AnimaBlue "Have fork, will travel!"

When you get a group of dedicated foodies together at a resto and everyone becomes very quiet, you know one of two things has happened:

1. Something is very very wrong with their dining experience.

OR

2. Something is very very right with their dining experience.

Dining at Nonya was OH so very very right.

Something really rare happened when I was sampling our diverse menu.

I found myself eating as slooooooowwwwwly as I could because it was so good that I wanted to sample each and every morsel as much as possible. Also, I wanted each and every taste sensation to last as long as possible.

And I found myself slowly savouring each and EVERY dish in this way.

This special Indonesian treat was my very first Indonesian dining experience. What a way to taste a new cuisine – a highly addictive first introduction.

Each dish appealed to so many of my senses.

To my eyes, with a delicate picture-perfect presentation. To my nose, with a light aromatic bouquet of spices wafting up from every dish. To my taste buds, instantly falling in love with each original and savoury tastacious morsel. Ha…just invented a new word – had to, to describe the heavenly level of tastiness.

In addition to our set menu, I also sampled a special drink made with an exotic fruit I had never even heard of: jus de corossol, or in English coursop/custard-apple, that a friend had recommended. This was no watery instant-mix beverage. This was chunks and chunks of tangy sweet fruit in a thick thirst-quenching melange. What a perfect accompaniment to a beautiful range of spicy foods.

From our starter of yellow curry soup with rice vermicelli and chicken, to the mix of meats, fish, seafood, veggies, all the way to our coconutty dessert and delightfully sublime hot Javanese tea enhanced with jasmine flowers, I wanted none of these taste sensations to end.

I was actually quite sad to have to put down my utensils, after our sumptuous feast was gone.

And all this fine five-star dining was set in an elegant, quiet little niche of Indonesian coziness. Service was attentive and exquisite.

Add wonderful conversation with an entertaining and knowledgeable group of foodies and you have the perfect recipe for a perfect dining experience.

Just lovely. Sigh.

Bato Thai is a simply beautiful locale, located in the heart of the Gay Village, within easy walking distance of Beaudry Metro.

The photographer eye in me was in 7th heaven with the beautifully-rich decor in warm reds and golds all over the restaurant. Please see the photos I took in the photo section.

I joined a good-sized group for some fun & tasty Thai food.

My meal was very hot and full of an array of flavours.

The only thing was I realized half-way through it my meal had gotten mixed up with someone else´s!

How could I forget what I had ordered?

Well my mouth was so busy savoring every tender morsel of my meal which was chicken. But I had ordered the squid. I was so lost in enjoying my food that I just forgot what I ordered!

The server was nice & offered to fix it for me, but I said no. And finished off my tasty mistake. :)

What is a better way to end the day after strolling through the scenic little town of Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, than sitting on a terrace by the water and nibbling on some fine tasty fixings?

The savoury food and drinks were just the perfect end to the perfect summer day.

Our long leisurely walk long the boardwalk worked up our appetites and we headed gratefully into the shady part of the terrace at Annies Resto Bar.

Being by the water put me into the mood for a taste of the Carribean, so I decided to order the Jamaican Jerk Chicken sandwich. A friend & I decided to share a pitcher of white wine sangria & that was a refreshing counterpart to the tangy spicy hotness of the Jamaican Jerk Chicken.

My sandwich came with tomato, lettuce, onion and a nice big crunchy pickle. All their sandwiches and burgers are served with choice of fries or salad. I chose the fries, which were nice & spicy & topped off with a dash of sea salt.

My biggest challenge was trying to figure out how to eat the sandwich because it was HUGE. A nice big, soft kaiser bun.

The Jamaican Jerk Chicken was a very tender charbroiled chunky selection of meat, slathered in the yummy goodness of Jamaican jerk spices.

Hot hot hot! Good good good!

If you like to spice up your food, this spicy selection made my mouth get up and do a happy boogie.

The big pitcher of white sangria went down smoothly and quickly to quench the fire started off by my chicken and fries.

It was a good-sized pitcher too. We each had about 3-4 glasses out of it, with lots of fruit. It had a kind of peachy zest to it. The waitress thoughtfully asked us right away if we wanted to have the sangria split on our bills. My share of the sangria came to 11.30, a great deal.

2 of my friends had the Veggie Delight salad with the Asian sauce that had big chunks of tofu in it. They both sang praises of the Asian sauce, one of a few salad dressings offered with their salad.

I had a bit of a hard time choosing from the menu, because lots of meals sounded tasty. They have a much greater selection than is what is posted on their website.

I have to admit when I called in & found out they didn´t take reservations, I was worried about whether the group of people I brought there would find room on their terrace.

And when we pulled up to the terrace at the end of out day, the terrace was packed & hopping.

But the servers led our group of 11 to our tables right away & our drink orders were quickly taken. Our waitress was super-friendly and served our happy little gang very quickly. It was definitely service with a smile. Just great.

From the terrace we had a lovely view of Lac St-Louis, and we enjoyed watching the sailboats and jet-skis go by, as we had a long leisurely chat over some tasty food & drinks.

Ah this was the good life.

