serpah's Profile
Shanghai; Why no Chowhound Meets?
Ah! I missed out on the meet! :*)
Can we set something more regular so that I can schedule this in? I know at least 2 more foodies who would love to attend.
And how was Chopsticks? I haven't heard of it. I've found food at Citizen Cafe to be hit & miss - sometimes awesome and sometimes not great. Sichuan's been consistently good in my experience.
Shanghai; Why no Chowhound Meets?
I've been in SH for almost 3 years now; very interested in a Chow meet. Did the one in mid-July go well? Any others being organized for Aug?
Visiting NY 5/29 - 6/1: Help with food itinerary
Hi everyone,
I went on a trip to NYC earlier last month with my husband and another couple. I used the recommendations in this thread to help me find some great places. We ate at Eleven Madison Park and Jean Georges for lunch. We also managed to hit Ippudo NYC to get our noodle fix.
EMP had a gorgeous environment and fantastic service, and we loved the fact that they had a cocktail menu. The food was excellent as well. We all ordered two cocktails each and sampled. I can't remember every dish (I should have written this up earlier), but there are memorable ones. The day's lunch menu started with veal sweetbread ravioli and a saffron sauce. My husband had the crab cake, which was fantastic. For dinner, I had the suckling pig, and I can't remember what everyone else had. Everything was fantastic.
At Jean-Georges, the atmosphere was not as unique as at EMP, but the food was slightly better. Their sparkling sodas were fantastic (yuzu & cherry), and they had amazing home-made marshmallows, truffles and mini cookies for dessert. The dishes were all French with some kind of Japanese twist to it, which I loved. And the service started out a little snooty, but later warmed. I remember a soup that was poured over raw scallops and tuna sashimi. The themed desserts were also amazing, with the chocolate volcanoes and freeze-dried cherries.
Ippudo NYC was a loud, rambunctious place with great service, fantastic ramen and a fun atmosphere. Not quiet at all though!
Debate: tea at your workstation?
Definitely Tea. I keep about five varieties of loose tea at my desk in varying degrees of caffeine. I use a tea stick - http://www.gamilacompany.com/tea/teahome.html - to infuse my cups. Not so fond of tea bags.
Mango sticky rice and thai iced tea
Talay Thai serves this. They're across from the Jewish General at the corner of Cote-des-Neiges and Cote-Ste-Catherine. They're the only place I knew of that sold Thai iced tea. Now I'll have to check out Bangkok and ChuChai for it!
Good Asian markets in montreal
I think it lasts almost indefinitely. I assume that it lasts as long as canned would last (at least a year or two). I haven't checked the best before dates on them.
I have had coconut milk that's separated and hardened in the carton (after being opened and stored in the fridge for a month), and I've been able to use it by heating it in the microwave to get the solids and liquids back together. When it hardens like that, the harder, fatty part on top protects the liquid underneath.
For a more definitive answer, I recommend google!
Good Asian markets in montreal
In the East end, on Ontario E near Frontenac, there is an excellent place called Hep Phat. Their fish is cheap, but I don't think it's the freshest fish around. We recently bought some Red Snapper there for $7.99/lb. Their produce selection is good and fresh, but it's not in the same league (in terms of variety) as Marché Hawaii. If I lived near Marché Hawaii, I would go there everyday, but Hep Phat is closer. :)
Good Asian markets in montreal
In my opinion, Marché Oriental has the best Chinese BBQ pork in their front window. I used to stop by there every week to pick some up. It's been a while.... :)
Good Asian markets in montreal
Quick note on Marché Hawaii: Stay away from the vast selection of soy milk. They keep theirs in an open fridge. Because it's not consistently kept cold, the milk sometimes curdles and goes bad in the store.
Their big cartons of coconut milk are soo handy for making curries! And the Melona frozen milk bars are excellent - just like a honeydew melon.
Breakfast -- Always, Sometimes, or Never?
