very addictive because I have a soft spot for fresh dishes. And this salad is exactly that. I loved how they weren’t afraid to spice it up a notch either! I could eat this in larger portion as a whole meal!

Laksa Lemak

The broth was spicy coconut goodness! But in reality, all I tasted was spiciness! It’s not that I didn’t like that, but laksa lemak is suppose to be very heavy in coconut and curry, and this laksa lemak was missing those.

And their noodles, same with those served in dim sum places when you ordered a soup base noodles, were cut into short length. For a noodle lover, I love my noodles long, so I can slurp! But I wouldn’t blame Satay Brothers to cut them as these types of noodles they chose to serve are very slippery, hence very messy!

The meat content in the noodles was little and they weren’t any good to talk about.

Gado Gado offers a much better version of Laksa Lemak. (where I can really call coconut curry noodles!)

Also worth mentioning, although named differently, Paris Pho serves an identical noodle soup concept as this one for more bang for the buck.

Kueh Salat

I have a weakness for sticky rice desserts. So, although this kueh salat was a bit bland, I still enjoyed it fully because of the sticky rice texture. I wished the coconut flavor could be more present.

So there you have it! Satay Brothers serve expensive food for the volume you are getting back. And it’s not even justified by their service nor their decor, nor their location.

Hype needs to die down.

There are better alternatives that deserve this kind of recognition.

Zuuchini

Decca77 was a restaurant I wanted to try when I used to fancy eating at upscale restaurant. But the desire died down quickly as bad reviews came to surface one after another one. This explains why I was hesitant when I received an invitation to try out Decca77.

I told myself…I can’t judge it until I try it!

One of the biggest transformation in Decca77 is their new chef who worked previously for Toque. I actually didn’t care this bit of information until after I had the meal and realized what difference it makes when a chef really knows how to maximize every quality and harmony of food. It is mind blowing.

Starting off with a nice cocktail. Loved it! It wasn’t sweet to the point where I couldn’t taste the alcohol. Very well balanced.

Although this little potato cake looked like it caught on fire, I didn’t taste a hint of burnt. Nothing really particular. I felt I was eating a hashbrown.

These oysters must one of the sweetest oysters I have tasted so far. This could be explained by the chef’s excellent use of tiny diced strawberry that added a great dose of sweetness. However, these pieces did not mask the oyster natural sweetness. All went so smooth. I wished I could have 10 more, actually I wish I can always have these oysters to start off every meal I have for the rest of my life.

This lobster salad is one the most memorable dish of the evening, or even of the year. The flavor is very simple. But the play of the fresh ingredients simply lifts up the salad to heaven. Every ingredients made the salad very enjoyable. The sweet grapefruit, which wasn’t bitter at all. The green onion somehow beats of all the green onions I had in my life…And the lobster! It was so meaty! It was one big fat chunk of lobster claw being served! I couldn’t believe how delicious was the meat. The texture is unbelievable. You know that bouncy feeling, but not chewy? That’s the only way I can describe it. The meat was so fresh and dense that it felt like it was bouncing against my teeth when I was chewing it.

Both appetizer was paired with a white sauvignon, which I loved very dearly. Smooth to throat. Perfect for light seafood.

The picture does not reflect how big the scallop was, the one of the right. The scallop on the left was a typical size. But the right one, I was imagining how big the scallop was before it was shrunken by the heat! It was slightly bigger than the size of a golf ball. Once again, the scallop was delicious. Very meaty. Cooked to perfection that it was so silky smooth in the inside. However, I cannot say the same for the smaller scallop which was still very good, but a bit too cooked compare to its sister.

The wine that was paired was a Beaujolais Blanc. The first 3 seconds, it felt dry, but quickly dispersed and became so smooth. I am going to stock both of these white wines!

After a few light dishes, the total opposite appeared! The cavatelli was cooked with ricotta cheese (hopefully i remembered right…) and mushrooms.  Sounds very heavy right? Wrong! It was so well balanced that it never reached the level that I couldn’t take it anymore. Not to mention, the cavatelli was so pleasant to eat, texture once again is superb. It reminded me greatly of gnocchi, but much less starchy.

This was paired with a pinot noir to lift the heaviness of the meal. However, I don’t think it was necessary as I explained early, the dish was so well balanced that I never felt it was too heavy to consume.

This was the biggest lamb rack I had in my life. The rack was actually sliced in half, so the bottom half was stacked under the top part. The first thing I noticed was how aromatic it was! Sadly, its size was its downfall. Due to its size, it must had taken longer to cook, which made the meat on the sides overcooked. Discounting that fact, the taste was very savoury. The berries, the peas and the caramelized onions were not simply a decor, but were like the strong pillars of a building holding the meal together. It was sometimes salty, sometimes sour and sometimes sweet.

We had Cabernet Franc, which I wasn’t too fond of. But I did think it was one of the better choice for the lamb rack. It was enough to cleanse the palate and welcome the desserts!

This molten cake was well portioned and nicely executed. The chocolate was sweet and deep (as in, I can taste the notes of dark chocolate, yet it was sweetened by sugar…). However, I am not able to confirm how this molten cake is better than any other restaurant, let’s say Score (yes, SCORE, they have really good molten cakes!).

But, I did like the small touch of strawberry jelly, actual strawberries fruits, and I guess the small chocolate coated balls, which added something more to the texture.

And to the rescue from the heavy sweetness of the molten cake, a very unique dessert was served. What is it? Pineapple carpaccio. It is a first that I see pineapple sliced so thinly. This was pleasant surprise! It was the best way to end the diner. Finish it off with fruits!

I cannot describe how much I enjoyed my diner at Decca77.  It has been a while where I am really blown away. It’s true happiness when I get to taste food that is so thoroughly balanced in texture and taste from start to finish.

I really wish Decca77 will maintain its quality so when I recommend to my friends, they could witness the same joy of this evening.

Zuuchini

Ever since the introduction of Cronut by a French pastry chef in New York, the world went all crazy mode!

And because Montreal is part of the world (no, really?), we have been infected as well!

And a mysterious force of curiosity has pushed me to pay a visit at La Cornetteria at 10 am on a Saturday, after being warned that they sell out the cronuts very early during the day.

Here they are. The precious little things.

We were asked if we wanted the mysterious flavor. I asked them what flavor is it and only to be answered with “it’s a surprise!”

Worst surprise ever. It doesn’t taste as good as their regular cronuts, which has custard cream pipped inside.

Here’s the picture to see the croissant like doughnut.

The verdict?

Is it worth 4$? No. This is outrageous how expensive these cost. I really think the market is milking this trend.

Texture? It looks different giving you an impression the insides would give you croissant vibes. But no. It doesn’t. Once I bite, everything comes together like a donut, exactly like I’m eating a honey cruller donut with custard cream.

And you better eat it right away or the donuts become stale and greasy.

Maybe the New York cronut is better…

Zuuchini