My first introduction to Argentinian food is my visit at L’Atelier d’Argentine. So do not expect that this review is to authenticate the cuisine, and I may also add that I was told that L’Atelier d’Argentine is inspired by Argentinian, and therefore, the dishes are merely inspired from traditional ones.

May I disclose that the whole experience was offered by the generosity of the management team of L’Atelier d’Argentine.

Sparkling wine, Prosecco, to start off surrounded by a nice ambiance.

Cuarteto de empanadas

I was told this is a very popular appetizer among customers. It comes with 4 different empanadas. Each comes with a delightful surprise. I would have thought I wouldn’t like it since it seems fried. But, the oil is nicely drained. The crust is crisp but thick. There isn’t much filling, but because it is so flavorful, it didn’t go against the thick crust. Since I never had Argentinian food, I was quickly reminded that it tastes like chinese dumpling, but deep fried, especially the one that has beef and spring onion.

My favorite out the four is Fontina cheese and camerilized onion. What else to say there other than CHEESE!

I can’t stop myself from taking a picture of these breads. The butter is shaped like white chocolate! Also, it is nice to note that the bread is served warm!

Tiradito de atun

This is a slice of yellow fin tuna dressed with a grilled lemon vinaigrette.  The tuna is so delicious. So fresh and delicate. It almost felt like a melting sensation, but no, it wasn’t melting.

I suggest to not eat it with the cherry tomatoes because it will cover the fragile taste of the tuna.

Terrina de pulpo

Octopus sliced ever so thinly with a dressing that is similar to caesar. Served with arugula salad.  Not to mention, there are chipotle flakes making the dish so hot and spicy! I strongly recommend to eat the octopus with the arugula so the salad can lighten the saltiness of the sauce on the octopus.

I can see this as a very tasty and unique play on salad!

The sauce to be eaten with our grilled meat. The green one is Chimichurri and the other one I am clueless… Honestly, I only tried the sauce once and I never let my meat return again. Will explain soon enough.

We had watercress on the sides. I was very surprised that watercress was served as a raw salad! I only had it boiled, especially in hot pot! Astonishingly, the watercress tastes so good when it’s raw!

Aaaah! Look at all these delicious meats! They were all chosen by the host. I was highly impressed! The texture of the meat is spectacular. I wasn’t expecting this at all. I thought it would be dry. It was heavily juicy and tender! The pure flavor and texture of the beef was outstanding that it doesn’t need any sauce at all. There would be hints of salt here and there that made the beef slightly too salty, but while chewing, the salt dissipates quickly enough. Plus, having the watercress on the sides was just perfect.

As for the chorizo…it was very ordinary. Actually, it was worse than ordinary… It tasted so bland that I couldn’t tell it was chorizo. Maybe I was just too spoiled by its 2 other competitors waiting for my indulgence!

In no exaggeration, this has to be one of the top meats I have ever tasted.

I think it also helped that I had a good wine pairing that fine tuned the meat. My host suggested Malbec graffina 2011, a red wine from Argentina.

Everything was working in great harmony!

The fries were quite addictive too!

Peras en compota

There were actually a few desserts that intrigued me, but I was full enough to abstain from greediness.

The host seemed to favor the poached pear so I went ahead with her suggestion. She assured me that the blue cheese in the dessert will go unnoticed.

Wow. Once again, the flavors were so harmonious. The tiny pieces of blue cheese combined with a piece of the pear and a bit of the mascapone cream are indescribable. I was deciphering the taste slowly…it was just unique and interesting. The blue cheese, tastes nothing like blue cheese, was masked by its saltiness. And mascapone was very creamy, almost like a mousse texture. The pear was nicely poached which increased its sweetness. Just imagine all that together.

It was an interesting dessert, however I wouldn’t say it’s something that I would want to have again. It is tasty, and something to try.

L’Atelier d’Argentine is not the most affordable place to dine. However, given the location, nice decor and most importantly, the exceptional food, the price is justifiable. I would highly suggest to go for their grilled meats instead of their other main dishes as I think this is the selling point of L’Atelier d’Argentine.

I will be glad to come again!

Zuuchini

My good friend suggested to try Birks Cafe’s afternoon tea menu for a good catch up time. What a wonderful choice!

Indeed, Birks Cafe is situated inside of Birks, the home of millions of diamonds. But don’t be intimidated. I was dressed very casually and my service wasn’t affected at all. Actually, I think this is a place can be an excuse where you can pull out your flowery dress and act like an elite. Think of…gossip girl.

Birks Cafe has a pre-set high tea menu, where the only choice we had was the tea.

Price wise (about 26$), is typical for this kind of meal. Is it worth it? Think of high tea as an experience, and not merely a dainty meal.

A quick snapshot of our meal. Sadly, it isn’t displayed on a tiered dish. Yes, we girls think this matters a lot. Tiered dish is essential for tea time.

Little round sandwich cut. So cute! My favorite would be the smoke salmon. Nothing could go wrong with smoke salmon!

The sandwich was surprisingly extremely delicious! Every bits were intricately filled with flavours!

We also had scones which are not pictured here. They were very buttery and almost the perfect texture. I think it was missing just a slight touch of moisture. I loved it so much that I emptied the jam to spread on my scones!

The chocolates were filled with caramel sel. Not really my kind of flavors…but i like how the chocolate instantly melt inside my mouth.

The macarons were the most disappointing macarons I’ve tasted (excluding the macarons I actually tried to bake…). They were overly sweet and the flavors were not what I would like.

Unfortunately, the last tubes were not good at all. I sincerely think is because we took too much time eating and talking that when we came to eat these, they became all warm and melted, losing their original texture.

Warning to not take too much time? Then again…that’s the whole point of tea time… Although I think the price is justifiable, it is still a luxurious meal that it’s only appreciated when it’s done seldom.

Zuuchini

We stumbled upon Be Bap when the restaurant from our original plan was closed for vacation. I would have never known Be Bap …even less when it’s located on Amherst.

There’s something mystical about this place, that I’m charmed right away. It could be the decor…it could be that the business is run by a Korean family ( Seeing an older woman gave me a hint…) or something more.

A warning: Be Bap service is incredibly slow.

Every meal is served with a soup. I am happy that the MSG was very minimal.

Seafood pancake

It’s in the smaller end compare to other restaurants, but it costs less as well. So far, it is ranked in the middle of all seafood pancakes I’ve eaten.

Side dishes

These come with some of the main meals, tofu, kimchi and beanspout. I always wish that Korean restaurants in Montreal are more generous about their side dishes.

The Gourmet Bibimbap

The egg was almost cooked but I prefer my egg more raw so I can still mix it with my rice. The bibimbap is called gourmet because it has 3 types of meat. I believe chicken, pork and beef. When all mixed together, I cannot differentiate the meat. The only flavor that really stood out was the sweet mushroom. It’s my first time that this was served with the bibimbap. Overall, the bibimp wasn’t that good. I don’t know what are factors for a successful bibimbap. I personally find the rice too wet, missing the nice texture of Korean rice.

Bulgogi

Although this is not the typical cut of meat for Bulgogi, the taste is spot on.

I think Be Bap is more adept with their grilled dishes than their Bibimbap. Despite the food is mediocre and the service is very slow ( 15-30 minutes before we get to order, and 30 minutes before we get our meal), I enjoyed my experience. It is a quiet and cozy place fusing modern and oriental decor.

Zuuchini