Brunch at Le Cartet

It is now a custom thing to wait in line for more than 15 minutes to eat in a restaurant in Montreal.  Hungry monsters are willing to stand in the cold, in the rain or even in very snowy weather just to get a chance to taste a chef's work! That is dedication! 

However, some restaurants are a little more considerate... Yes, you do have to wait up to 45 minutes in line... BUT you wait warmly in the restaurant and you can shop for goodies while waiting! Now I can guarantee you that time will fly by much faster! And yes. I am talking about this adorable brunch address. Le Cartet.

Brunch at Chien Fumant

Brunch is THE thing now. Every foodie sites talks about it.  Marshall and Lily from HIMYM do it every weekend. For sure, we had to follow the trend, don't we?


Brunching usually occurs on weekends, especially sunday, from 9AM to 3PM.  It it the perfect occasion for a girly get-together or a fun and relaxing date or even a family activity.  Consisting of mostly breakfast on the menu, some restaurants go beyond and offers creative dishes that mixes sweet and savoury while keeping in mind the concept of brunching.


Thus, I've found a new partner in crime to investigate further.  Also a passionate foodie, my friend had traveled to numerous places and tried the weirdest things! He suggested this restaurant to me since one of his friends work there. Le Chien Fumant, just by the name, I can only imagine the food they serve.... mmmmmmmmm!


The restaurant is located on the Plateau Mont-Royal carefully hidden on De Lanaudière street.  The place is super cozy and the kitchen is opened to everyone.  I love the concept that the customer can see, smell and hear what happens behind the scene. 


It turns out that every last sunday of the month, there is a theme to the Brunch. On the day that we went, spooky Halloween, it was Dim Sum.  Dim Sum is the Chinese kind of Brunch.  Every weekend, Chinese will gather around a big round table and order small plates from the carts that the waitresses push around the restaurant.  Everyone share and eat from the same dishes and it is great to try different things at the same time!  Going from dumplings, to vegetarian dishes to buns, the choice can easily satisfy anyone.


To tell you the truth, I was a bit disappointed that it was Dim Sum day since I was really expecting typical Quebecer dishes.  I am fairly critical when it comes to Asian food, especially when it is not made by Asians.  My mom makes the best asian food there is! (I know, moms are always the best cooks!) But I remain objective here, who knows? I can be pleasantly surprised.


The menu is written on a blackboard.  We decided to chose a variety of items to test everything out. While waiting for our plates to come in, I ordered a soft drink and it came with a stainless steel straw.  I really found it interesting, it kept my drink cold during the entire meal.


We started off with Pekin Roast Duck, priced at 12$, which is very reasonable given restaurants usually charge 30$.  In traditional restaurants, Pekin Duck is a delicacy as it takes numerous exhaustive hours to achieve perfection.  We mostly crave for the thin and crispy skin and it's served with a little bit of meat, pancakes, green onions and hoisin sauce.  The version of Chien Fumant  featured a duck leg with two pancakes, coriander, bean sprouts, green onions, hoisin sauce and chili.  The duck unfortunately lacked the crispiness of the authentic thing and the meat was somehow dry. I appreciated the effort of the homemade pancakes which is quite a challenge as it requires it to be light, thin and fluffy.  Their pancakes' formula surprisingly tasted very good but were too thick.


We also ordered some pot stickers as well as steamed dumplings.  Pot stickers are basically dumplings that are cooked on a skillet to provide the desired sticky and crisp texture of the dough.   The mixture in the pot stickers missed flavors and were bland.  The steamed dumplings however had more punch. My friend even described the aroma as that of black licorice.  The shrimp dumplings had very strong 'fishy' notes though.

The Lap Cheong 'en croute' really intrigued me.  Lap Cheong is a chinese dried sausage that has some sweet notes to it. Usually cut in slices and fried on a skillet until the skin is brown and delivers a sweet and meaty aroma, Lap Cheong are often added to fried rice.  Here, they've wrapped the sausage with a caramelized bun.  The bun by itself was fluffy and had the right amount of yeasty flavor to it.  It was a also visually appealing.  However, paired with the sausage, the combination created a heavy result.  It would have needed a fresh maybe picked vegetables to balance it out.







