Reviews
Here are some reviews of my culinary experiences on my recent trip to Montreal:
DaEmma (Old Montreal): This Italian restaurant serves upscale Italian cuisine in a stone building that provides an ambience something along the lines of upscale medieval castle/dungeon. The food is good (I would not say exceptional) and pricy. The menu is on a small blackboard written in chalk in Italian, and fortunately it was translated by the waiter (who in our case was a bit slow, considering they weren't very busy that night). I sampled the marinated artichoke hearts, the lasagna with meat sauce, and the creme caramel for dessert. All were good, but none were great.
Chao Praya (50 Laurier): One of my favorites in Montreal, this Thai eatery still serves outstanding cuisine. I went with several friends and sampled the Tom Kai Gha soup (chicken coconut soup), Beef and Chicken Satay (broiled, skewered meat served with peanut and cucumber dipping sauces), Chicken dumplings with peanut sauce, Beef with Chili Sauce and Basil (superb), Chicken with Cashew Nuts, and Pad Thai (Thai rice noodles mixed with egg, chopped peanuts, vegetables and chicken). Accompaniments included lychee martinis (mixture of lychee liquer, vodka and juice) and for dessert, Thai tapioca pudding with coconut milk. Possibly the best Asian food you will get in Montreal for the price, but much of it is pretty spicy so be forewarned. One humorous note: during the dinner a kid kept making faces at me and I made faces back at him, much to the amusment of my dinner companions who did not know that I could behave like a chimpanzee in an upscale restaurant.
Jardin de Nelson (Place de Jacques Cartier, Old Montreal): I went here for lunch with the hobbyist known as Stripper Lover. They have an interesting selection of lunch salads, and I think I ended up picking the wrong one (the Asiatique, which was an Asian salad with too many mandarin oranges and a soy ginger sauce which was a bit too sweet, even for my sugary taste buds). SL got the Albacore salad which actually looked better than mine did, except that SL mixed his tuna in with everything, which I would not have done. I saw some other tables ordering other salads which looked even better than the ones we ordered. I think I messed up on my selection, but you know sometimes that happens.
Eggspectation (can't recall which location this one was at): Had breakfast here and ordered the "All American" which is 2 eggs, 2 slices of toast, 2 sausages, 2 slices of ham, 2 strips bacon, baked beans and home fries. Very good, appropriate late morning breakfast fare.
Reubens (St. Catherine St.): Had a combo which was just like the "All American" at Eggspectation, except they threw in 2 pancakes and subtracted the baked beans. Good.
Some sad news to report: The Kojax at Complex Desjardins, a legendary souvlaki stand which I had eaten at zillions of times, is apparently gone. I was shocked and disappointed that I could not get "Kojaxed" this trip, and had to settle for a shawarama at Basha. Does anyone know what happened to this Kojax? They were always busy at lunch whenever I went there.