WEDNESDAY, April 15th
Stuart and Kim pulled into town just in time for lunch. They forgot the camera in the car so there's no record of the amazing shrimp they ate at Restaurant Keung Kee in Chinatown
or the buns from their favorite Chinese bakery. Brook and Anne arrived at the hotel around 5pm and everyone headed off to
Indian for dinner at Taj, just around the corner from their hotel, Loews Vogue.
The Indian was spectacular with its French cuisine influence and they all gobbled it up so fast,
that they only have a picture outside afterwards. Portions were not large, but it was filling and superbly cooked.
Anne said it was the best Naan that she's ever had!
After dinner they walked up to the Latin Quarter and Stuart got a meat sandwich at Main for dessert. Only Stuart!
Of course ALL four of them had a taste.
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THURSDAY, April 16th
Brook and Anne headed out for a coffee shop treat for breakfast and Stuart and Kim slept in.
They all met up at lunch time in the hotel lobby and walked to Chinatown.
Lunch was at La Maison Kam Fung for the
fixed price menu at $68CAD which included:
Peking duck, shrimp chips , duck soup, stir fried duck, baby bok choy, ginger & garlic lobster, white rice and fish.
If you notice an extra item on the table, it's because they couldn't resist trying the Chow Fun with beef.
There aren't pictures, but Kim couldn't walk through Chinatown without a stop for another Chinese bakery treat afterwards!
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After lunch they spent some time walking boulevard Saint-Laurent and later stopped into a coffee shop to rest a spell.
Since it was Stuart's birthday, they had reservations at au Pied de Cochon to get their pork on!
Brook and Anne were all fired up about the Foie Gras and each started their meals with a Foie Gras appetizer.
Kim had the salad with goat cheese while Stuart watched and sampled some of everyone's.
Stuart ordered the house specialty for his entrée which was a giant pig's foot (hence the name of the place)
stuffed with foie gras and other goodies. With Kim's help he almost finished it! As you can see from the pictures,
Anne had the SMALL pork chop and Brook had another one of their house specialties called "Duck in a Can".
Aside from the fries which were slightly overdone, the meal was nothing short of amazing!
For dessert, Anne & Stuart split a maple syrup pie, Kim had mousse and Brook had Pudding Chômeur.
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FRIDAY, April 17th
Everyone got an earlier start today, meeting at 10am for a cab ride to the Jewish Quarter where they all tried Montréal's famous bagels.
You can see from the photos that the bagel shop they chose was a no-nonsense operation and so rather than lingering
over coffee and bagels in a restaurant setting, they had to do bagels on the run. A little awkward, but tasty nonetheless.
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After bagels they walked about 1-1/2 miles to the Marché Jean-Talon to savor the smells and tastes of a big farmers market.
Kim was in heaven and bought some local cheeses and ate a gauffre with whipped cream of course.
Unfortunately the gauffre didn't come close to the ones in Paris. They forgot to take pictures so here's a stock photo of the market
to give you an idea of what it was like. Amazing produce and meats from the butcher! On the way out of the market, Anne and Stuart
had to stop and have some sort of meat sandwich while Brook and Kim were at the cheese shop.
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After a quick 2 mile cab ride back into the main part of the city, they hit Schwartz, the famous Hebrew Delicatessen.
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After lunch they spent some time walking rue Saint-Denis and later stopped into the same coffee shop as the day before.
On the walk home, Kim found a crépe place and had one with sugar and fruit in order to get herself in the Paris spirit for June.
Everyone was still pretty full by the time dinner rolled around, but that didn't stop them. But they did decide to have something
on the lighter side and a nice Pho restaurant called Pho Lien up in the Mont Royal area fit the bill! There was a big, long line when they
arrived which could only mean one thing. GREAT FOOD! They were not disappointed. They each ordered a different kind of Pho
and also some spring rolls (if you're familiar with Cambodian food, these Vietnamese spring rolls were very similar to Nim Chow).
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SATURDAY, April 18th
The foursome met in the lobby at 11am today and headed off to Chinatown for a pre-lunch snack.
Brook and Anne had done a little breakfast on their own so they just watched while Kim & Stuart had Chinese buns from a very tasty bakery.
After Chinatown they walked to Old Montréal to Stash for a Polish lunch.
After lunch the couples had their own agendas and Stuart and Kim went to the Pointe-à-Callière Museum
while Anne & Brook explored some of the city's underground shopping options. They all met for dinner at 6:45pm
and hopped in a cab to Cuisine et Dépendance. While they had all just about hit the food wall, this modern bistro was
just perfect for dinner with its smaller sized portions. Stuart, Anne and Brook were hoping to have game for dinner,
but the closest they came was a Bison tar tare appetizer. In addition to that, they tried a charcuterie plate, a "to die for" mushroom tart,
cornish hen, steak frites, baudoin...and of course...dessert!
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SUNDAY, April 19th
The foursome met in the lobby at 9:45am and headed to Café Myriade a few blocks from the Loews and had croissants, tea, hot chocolate and coffee.
It was a fitting end to an awesome culinary tour of Montréal. Stuart and Kim drove off around 11am, stopping at the Marché Atwater on the way out of town
for another dose of farmers' market and a little lunch. Anne & Brook walked to the Latin Quarter for some traditional Quebec poutine before their 4pm flight home.
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