We also chose the pig ears salad.  Personally, I did like it a lot.  The pig ears were perfectly cooked and crunchy.  The zucchinis, green onions and coriander with the drizzle of an acidic dressing complemented well the flavor of the pork.  We would have liked a little bit more dressing to enhance the overall dish though.


Finally, the house had the courtesy to offer us BBQ pork buns.  They were wrapped in the same pancakes as the Roasted Pekin Duck dish.  The pork tasted exactly the like the BBQ pork I would buy in Chinatown and had the crispy roasted bits I love on the sides :)  But their choice of garnishing was not ideal as the sourness of the pickled vegetable overpowered the sweet and delicate BBQ sauce.


Again, I might sound harsh in this review but I am Chinese after all, what do you expect? The customers around us seemed very much satisfied with their meal.  I must say I will return to Chien Fumant without a doubt as their regular menu offers more than interesting choices! They even have a mug made out of bacon and filled with gravy! I mean come on! Who wouldn't be curious about it? And their take on meat is the dream to every carnivore out there! And I am positive that their regular brunch must be tasty enough to figure on the Montreal Brunch and Breakfast Reviews website.  


Click here for a review on their regular menu :)


Le Chien Fumant
4710, rue de Lanaudière
H2J 3P7
514-524-2444
http://www.lechienfumant.com/

Culinary Roadtrip - City of Quebec!

Working and studying in the world of food is the best thing that can happen to any foodie. We are surrounded by knowledgeable and passionate peers that are always more than glad to transmit their contagion! During my school year, I was fortunate enough to meet a fellow classmate that had loads of experience in some of the most known restaurants in Quebec and some more in Europe. He was an amazing connection to infamous chefs and was himself an encyclopedia in the world of restaurants.

Thus, i decided to pay him a visit with a good friend of mine last summer. At the same time, the Festival D'Été de Québec was taking place where artists such as Black Eyed Peas, Rammstein and Billy Talent entertain thousands and thousands of fans. In our three hours drive to Quebec, we familiarized ourselves with their hits to be able to sing along with everyone once we were there :)

The concert of the BEP was absolutely crazy!!!! Over 100 000 persons invaded the Plains of Abraham! We were screaming our lungs out and dancing the night away along with all these energetic spectators. Needless to say, we slept like babies that night. We were pleasantly awoken with the smell of fresh pastries and robust coffee aroma that our host kindly prepared for us :) And on it started! our foodie journey in the wonderful streets of Quebec city!

We stopped at a fine chocolate shop, Champagne Chocolatier, where we bought some exotic truffles to excite our taste buds! We tried Porto, Chili, Goat and Basil, Caramel au Fleur de Sel and finally Whiskey. Goat and Basil was definitely the most surprising in terms of flavor. The unexpected grassy taste of Goat cheese combined with the fresh and minty notes of Basil complemented marvelously the dark chocolate.

While strolling the streets towards the Festival, we stopped at the old Port where a local market was situated. Heaven on earth! I just love these kind of places. If it was for me, i will spend my whole days just to visit and slowly look at every single products in these markets! We found a spice shop where flavors from every culture met! On one end of the shop were a whole wall of spices! Every spice you can imagine from every corner of the world! It was sooooo exciting!

There was also the smoked house Atkins at the market! They are known for their smoked salmon and other fish and seafoods. We were seduced by the smoked trout, the salmon carpaccio, the gravlax and seal rillettes. Seal is a very controversial meat and I admit that I did felt bad eating it. But at the same time, as a foodie, I had to try it. And the mouthfeel was so pleasant! Wow! It was smooth and had the right bite to it. Its dark red color is surprising and the taste is similar to that of red meat but much more flavorful. The seasoning was perfectly balanced. I was extremely satisfied with my first experience!

