Remaining Days in Montreal
after the episode at au pied de cochon, i had trouble sleeping that night. i woke up at 2:30 a.m., 6 a.m., 8 a.m., and finally 11 a.m. i was so tired and was glad i wasn't playing scrabble that day. since we were so close to chinatown, joe and i decided to try le cristal chinois for dim sum. it's on the sixth floor of this mall, but we took some stairs that lead to construction zones. this nice asian man helped guide us to the right elevators. for 12:30 p.m. the place was still packed. it took about half an hour before we were seated. most of the tables sat 4 to 6 people, and there are no carts. you picked your items off a menu, turn it in, and they eventually bring your food. not very efficient since it took over half an hour to get our firs course, and it was the dessert of egg tarts. by the time we got the other dishes, it was close to an hour. i miss the carts where you can get 15 items on your table within five minutes. the egg tarts were very fresh and well done. the shiu mai, what joe judges dim sum restaurants by, was more of a mixed meat concoction and not that flavorful. we tried panfried bbq pork buns, but i much prefer the baked kind. i wanted to try something different and opted for the sticky rice with bbq duck, shrimp, and vegetables; instead of getting actual sticky rice, it was just dumplings with a sticky rice texture. the other two items, shrimp rice noodles and shrimp dumplings with truffle sauce were standard fare. the service was lacking a bit. i guess the paucity of food at lunch gave me the appetite to sit through the europea dinner that night.
monday, we slept in and then stopped by schwartz's on saint-laurent for their smoked meat. it was quite good. not overly salty and very tender. the place was packed; so i got mine to go and snacked on it on our way to the biodome. in addition to the biodome and the rockhopper penguins, we did the botanical gardens with its japanese and chinese gardens and toxic plants section, the observation tower where we rode a two-minute funicular, and the insectarium with some of the largest spiders on display and lots of walking stick insects. the day was quite hot, and i was probably dehydrated for the most part of the several mile tour around the complex. by the time we got to dinner at laloux, i wasn't all that hungry and was glad we did our tasting menu the previous night. i had the grilled beef tartar with marinated mustard seeds, mr. legault's cherry tomatoes, and buttermilk vinaigrette to start, and joe had the hemp puff pastry, caramelized onion puree, king oyster mushrooms, quail egg, and homemade ricotta. my dish was a bit heavy, and joe's dish was trying too hard and the flavors never really gelled. my main course of scallops was better, but the black garlic emulsion left a lot to be desired. joe had the new brunswick esqu salmon, nordic shrimp, shellfish bisque risotto, mr. legault's cherry tomato vierge sauce, purple cress, and cilantro. the salmon was done perfectly - crispy skin and seared just right. the risotto could have been less bland. we skipped dessert and got a slice of blue cheese and brie instead, which came with toasted nut bread and some pecans and almonds.
tuesday, joe and i went to tri express to try sushi in montreal. not the best choice, and i don't think one should ever try to eat sushi in a city that is not known for it. i kept things simple and just had unagi sushi, salmon sashimi, and hamachi toro. joe had the omakase with four pieces of sashimi and eight pieces of maki. then we went to mcgill to try to find google montreal. that was when i discovered i left my purse at the restaurant and backtracked to the restaurant while joe went ahead with his google office search but not before we pissed off some cab driver by changing our minds about taking a cab back to the restaurant after he went around the block. more walking in the hot sun, more dehydration even though i was drinking liquids, and i finally met joe back at the hotel by 1:30 p.m. we took a cab to the airport, and we took an early flight to toronto to escape the impending thunderstorms. toronto airport doesn't have a lot of great eats. i just had a turkey club at upper crust and snacked. by the time we finally got home, i was quite exhausted and loopy. now i'm trying to recover from a sinus infection, clogged ears, and a low fever of 101.3. i have 10 days to get over this before my next culinary adventure on june 8 in san francisco.
monday, we slept in and then stopped by schwartz's on saint-laurent for their smoked meat. it was quite good. not overly salty and very tender. the place was packed; so i got mine to go and snacked on it on our way to the biodome. in addition to the biodome and the rockhopper penguins, we did the botanical gardens with its japanese and chinese gardens and toxic plants section, the observation tower where we rode a two-minute funicular, and the insectarium with some of the largest spiders on display and lots of walking stick insects. the day was quite hot, and i was probably dehydrated for the most part of the several mile tour around the complex. by the time we got to dinner at laloux, i wasn't all that hungry and was glad we did our tasting menu the previous night. i had the grilled beef tartar with marinated mustard seeds, mr. legault's cherry tomatoes, and buttermilk vinaigrette to start, and joe had the hemp puff pastry, caramelized onion puree, king oyster mushrooms, quail egg, and homemade ricotta. my dish was a bit heavy, and joe's dish was trying too hard and the flavors never really gelled. my main course of scallops was better, but the black garlic emulsion left a lot to be desired. joe had the new brunswick esqu salmon, nordic shrimp, shellfish bisque risotto, mr. legault's cherry tomato vierge sauce, purple cress, and cilantro. the salmon was done perfectly - crispy skin and seared just right. the risotto could have been less bland. we skipped dessert and got a slice of blue cheese and brie instead, which came with toasted nut bread and some pecans and almonds.
tuesday, joe and i went to tri express to try sushi in montreal. not the best choice, and i don't think one should ever try to eat sushi in a city that is not known for it. i kept things simple and just had unagi sushi, salmon sashimi, and hamachi toro. joe had the omakase with four pieces of sashimi and eight pieces of maki. then we went to mcgill to try to find google montreal. that was when i discovered i left my purse at the restaurant and backtracked to the restaurant while joe went ahead with his google office search but not before we pissed off some cab driver by changing our minds about taking a cab back to the restaurant after he went around the block. more walking in the hot sun, more dehydration even though i was drinking liquids, and i finally met joe back at the hotel by 1:30 p.m. we took a cab to the airport, and we took an early flight to toronto to escape the impending thunderstorms. toronto airport doesn't have a lot of great eats. i just had a turkey club at upper crust and snacked. by the time we finally got home, i was quite exhausted and loopy. now i'm trying to recover from a sinus infection, clogged ears, and a low fever of 101.3. i have 10 days to get over this before my next culinary adventure on june 8 in san francisco.