It’s 2:24 am on a Tuesday, I’m lying in bed staring at this picture, wondering if I had a genie in a bottle, would I waste a wish on this? Yes Please! Great name, decadence all over, cookie dough and oreos wrapped up in a brownie, I think it’s actually worth 2 wishes! foodopia: slutty brownies, a super brownie with layers of cookie dough, oreos, and more chocolate: recipe here
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It’s 2:24 am on a Tuesday, I’m lying in bed staring at this picture, wondering if I had a genie in a bottle, would I waste a wish on this? Yes Please! Great name, decadence all over, cookie dough and oreos wrapped up in a brownie, I think it’s actually worth 2 wishes!

foodopia:

slutty brownies, a super brownie with layers of cookie dough, oreos, and more chocolate: recipe here

Charcuterie-my favorite word @ le Comptoir

Top 5 Reasons why I love this place:

1) charcuterie that is aged in-house with a take-out option

2) la porchetta di testa (can we say melt in your mouth like butter?)

3) local and organic wines that don’t taste like sawdust

4) open kitchen so I can salivate while watching my food being prepped, it also helps to distract from the mob of hipsters in the joint

5) surprisingly affordable for the quality, the taste, and the eccentricities considering it was voted one of the top 10 best new restos in Canada

http://comptoircharcuteriesetvins.ca/

The mother of Hot Dogs with a side of Empanadas

Does this LOOK like a typical hot dog bun covered in layers of mayo, guacamole and a squirt of yellow mustard? Ummm, yea. IS THIS a typical hot dog bun covered in layers of mayo, guacamole and yellow mustard? HELL NAH!

Introducing the COMPLETAZO from la Chilenita, your friendly neighborhood Chilean buibui. First of all this hot dog is mammoth size, hence why it’s called the “complete”. The bread is a thick and crusty sandwich bun that is toasted, the mayo is rich and abundant, and the guacamole, made in-house (always get my vote for the homemade stuff) is creamy and salted just right to add punch to the steamed or grilled wiener. The element of surprise, if it doesn’t excite you already, is the Chilenita salsa, the fresh cilantro, lime, an tomato combo has just the right amount of acidity to break through all that ooey gooeyness! Douse it with hot sawouce and you’re all set. Next time you need a midday pick me up, stop at any of their 3 locations in the Plateau/Mile-End. For those of you who can’t handle it, they have a Completito (heavy on the wuss factor since it’s half the size, but same great taste!)

Oh, I failed to mention, but this place has the BEST EMPANADAS EVER! They are fresh,12 amazing flavors, and you can get them in half a dozen or a dozen for that next office party! My fave is the Chilena. Ground beef, hard-boiled egg, olives sauteed onions. Just wash it all down with a Pineapple Jarrito, and we’re in business folks.
 
 

KanBai- Szechuanese resto with Japanese name

When I lived in the downtown core, which is now Koreatown/Chinatown II, my idea of chinese food were the Wok Cafe and Le roi des nouilles (now replaced by an All you can eat Korean bbq place). While these places still hold a special place in my heart since I discovered salt and pepper shrimp and kung pao chicken there, I am always in search of more.

Enter Kanbai. Surrounded by flashy lights and neon signs everywhere, this is a clean and more sober-looking Szechuanese restaurant, except for the big red sign at the entrance. At first you think Japanese influences with the decor, and you’re not off. Kanbai took over a ramen joint that inhabited the locale previously, this also explains the name. 

What makes it FO REALZ lies in the menu. Chicken feet and pig intestines as staples of a menu can be pretty indicative of the authenticity. Also, when I asked the owner’s wife, who was quite charming (even when trying to communicate with us in pseudo-English), why the much talked about Ma Po tofu was not on the menu anymore, she said that the regulars never ordered it, but now that there were more foreigners, they might reintroduce it. I love the idea of my dining companion and I being foreigners in a land we had lived in practically all our lives!

Since my foreigner friend and I didn’t feel as adventurous as usual, we decided to order the more popular items of the menu. The beef tripe would have to wait until my next visit. 

This is the fish in chili oil soup. Don’t be put off by all that chili, on a spice-o-meter scale, it was a 5 for us, so maybe a 7 for those who aren’t used to it. Tender turbot? Tilapia? Well whatever, it was yummy, and it could feed 3 people easily. The broth was perfect to add piquant to the steamed rice we ordered for it. And at only 12$, we coudn’t complain.

We also ordered a plate of sizzing eggplant which was wonderfully textured and seasoned. And it tastes even better in leftover chinese the next day!

Eve though we were only 2, and we should have stopped there, our eyes got hungry for the pork belly in pickled cabbage. Now this is not a dish for all. My companion was not a fan, and it could be because of the extremety of flavors. The fatty caramelized pork belly and sour mustard leaves are not items everyone identifies with. I found it irresistible. 

I do hope the fate of KanBai does not follow most of the other chinese buibuis of Montreal. This one has some real backbone! That’s probably on their menu too!