Their website:
http://www.annies.ca/

Chez Alberto is a quaint little Portuguese bistro where the food and drinks are cheap, and the music flows with good times!

You can choose from their more than 10, 000 song titles in English, French and Spanish!

Food
Here is a small sample from their menu,
prices range from $9-$12:

Mix Spécial d’Alberto
Chicken Brochettes
Shrimp Brochettes
Mixed Brochettes
Marinated Filet of Pork
Grilled Calamari
Lamb Chops
Portugese Sausage
Italian Sausage

*These dishes come with house fries and/or rice, green salad with a house dressing, and an entrée of olives and bread.

Drinks
Some Drink Specials (more drinks available):
Draft beer 2,25
Pitcher of beer 8,50, 10,50
(Molson Export, Carlsberg, Saint-Ambroise Rousse, Sleeman Rousse, Sleeman Silver Creek)

Pitcher of Heineken 15,50
Pitcher of Sangria 10,50
(special house recipe)
Smirnoff Ice 5,00
Cocktails 4,00
Shooters 3,00 & 4,00
Non-alcoholic beverages also available.

The Mix Spécial d’Alberto is my favorite, which includes chicken, sausage, and pork, as well as French fries, rice, and a little salad. All made with the Chef (and owner) Alberto´s secret sauce. Very yummy, fresh and very filling. Lots of food for a small price, that includes the taxes.

I took a group of people there & everyone raved about the food & the prices. Someone in our group actually came up to me to say he thought the bill was wrong because it was so cheap! But I told him that was the price. :)

Directions
Bistro Chez Alberto is a short walk from St. Michel metro station, which is on the Blue line.

Mesa 14 is my favorite Mexican resto in Montreal.

I was an aficionado of the place before they changed owners, when it was Mexicali Rosa´s, and I am still a fan today.

The revamped Mesa 14 became more of a lounge-y kind of place to it, with groovy music and subdued lighting in the downstairs bar area. Upstairs, there is still a folksy kitschy feeling to it, with it´s cozy fireplace, and Mexican knickknacks and bandieras all around.

And then the food!

My absolute fave is their 90210 Taco Salad – billed as the salad that is so big it needs its own area code. It IS.

Packed chockful of a yummy arrangement of veggies (pepper, tomatoes, lettuce, onions and more), with thick – and I mean thick – chunks of fresh chicken. And this really tasty creamy sauce kind of like a chipotle – but not. Not sure what is in there, but it´s good. The sauce comes on the side and I usually ask for a second helping of it – and they don´t mind bringing it.

The whole salad is served in a HUGE taco bowl, a BIG edible taco that you can eat your way through. Light & crispy.

What I like about Mesa 14 is that they give you these free nachos to much on while you order & wait for your drinks and food.

Their fajitas are also great. I love the chicken fajitas & they come with a side helping of guacamole, sour cream and salsa with lots of veggies, a container filled with bread, and the dish is brought on a very hot platter – watch your fingers – nicely piping hot. It´s still steaming.

They have quite a drink list. The Mojitos are awesome and wonderfully minty.

They have a great Happy Hour as well:
Maragarita, Daquiris $4.50
Draft beer, a few other beers $4.00
House red, white wines $4.00
Bud, Bud Light 2 for $6
Bramha beer (Brazilian…like a Corona) 2 for $7

They also have a long list of REALLY WICKED martinis for about $8.00, but they’re really BIG ones (3 ounces).

They also have some tasty desserts.
Their Deep Fried Ice Cream is just decadent. That´s the only word for it. Forget about calories for the night if you try it.

I also like their Mexican Apple Pie, which is a tortilla filled with apples and more apples, with a dash of cinnamon, and served with French vanilla ice cream.

I love going to Mesa 14.
Gee, I have a craving for Mexican food now.

Bayou Brazil is my favorite Brazilian resto in town.

If you’re very daring…try the Alligator!
Quite an original taste (no it does not taste like chicken). Kind of a gamey texture to it & is served in a very savoury sauce.

I am also a big fan of their Jambalaya:
a tasty mix of seafood, rice, chicken, sausage, and yummy veggies.

Lots of food…the courses seem to keep coming.

Great service in the resto, as well. The waiters are always coming around to fill your water glasses and see if you need anything else. A nice family-run resto, with lots of green plants hanging overhead and soft bossanova music playing through-out.

It was a lovely dining experience at Papas Tapas.

Thanks to Menuism for sponsoring our dinner…and for CheapEthnicEatz for planning a special event and hosting!

Papas Tapas has an AWESOME Ladies Happy Hour where I sampled 2 scrumptious martinis:

Martini des Isles, made with a banana liqueur, with a tropical feel to it.
Including 2 totally cute gummy crocodiles!

Charging Elephant Martini, made with Amarula. I’ve always wanted to try Amarula and it was SO tasty. Kind of like a creamy baileys taste in the martini format.

We chose a nice variety of tapas for our group, with some papas fritas (fried light potato slices) that were a nice side dish with it.

My fave was the quail with prosciutto. The prosciutto was nicely wrapped around the quail (and not salty, fresh) and it was served with fig chutney, a kind of chutney I had never tried before. Very tasty.