Always. Usually some kind of whole-grain cereal with 2% milk. I've started to notice how much of the stuff I eat, and I'm cutting back on how much I eat, and then coupling that with some fresh fruit. I love steel-cut oats, but I haven't taken the time to cook them and store them in the fridge. I also love Red River cereal (it's like wheat berries and flax seeds), especially since it's only 7min in the microwave in the mornings. I'm not much of a toast girl, but I'll have to try that (Almond butter & honey). For a while, I had smoothies, but I never feel that full after one.
Lamb stock/soup
I wouldn't make another lamb stew out of the soupy part since the lamb flavour could be too overpowering. You could use the soupy part of the stew as a base for soups and other sauces. A nice hearty soup would be mushroom barley soup with lamb chunks....mmmm....
creme fraiche culture from New England Cheesemaking Supply -- anyone tried?
I usually put 1/3 plain yogurt to 1 cup heavy cream, stir it together and leave it on top of the fridge overnight with a cloth over it. Really nice stuff....
Gourmet's 2006 Christmas Cookies
Well, the prep work on the crisps is not too bad. You don't need a silpat liner at all. Parchment paper works fine, you can just reuse the same stuff you used for the crinkle cookies. And the whole "draping over a spoon" thing was completely unnecessary unless you really want the stuff to look exactly like in the pictures.
Ganges for Indian Food - Big Disappointment
I like Bombay Mahal on Jean-Talon at the corner of Birnam (about a block or so before l'Acadie). They do idli (a chickpea flour cake) with sambhar (a lentil sauce), which is not often found at Indian places in Montreal. You can ask for things to be hot, and they will actually chop fresh green jalapenos into your food. The biryani is excellent, and so is their aloo gobhi.
If you're around NDG, you could try out Star of India, near Melrose on Sherbrooke. They have excellent Naan.
Gourmet's 2006 Christmas Cookies
This year, I got sucked in by Gourmet's Christmas cookie cover and decided to try baking a bunch. I've done that before with their 2004 issue and the cookies turned out great.
Last night, I invited a friend over and we baked the Chocolate-Hazelnut Crinkle cookies and the Tea & Honey Crisps. We made the batter for the Pistachio-Cranberry Icebox cookies, but didn't have time to bake them.
The chocolate cookies turned out amazingly with a great crunchy taste. We made larger balls than recommended and ended up with a crunchy-cakey kind of consistency. The smaller cookies were more like macaroons, which I prefer. The batter tasted like chocolate filling; it was the only kind of cookie batter that I've actually liked raw. The cookies turned out great, but I don't have a large cookie box for them to layer with wax paper, and the powdered sugar is getting a little soggy on the cookie.
The Tea & Honey crisps were interesting. The recipe calls for confectioner's sugar (icing sugar, which I had no idea was also called confectioner's sugar), and the batter turns out to be very goopy, so you really need the stencils to be able to spread the batter onto the parchment paper. We were dubious about how they would turn out but they were actually really nice, thin crisps with a hint of tea in them. They have 2 1/4 teaspoons of tea in them, so using earl grey gives them a nice lemony taste.
Has anyone else tried baking those cookies?
Ange & Ricky
It's been on my list since yesterday, when I read the review on "...an endless banquet". They agree with you! Hmm...apparently they were the ones who wrote the Mirror review. Go figure.
http://endlessbanquet.blogspot.com/
A Good Chinese Addition: Pret A Manger
Thanks for the suggestion. I don't like General Tao chicken either, and I also consider it to be pretty bad Americanized food. Wok Cafe does some nice dim sum dumplings and such, but the entire menu is not authentic. It's good to find a place that does more authentic stuff. I used to like Wok, but last time I went I was really disappointed with the food. I guess my standards have gone up since I started going to Niu Kee. Now I crave Niu Kee's food all the time!
Roll call - who has tried chitlins or tripe and what's your opinion?
Never tried chitlins (would like to).
I love tripe; it's the only organ meat I really love.
Polish flaczki - tripe stew, the Chinese dim sum version, Vietnamese pho (sach), Mexican menudo, French gras double and some South American dish that was amazing. I don't remember the name of the latter. Now I'm craving some!
Where to buy Cavolo Nero?
