Where to go in Chinatown (Part 2)

Finally, the sequel to my previous Chinatown article! Here are a few more places that are definitely worth a visit when you are in the area... 

Peking Duck:
Peking duck is a very special dish in Chinese cooking. It consists of a roasted duck that is especially praised for the golden crispiness of the skin and the juiciness of the meat. In fact, in order to achieve this especially crispy skin, it must be loosened from the duck before cooking, in some cases with an air pump. The preparation of Peking duck is a laborious process, and therefore must be ordered in advance in most restaurants. It also normally entails a high price tag because of this.


Generally, having Peking Duck involves eating several dishes made with the different parts of the bird. The most sought after is the dish with the skin and outer duck meat served with steamed pancakes. These Chinese-style tortillas are assembled by placing the duck meat on a pancake with hoisin sauce, green scallions and some pickled vegetables or cucumbers. Once all wrapped up, all these flavors blended together create this perfectly balanced sweet, sour, and salty crisp bite. It is absolutely delicious! The rest of the duck meat is carved off of the duck and usually served in a stir-fry. Finally the carcass is used to make a flavorful soup.

Peking duck with pancakes

Mon-Nan is a great restaurant in Chinatown to try this dish because they actually make it everyday, no pre-ordering required! You can order either a half-duck or a full duck for approximately 30 $. The cost includes three courses. The first is a simple but very tasty soup, the second is the Peking duck with the pancakes, and the final dish is a nice duck stir-fry with vegetables. All in all, it is a delicious meal!


Average cost for two people: 45 $


Mon-Nan Village (make sure to go to the upstairs Mon-Nan, not the one on the ground floor)
1098, Clark street
Montreal, H2Z 1K2


Noodles and dumplings:
I'm a huge fan of fried noodles, and Noodle Factory in Chinatown is my favorite spot. It is a small, extremely affordable restaurant where noodles and dumplings are made fresh everyday. The chef actually rolls out the dough on a widowed counter allowing the customers to watch and admire his skill and speed. The shrimp fried noodles are so good with large juicy shrimp cooked to perfection. The noodles themselves are so tender and fresh, you can really tell that they were just made.

Noodle Factory

Their menu is small but everything I've tried is good. The spring rolls, the shallot pancakes, and of course, the noodle soups. Their dumplings are also excellent. This place is a must!!

Average cost for two people: 20 $


Noodle Factory
1018 St-Urbain


Pastries:
Harmonie Bakery is a wonderful little bakery located diagonally from the Noodle Factory, at the corner of St-Urbain and de la Gauchetière, and this is another fun place in Chinatown. As you walk by, the wonderful aromas emanating from the bakery fill the air and lure you in. Their top seller seems to be the egg custard tarts, but they make a variety of sweet and savory items. Their raisin twists, coconut custard buns, and chocolate shortbread cookies are just a few of my favorites. Again the prices here can't be beaten, most of them being between 1 and 3 $.

                                           

Egg custard tarts (or Dan ta)

Pâtisserie Harmonie
85 Rue de la Gauchetiere Ouest

Montreal, QC H2Z 1C2

Bubble Tea:
Finally, for anyone curious about the Taiwanese drink called bubble tea (warning: it is addictive!) L2 is the place to go. L2 was the first location to serve bubble tea in Chinatown many years ago, and if you don't go for the drink, go to gawk at the youth of today. If I was younger I would have loved to hang out at this place! There are loads of tables, board games, a jukebox and a section of computers available to play online games at an affordable price. The place is always packed with young teenagers.


Bubble tea is basically iced tea made with or without milk, according to your order, in which small chewy tapioca balls are added. These sink to the bottom of your glass and with the extra large straw that you are given, you can have fun slurping them up and chewing on them. The tea can be made in a variety of flavors with all types of fruits, and with either black or green tea. I personally love the passion fruit black tea, but my husband swears by the coffee taste of the taro milk tea. Either way, they make drinks to suit any palate, and they also makes delicious smoothies. Also, in case you are not feeling too adventurous, you can always have the tea without the bubbles as well!