I was a bit disappointed by the Portuguese pastries we ordered. They had a savoury almondy taste to them, but honestly they were a bit on the tough side.

A great cafe au lait that really hit the spot at the end.

Oh and yes…more pricey than I expected.
But that always seems to happen with tapas.

Not the best tapas place I’ve tried in town.

But an enjoyable meal, washed down with excellent drinks and company.

Who knew Ottawa even had a Little Italy?

Honestly, if you blinked, you might have missed it.

I visited Giovanni’s resto (and Ottawa’s Little Italy district), thanks to a friend of mine, who is an Ottawa native – and who knew the places to go to, in town.

Our little group had a tasty al fresco experience on Giovanni’s terrace. Very fresh food on a lovely summer day. A great meal in Ottawa.

I sampled the Pappardelle con Porcini, big wide bow-shaped pasta with plentiful porcini mushrooms in a creamy, creamy sauce.

Two things you should know:

One, having grown up on home-made, fresh pasta in an Italian household, RARELY do I actually go to Italian restaurants because they so seldomly garner rave reviews in my book.

Two, I am a mushroom connoisseur. No scratch that – mushroom nut. I LOVE mushrooms with almost anything, and every kind of mushroom there is. I think it’s genetic – my dad was always a mushroom nut as well.

So what did I think of this Italian restaurant?

Two thumbs up!

The pasta was very fresh and I had a really great generous portion of it. And that’s saying a lot – because a true Italian portion (like Mamma used to make), does not usually translate in restaurant portions that I see.

And the mushrooms? Lots of mushrooms. I mean lots. I am often disappointed when ordering mushroom dishes simply for the fact that I want MORE mushrooms that they usually deliver.

And a nice fresh Caesar salad, with good chunks of soft Italian bread.
With a little vino.

Giovanni’s hit the spot.

I’ve been to lots of 3 Brasseurs locations in town but this one is one of my faves. Why?

Because for the film aficionado, it’s just a short hop away from at least 3 cinemas – and 3 cinema locations for Montreal’s Annual World Film Festival.

So when I was scheduling film outings for the 3rd year in a row for my Montreal Friends Meetup Group, Les 3 Brasseurs was my apres-film discussion place of choice. And why was that?

For a few reasons: they are always open late, which is not the case for the other cafes and restos in the area. Perfect for our group of five who had just finished watching a late Thursday night feature at the film fest.

Also the kitchen was still open at 11 PM and some of us were famished.

So we all ordered a mix of basic good bistro fare as we chatted away about the film festival selections this year.

One thing that’s neat about Les 3 Brasseurs is that they are a microbrewery who make their own beers. They have a good selection of “house” beers.

Another great specialty is their famous “flammequeche”, or Flamm for short. A Flamm looks a lot like a big pizza – but it has an extra thin crispy crust. They have a fresh variety of Flamms. I’m partial to The Chèvre Chaud (The Hot Goat Cheese), with onions, goat cheese, tomatoes, herbs & olive oil. Mmmm love that goat cheese.

You can order the special 2 Flamm deal:

The Duo Formula ($14.50) which comes with the Brasseurs Special (the Flamm of the day) with a dessert Flamm (apple & chocolate sauce or banana & chocolate Sauce). Very very filling!!!

Tonight I decided to pick another one of my faves from their extensive menu: the L.A. Wrap, a chicken wrap, with grilled veggies, avocado, served with fries, a small green salad (very small) and homemade mayonnaise. Yummy! Love the avocado and the mayo is super tasty.

We were lucky and got a table right next to a large open window facing the Quartier Latin cinema, where we had just come from. A great people watching vantage point.

Service was very attentive and our dishes came super-quick – considering the kitchen was closing soon.

We all dug into our grub and drinks with gusto.

A tasty film and tasty food with good company.
A great film fest Meetup event indeed.

I’m of mixed mind about the Food Resto Lounge.

It’s a great location in Montreal’s Gay Village. Stylish, trendy and sleek. Plenty of room for groups.

I went with a group of people and we had a special group menu:

soup or salad

main course:
choice of
a risotto, surf & turf, mussels, a very large sushi plate (looked like 2 sushi plates), a pasta dish

dessert and a beverage (non alcoholic).

Price: 20 – $25

I ordered the surf and turf, my steak was not quite as well done as I asked, but good. Shrimp and scampi were plentiful and good, so was my rice and fries. I took a Caesar salad to start and they did bring up some bread right away.

I have to say they have an AWESOME selection of martinis.
I tried a Cuban Kiss that was potent and good.

Dessert was a small mousse that was decent, and a rather strong regular coffee.

The service. Well….started off well and then kind of disappeared.

It took awhile for me to flag down the waiter to order the coffee and dessert. Usually I’m in no rush. but I had planned to continue the evening elsewhere.

The waiter brought the wrong dessert and took off before I could let him know. It took about 10 minutes for me to see him appear in our section again.

Kind of uneven service I would say.

Oh, and the seating felt tight. It didn’t seem like much space between seats.

I might go back….maybe.