CheapEthnicEatz "A journey into the many ethnic cuisines my city and the world ..."

Mmmm…delicious

Our group had our second round of Dim Sum brunch at Lotte Furama on Clark St in Chinatown. I have only had Dim Sum in two places and the other left me unimpressed.

We had a lot of fun and had 3 of those huge round tables. I really enjoyed my table because they were pretty adventurous in trying stuff. Also loved the fact that most of the time when a tray went by and something was offered you would mostly here: Yeah why not, we’ll have 2. Of course the other tables were great too ;-), and lots of new faces.

Anything shrimp is so good, those pork and peanut dumpling yummy, meat balls and tofu wrap so so. I can’t remember the rest but it was good. Oh and the desserts to with the sesame balls and the coconut flan. OK enough now I am getting hungry….

Papas tapas-martinis is a new concept on St. Lawrence boulevard that offers a you new Portuguese cuisine in tapas format.

Our team offers over twenty choices of tapas and the opportunity to discover our menu through a tasting menu of 3 courses. All our creations are prepared on the spot with fresh ingredients every day for a satisfaction guaranteed.

We offer a variety of 30 martinis and a wide selection of wines and Champagne available by the glass. Papas tapas-martinis is a family run business which takes pride over its professional service and top quality tapas dishes at affordable prices. The team at Papas is proud to welcome you at all times in a friendly atmosphere, whether for weekend brunch, business lunch or dinner.

Creatking my link

Last night I met up with a friend for dinner. Its an acquaintance that I never saw 1 on 1 before so I was very happy to get to know her better. We walked along Mont-Royal and she suggested l’Avenue. I was reticent because of a recent experience but agreed. Within 10 min I politely asked my companion if she would not mind leaving and finding a new place. I was uncomfortable asking this but I knew if I stayed I would not be able to shake off the bad feeling left in my mouth.

OK before I say what happened let me back track. I know this place for years already and they do serve a mean brunch. But in that last years I found the luster I originally liked was starting to peel. The decor is super cool and they boast some of the coolest bathrooms in town. The staff is pretty to look at. Plates are pretty. BUT, and I am quoting Chef Deck here: “I feel like knocking out every waiter in that place for their lackadaisical attitudes”! I could not agree more.

And the menu it seems for non brunch times has turned into glorified fast food that is WAY OVERPRICED. Its a super snazzy expensive-to-print menu that is so over stuffed with unrelated articles you can’t even see the menu. Guess how many appetizers are on it?…1, only 1 appetizer.

These last 2 visits left me so unmoved as I went through the menu finding nothing tempting for ridiculous chi chi prices…for a hamburger, a salad, a plain pasta dish. The first dinner I did not pay so I said nothing. This time I chose the club sandwich but wanted to substitute the fries for salad. Nothing else tempted me.

And that is when the incident happened that left me practically speechless and appalled. I was told there was a $2 fee for getting a salad instead of fries. I made the waiter repeat himself. I could not believe my ears. Last time I checked shredded lettuce is cheaper then fried potatoes when you look at the ingredients, time of preparation and cooking method? They want to charge people $2 for a healthy substitute for a club sandwich that is already $12. You have to be kidding me?

The waiter said that is how is was, politely though, and he would gladly give me the number of the manager for me to call. I first agreed to getting the fries but I was so frazzled I asked my friend if we could go elsewhere. I know its not the biggest incident but it just really got to me. We got up, canceled our order and I asked for the manager’s number, nicely mind you.

So no I will not call him but I will send them this review and I am publishing his number (the resto’s number). After all its the business contact for customer service, no? So I plead and encourage you to call and complain that the 2$ surcharge for LETTUCE be removed. I am not going back there again until they do. I was very disappointed in now blacklisting a past favorite resto.

514-523-8780 to reach the manager

Hugs and Biscuits
Evelyne

So you think all buffets are created equal? Not so. Now a buffet will never be, how should I say, a gastronomic experience. But this was as close as a buffet can get to excellent. At least in my opinion. We went to the Buffet Oriental Palace on Newman blvd. I was a little nervous about the whole buffet idea so I did a lot of research on trying to find an adequate place. I was really glad to see such positive comments about my choice of location before hand. Apparently this place already has a good reputation. And off to the food isles we went.

There was a huge selection of food: traditional Chinese-Canadian fare, dumplings, more exotic dishes, even a sushi buffet. I loved the sweet dumplings that where filled with what I believe was a sweet sesame or chestnut paste. Also on my fav list was the General Tao chicken, the shrimps, udon noodles…oh and my fancy cocktail in a flashy porcelain cup…the Scorpion. Nothing I did not enjoy but I can’t say everything was spectacular. Sushi was average. After 2 plates I had my fill but some trudged on for 3 or 4 plates I think lol.

Finally we hit the dessert buffet. Nothing spectacular, as expected, but I must have at least one square of jello while others had their must chinese buffet ice cream fix. Oh yeah, you know who you are.

Last Saturday I have my biggest meeting yet with 53 members present. We were fortunate enough to have a whole restaurant all to ourselves on a Saturday night. It was an amazing evening seeing so many people present at one time. Truly I was just touched by seeing all of you there. Thank you for coming and thank you for supporting and participating in my group.

I also want to thank Michel, the owner of La Chilenita, for being so helpful and accommodating. He worked hard to prepare a great menu under a limited budget as well.

