You're quite a sleuth, Beav. Niu Kee is, indeed, not a place one would just stumble across. No, they're not in Chinatown proper, assuming that Chinatown ends at Rene-Levesque. They're about 10 paces away. I'd be surprised, as well, to learn that they're open late. I do know that the hours are posted on the door, but I don't recall them.
Late night restaurants in Montreal
- Thread starter james t kirk
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Thanks Guys.
I ended up just crashing due to exhaustion. (Long day when you have to get up at 4 in the morning, work, travel, and got into the hotel at midnight, only to fly out again the next day.
I made note of your recommendations for next time though. To me, late night "good eats" are usually Chinese for some reason.
Good to know where there are some good Chinese Restaurants in Montreal.
Though one question - where is Chinatown in Montreal?
I ended up just crashing due to exhaustion. (Long day when you have to get up at 4 in the morning, work, travel, and got into the hotel at midnight, only to fly out again the next day.
I made note of your recommendations for next time though. To me, late night "good eats" are usually Chinese for some reason.
Good to know where there are some good Chinese Restaurants in Montreal.
Though one question - where is Chinatown in Montreal?
It is north of Viger and South of Rene Levesque, with St. Urbain, Clark and St. Laurent and de la Gauchitiere in that zone being where most of the development is. Beijing is on the corner of St. Urbain and de la Gauchietier, a long block south and slightly east of the Hyatt.
Rumpleforeskin made a potentially confusing post about Niu Kee which is actually just north of Rene Levesque on Clark, and thus just outside Chinatown I proper.
Check out this map:
http://www.vehiculepress.com/montreal/chinatown.html
De la gauchietere between St. Urbain and St. Laurent is the heart of Chinatown.
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Bingo. Actually, I was in Chinatown yesterday. No, Niu Kee is not in Chinatown proper, buy you can see it very clearly from Chinatown. I think, with Beav's approval, we'll award them a merb exemption.
As for Beijing, it caters mostly to tourists. The food there is more of the standard Americanized Chinese that you'd find in the suburbs rather than in Chinatown. The presence of Chow Mein and Chop Suey on the menu is the giveaway.
Although this is true, there are also numerous authentic type dishes which are always listed on a specials menu that hangs on the left hand wall as you enter this restaurant. For this reason, Beijing defies categorization as a pure tourist trap on the order of someplace like Reubens on rue St. Catherine. It is sort of a hybrid restaurant serving both tourists and locals at reasonable prices. A hobbyist from Beijing told me the food at Beijing is as good as what he gets at home.
Also, the shrimp with lobster sauce and a number of other dishes are not made as they are in standard westernized Chinese restaurants. Typically the shrimp with lobster sauce is a white sauce in most westernized or Americanized Chinese restaurants, which use an egg drop soup base and flavor it with lobster. Beijing serves it more authentically with black beans or a black bean sauce as a key ingredient. Thus it is a darker, saltier sauce. Also tastes much better. Perhaps you should try it.
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EB
True for the vast majority of Chinese restaurants in the USA. Canadian Chinese restaurants especially in Quebec and Ontario inevitably offer the authentic version.
Thanks, Beav. What you say has already been communicated to me. My friend tells that they also have a menu printed only in Chinese, which goes a long way toward verifying that they're more than a General Tao house.
All the Shrimp with Lobster saucee I have ever tried in Toronto is a black sauce. It's all been quite yummy.
Note though, it is my understanding that there is not a single spec of Lobster in the sauce. Often it's Pork, or other.
To me, what is required for excellent Shrimp with Lobster Sauce is good shrimp. Most places use the cheapest of cheap shrimp. Very hard to find a really good shrimp (or Black Tiger Prawn actually) because it is too expensive. Sad because I would happily pay for the upgrade.
I passed by Yoy. It's about four doors down from Fameux on the west side of the street. From the looks of the window, it appears to be an amalgam of Vietnamese and Sushi, rather a strange mix. I think I'll take your advice and stay away.
You are correct, most Shrimp with Lobster Sauce preparations have no actual lobster in them.
Regarding Beijing, they are using high quality jumbo shrimps and one of the reasons their shrimp with lobster sauce is so good is the shrimp, as well as the sauce. Like I said earlier in the thread, the only thing I don't like about the dish is that it is served in a metal tin lined with lettuce leaves, which have a tendency to soak up the sauce and do not go with the meal. They are used for decorative purposes but functionally they soak up too much of a good sauce. Obviously anyone ordering this dish should ask them to hold the lettuce leaves unless you have a hard on for a highly decorative presentation of your food. But remember, this is not Food Channel cooking show, it is your dinner..................:hungry:
The fact that Beijing is open until 3 a.m. with the quality of food they are serving is a major bonus.............
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http://www.lecristalchinois.com/en/menus2.php
This place must be new. I am not familiar with it and can't even picture exactly where it is at the moment.
This place must be new. I am not familiar with it and can't even picture exactly where it is at the moment.
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son of a bitch!
i forgot bout Dunn's!!!
..and didn;t know Kojax on St-Cat was open late!
thx Don!!! :thumb:
i just figured everyone hit up the Belle Province on St-Laurent + St-Cat after-hours.
that's one thing i love bout Toronto, the 24hr street meat vendors. WTF is wrong with MTL and no street food!?
i forgot bout Dunn's!!!
..and didn;t know Kojax on St-Cat was open late!
thx Don!!! :thumb:
i just figured everyone hit up the Belle Province on St-Laurent + St-Cat after-hours.
that's one thing i love bout Toronto, the 24hr street meat vendors. WTF is wrong with MTL and no street food!?
Don't know where you are walking from but it is always worth the walk from the Hyatt
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