The rest of the day was without much artifice in terms of food. Not the same can be said for the day after!!!! My oh my was my tummy happy :) We started the day with a brunch at the Clocher Penché, a block away from where we were staying. The atmosphere was relaxed, perfect for a Sunday morning. Included with each dish was a bowl of Café au Lait and a verrine made of mango and watermelon yogurt with citrus croutons. Fresh and delish! My friend ordered Le Seigneur des Anneaux which consisted of lamb parmentier (french dish made of mashed potatoes and meat) with old cheddar, a runny egg, mushrooms braised in the lamb's juice over a grilled bagel with a herbed butter spread. Triple wow for that dish! Every single item were bursting of flavor, it was unbelievable! The mashed potatoes had the right amount of creaminess and paired amazingly with the juicy lamb. I am literally salivating just thinking about it.... haaaaaaaaa! I ordered the Odeur de Sainteté: aragula, crystallized tomatoes, vegetarian pâté, eggs, tomme des grosse îles (amazing non-pasteurized soft cheese) on a crispy olive bread served with savourous fried potatoes. Even though the dish was good and fresh, i found it quite bland compared to the dish of my friend. It did not particularly impressed me but it is a very good choice for someone looking for a healthy or vegetarian choice.

Our beloved friend then had the courtesy to reserve us a spot for dinner at the most requested table in Quebec city: Le St-Amour. Celebrities from around the world such as Alicia Keys stopped at this destination for a bite. We were quite honored to have the opportunity to taste the work of Chef Jean Luc Boulay. We let the expertise of our friend who worked there and let them design our menu :)

We first started with the trilogy of mise en bouche. That included a blini topped with caviar, a raw oyster with citrus espuma, and wild sockeye salmon with caviar. We then proceeded with a declination of foie gras: seven different ways to cook and present the meat. It was truly impressive, they did a brilliant job to showcase the quality and versatility of the foie gras. Unfortunately, my memory is playing games, i only remember a few descriptions namely pyramid of foie gras, foie gras macaroon with fig puree, foie gras with blueberry dust, foie gras tiramisu and i believe there was the traditional foie gras au torchon and i forgot the others... i'm sorry... I then ordered the giant shrimps and they were seriously GIANT!!! I had to take three bites to finish each. They were vacuum cooked in espelette pepper which gave enough of a kick and were paired with fresh and crispy salad in chilled fennel soup. Miam!!!

As entrée, I chose the veal sweetbreads and wild shrimps. Mmmmmm... Very hearty meal, perfect for wintery and cold nights. The side dishes were very original! Interesting twist to a classic: roasted butternut squash gnocchis! Also served with Swiss chard stems and leaves dome, morrel mushrooms swimming in Samos Muscat creamed juices. Although extremely satisfying and full of complex flavors, i found the dish too salty and the sweetbreads were a little on the chewy side. On the other hand, my friend's dish completely blew my mind!!! The downright stunning Gaspé lobster was the best piece of meat from the sea that I have ever eaten! The combination of spices and herbs they've used, OMG! It brought out the sweetness of the lobster while underlining the freshness of the sea. I am not sure but I think I also detected hints of saffron in the sauce too. I am astounded by the awesomeness of this plate! WOW! And the finale: L'Inspiration - seven ways to present the world's best péché - CHOCOLATE!!! Again, I will try my best to describe what I can remember: so we had a chocolate creme brulée, a chocolate sherbet, a chocolate macaroon, a chocolate mousse, a truffle made with fizzy sugar, etc. This assortment of sweets clearly demonstrates the talents of pastry chef Eric Lessard. The techniques required to accomplish some of these desserts are of high expertise! Dangerous addiction to any chocolate lover out there :)

All in all, the meal highly met our expectations. I must say that we were very fortunate to be accompanied by someone who knew all the staff of the restaurant and knew well the best recommendations. Given the price of the menu, it may not be affordable to all to have a six courses meal but one should at least try their declination platter. It is well worth the money when such a great variety can be tasted in a single dish :)

My trip to Quebec was fulfilled of good eats and great company! Couldn't have asked for more! Stay tuned for further yummy reads!

Le Clocher Penché

http://www.clocherpenche.ca/

203, rue Saint-Joseph Est
Québec (Qc) G1K 3B1
Réservations
418.640.0597
info@clocherpenche.ca

Restaurant Le St-Amour

http://www.saint-amour.com/index.html

Restaurant Le Saint-Amour 48, rue Sainte-Ursule, Vieux-Québec Québec (Québec) G1R 4E2 Tél.: 418 694-0667 Fax.: 418 694-0967 delice@saint-amour.com