La Chilenita first started of as a empanada take-out place and were a big success. Within a few years they now have 3 addresses. We went to the one located at 5439 St-Laurent (c. St-Viateur). The decor is simple and a bit fancy cafeteria style tables. They still have a take-out counter for the old and new hardcore fans. I have been here at lunch and had the seafood empanada…AMAZING.

But this evening we had worked out a 4 serving meal. The first one up was their signature empanada…a meat one. Second plate was another entre of either grilled zucchinis, calamari, or what I had a perfectly ripe half avocado filled with shrimp in a great sauce. It was delish and a hit with everyone who had it. We had 7 main dishes to choose form. The selection was a simple assortment of basic Chilian dishes. I heard the salmon was incredible, I forget the name but a Chilian type shepard’s pie (which I tasted of my neighbors plate…yumm), the chicken brochette perfect, and I have a steak covered with caramelized onions and an egg. Everything was simple but good. They also serve with every dish the house’s home made salsas. Finally the last dish was a perfect flan dessert. Oh and how can I forget the Pisco Sour cocktail.

Considering the size of the group the service was excellent, long a times for the main meal but with 50 people its to be expected. I highly recommend this place: you’ll get great service and great food for a more then reasonable price.

Want to experience a true typical French little Bistro? Try Le Figaro. Its not far from where I work and I had lunch there with a friend. We had the lunch table d’hôte:

A soup with lovely warm bread
Bavette de boeuf with nice rice, fresh veggies (broccoli, spinach, orange bell pepper)
Coffee

All for 33$ for both of us. And that includes the tax and tip.

I have been there many times to for a simple café and pastry. The decor is totally authentic and its a very posh place to see and be seen in Outremont, without being too pretentious (almost). I still have the lovely flavors of the bavette in my mouth.

Well last week the Cheap Ethnic Eatz group had an outing at a Korean restaurant. I had wanted to do one for quite sometime and it finally happened. And we were in for a treat. First of all the food did not stop coming. Everyone had a lovely light salad followed by a miso soup. I had a appetizer which consisted of two meat fried dumplings with a delish dipping sauce.

Korean is know also for serving marinated veggies before hand, the most famous being Kimchi, a traditional fermented dish made of seasoned vegetables.

Everyone seemed very happy with there meal, don’t ask me what the names where. I personally had the eel. It was served in a massive granite like bowl that was super hot and sizzling. The rice on the bottom was nice as it formed a crust from the heat. What I did not like was the one type of seaweed I cannot stand served on the side. Its bright green and fibrous and weird tasting.

Some had the Korean BBQ, raw fish meals, black bean drowsed meats, seafood platers. We were stuffed.

It is BYOB. I have to say, and I have been to many ethnic restos, that Korean still remains very exotic and very different from what we normally eat. This is for the adventurous..but you will be highly rewarde

We decided on a Moroccan restaurant that offered live belly dancers, called La Grotte d’Ali Baba. Actually the owners have two restaurants situated very close to one another, the original place called La Couscoussière. First of all when you arrive you cannot help but be charmed by the decor. They have literally molded the walls into a cave-like atmosphere all painted in gold. Lovely ceramics and exotic lamps adorn the walls. Seats are low banquets in rich Moroccan colors.

There is a fixed menu for $33.95 before tax and tip. The menu includes a soup, a brick entrée, about 6 GENEROUS different tajines or couscous to choose from, baklava and mint tea. The show is included. It was very good but not the best I have had. I had the Ali Baba tajine which consisted of chicken, shrimp, scallops and veggies. Only the couscous was flavored with spices. The rest (veggies and protein) was bland. I actually cook a lot of Moroccan dishes in the winter so I am used to a lot of flavor on the meats too. Also the soup had parsley instead of coriander and the brick was much smaller and completely different then what I had had at this restaurant a few years back. Don’t get me wrong…the food was very good but not up to my expectations from when I went about 4 years back.

The main feature here is certainly the ambiance and the show. Go there for a whole evening. We were there 5 hours. Belly dancers come out well timed in between services and delight the customers with gorgeous costumes and their sensual hip moves. We saw 4 separate performances with 3 different dancers. Of course anyone brave enough to join them in strongly encouraged to do so….like me because I have taken 2 years of baladi in the past. Like I said as an organizer I will sacrifice my dignity and happily look like a fool to entertainment my members as you can see in the picture here ;-)

The service was very good as the staff was very friendly and smiling. Its a great place for a fun birthday or group outing. Oh and best of all…its BYOB!

Hope everyone had a great week-end. I did and I had a wonderful brunch in a place I knew of but never went to. Actually a friend and I were making our way to a favorite spot but when we arrived the place was closed. So we crossed the street and tried out the Café Local.

I work near there and have passed in front of it a many times. From the outside I always assumed it was strictly a mile-end bar. I was surprised there was a brunch service. Well it turns out I was very pleasantly surprised. We ate on a lovely little terrace and the service was excellent although a bit slow, as it can be anywhere for brunch on a Sunday morning. But the staff always have a smile on their face and are very nice.

Both my friend and I had the Huevos Rancheros, a classic Mexican breakfast which consists of eggs served the way you like with a side of homemade guacamole, refried beans and salsa. The whole thing is served on a fried tortilla. It was accompanied of potatoes and a few pieces of fruit. It really was tasty. Also a bottomless cup of coffee comes with it.

I checked out the menu which consist of original burgers and some Mexican dishes, all reasonably priced. And there is also a HUGE select of fun Martinis. Hope I made your mouth water because we will be going there soon. Keep an eye out for it on the meetup events.

Hugs and Biscuits,

Evelyne