 Bubble tea

Average cost for two people: 10 $

L2
71A Rue de la Gauchetiere Ouest
Montreal, QC H2Z 1C2

Where to go in Chinatown? (Part 1)

People often ask me for suggestions as to where to go in Chinatown because of my heritage. I never know where to begin because depending on what you feel like doing or eating there are many places to visit. In this first entry, I've compiled a list of some of my favorite spots in Chinatown...with more to come in subsequent postings! 

Dim Sum: 
Dim Sum is a Cantonese style brunch in which dishes are presented to you in little carts pushed by the waiters. It's basically the equivalent of a buffet because you can see the food before you choose it, but in this case, the buffet is brought to you! Each table has a card and as you order your dishes, the waiter marks the cost of your choice on your tab. At the end, the tab is added up to calculate your bill. The dishes consist mainly of different bite-sized foods, such as dumplings and rolls, and each portion serves approximately four people. 

Kam Fung on St-Urbain street is definitely the place to go for Dim Sum, and it serves it everyday of the week until 3 pm. On any day, expect a lot of people if you arrive around noon; the best time to arrive is around 11:30 am, or perhaps around 1:30 pm. Seafood is prominent during dim sum, especially shrimps, so be prepared to find them in many dishes.

I highly recommend many dishes at Kam Fung including the broad rice noodles with shrimp, the spring rolls, the soya sauce sesame noodles, the fried shrimp dumplings, the seafood rolls...The list just keeps going! Here are two examples of great dishes:

Steamed shrimp dumplings (called Ha gao):

Ha gao are steamed shrimp dumplings with a see-through dough. Traditionally, ha gao is considered to be the dish that is representative of the dim sum chef's skills. The shrimp should be plump and juicy and the wrapping tender. Ha gao can be eaten alone, but I usually like them with a little dip in sauce - worchestershire or soya.   

Eggplant stuffed with shrimp, or green pepper stuffed with shrimp in black bean sauce:

This is another one of my favorite dishes. When done successfully, the eggplant should be juicy, yet sweet and the shrimps flavorful.

For dessert, many sweets are available, but my all time favorites are the custard egg tarts (called Dan Ta). They have a flaky crust and a creamy sweet filling. They truly are the perfect end to the meal.
 
Finally, as a side note, I highly recommend drinking tea during the meal (and during all Chinese meals for that matter). Keep in mind that the meals were designed with tea as a beverage, and therefore the drinking of tea really complements the dishes, and will help your digestion.

Approximate cost for two people: $30
http://www.restaurantlamaisonkamfung.com/


Chinese meal:
Another one of my favorite places to go in Chinatown is Hong Kong restaurant on St-Laurent boulevard.  Many of their dishes are incredible here. The dishes I regularly order are:

- Shrimp wonton soup: Delicious cantonese style wonton, with a thin skin and a really flavorful broth.

- Barbecue pork and roast duck appetizer platter: Hong Kong specializes in Chinese barbecue style roasting, and on their left hand side entrance, you can see the meats hanging in the window. The Chinese style barbecue pork (called Char Siu, pronounced Tsa Siu) is really their trademark and I highly recommend it. On the appetizer platter, I also like the roast duck, as well as the pickled vegetables which really accompany the meats perfectly with their sweet-sour flavor.

- Salt and pepper squid, shrimps or pork chops : "Salt and pepper" dishes all consist of some meat or seafood battered and fried in the same spicy seasoning. It's crunchy, it's spicy and it's delicious! Don't forget to eat the spicy red and green peppers and onions in the dish.

- General Tao chicken (or Ginger chicken) : They make an excellent General Tao chicken here. The sauce is perfectly sweet and the chicken pieces are juicy and crunchy.

- House special fried rice: Their fried rice is the best in town. The rice itself is so tasty, and all the ingredients - shrimps, pork, peas and carrots - are cooked to perfection.  A must order!

Approximate cost for two people (with leftovers): $40

Restaurant Hong Kong
1023 St Laurent
Montreal, QC H2Z 1J4