I'd like to try making ribollita and I need some Cavolo Nero to make this (AKA Dinosaur Kale). Does anyone know where I could buy this? I haven't seen it at Loblaws. I was thinking about the JTM (Chez Nino? - mentioned in the poblano chile thread), but I don't know if they have. If anyone knows a place to get this stuff, let me know!
Need your best cheap/easy make-ahead recipes for bake sale
Just wanted to let you all know that I baked some snickerdoodles last night and they're great. I used the Emeril recipe, which make something like 50 cookies (not 20). I added a 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla and a sprinkling of allspice into the batter. The first batch, I overbaked and they ended up a little dry. The next batches have a bit of that chewiness in the middle. They are really great. The taste reminds me a bit of peanut butter cookies. Very easy to make. Thanks for the recipes!
Vietnamese Restaurants in Toronto
I know this is completely off-topic, but....
Olivergail, I am a former Torontonian who has been living in Montreal for about 8 years. I go back to Toronto every couple months (I'm going there this coming weekend). Toronto is where I discovered Pho, and there are some great places there.
Check out Bun Saigon on Dundas St between Queen and Spadina. They are incredible. In particular, check out their Bun Bo Hue and their milkshakes. The Montreal Vietnamese places don't have milkshakes, but the Toronto ones do.
Also Pho Bac, on Bloor around Avenue Rd (across from the Royal Conservatory) on the second floor of a resto building next to McDonalds. That place has good Pho Bac!
Feel free to move this to the Toronto thread if need be... :)
Really good Vietnamese food?
That one is good, but not the best. Pho Lien has better soups.
Good place for a reception
My fiancee and I are getting married next summer, and we're trying to find a good place for a reception here in Montreal. We're looking for a place that has great food, and a capacity of 150 people. I'd like to know of any good restaurants which can accommodate or halls that you know of.
Thanks in advance for your time! :)
Cote St. Luc/Queen Mary dining
Really? I don't know what made me assume it was Portuguese, but there you go. Thanks for letting me know. :)
best croissant in Mtl?
I know this thread is a little old, but I figured I'd revive it a bit... :)
There's a French bakery called Banette on Sherbrooke at Melrose (in NDG) that has good croissants. Their palmiers are awesomely buttery too.
Really good Vietnamese food?
It's always the total dives that are the best. ;)
I've been there a couple times, but a very long time ago. I will definitely check them out again soon.
Need your best cheap/easy make-ahead recipes for bake sale
No, you didn't! I was being silly and joking around. Should have put a smiley there. :)
I have heard the name before, but I've never had the cookies. I will definitely whip some up the next time I feel like baking.
Late, informal, vegetarian friendly dinner in Montreal sought
I second the motion! The duck curry is incredible... :)
Old Montreal 10/20 to 10/24: Our Plans
I don't know who told you that Montreal is not much of a breakfast place, but they're wrong! On Sundays, all the breakfast places are packed by 1. :)
I don't know about how good Eggstravaganza is...I see that and I think that you mean Eggspectations, which is a breakfast chain here. It's good, above-standard breakfast fare. Chez Cora is also a breakfast chain that I consider a step below Eggspectiations.
I completely agree with vabou - check out Olive + Gourmando's. Also see if you can get into Le Cartet on Sunday for Brunch (I mentioned it in another post).
If you're in Laurier East (around Byblos), there's also a great breakfast place called Toast. My SO had the eggs benny and liked them, and I had the french toast, which was good. Byblos is not for the person who likes big, hearty breakfasts (like my SO).
In the Plateau on Mont Royal East of St Denis (around Mentana), there is L'Avenue du Plateau, which is one of the best breakfast places in Montreal. Great (Illy) coffee, huge portions, incredible smoothies and milkshakes. Their omellettes are 4-egg!!
Beauty's and Dusty's are both Montreal institutions near the Mont-Royal park, but neither are as good as L'Avenue.
In the East end, there is a great traditional Quebec diner called Chez Clo's which has fantastic creton (fatty pork pate), baked beans, traditional meat pie. Very cheap and very filling!
