43 de la Gauchetiere E.
Montreal, Quebec
Metro: Place d’Armes
Bus: STM 55, 80, 129, 150, 410, 427, 430, 435, 747
Visit: April 13, 2013
http://www.tongsing.ca/
My mission to find all the various Dim Sum locations in the Greater Montreal Area continue recently and I was more than happy to take part in it. Tong Sing is the little known Dim Sum place in the original Chinatown that seems to have taken a back seat to the 3 juggernauts. During my visit, I was hoping to see if the sleeper choice would surprise or explain why it was tucked away in a corner of Chinatown.
This is a revisited post for Ruby Rouge. Click HERE to see the original post.
1008 Clark
Montreal, Quebec
Metro: Place-d’Armes, Champ-de-Mars, Saint-Laurent
Bus: STM 14, 15, 55, 80, 129, 150, 410, 427, 430, 435, 747
Visit: March 2, 2013
http://www.restaurantrubyrouge.com/
For anyone of Chinese descent, Dim Sum is a mandatory practice that is part of living the traditional life. What used to be exclusively a Chinese activity had now become one that is now shared with just about anyone who likes to eat. I had an unfortunate Dim Sum drought that lasted years. It wasn’t until 2 years ago that the dry spell was broken with a visit to Ruby Rouge. Now, 2 years and 3 other places later, I have returned to Ruby Rouge to give it the due it so richly deserves.
72A De La Gauchetiere O.
Montreal, Quebec
Metro: Place d’Armes
Bus: STM 55, 80, 129, 150, 410, 427, 430, 435, 747
Visit: October 26, 2012
A lot of people would agree, Montreal is one of the place’s with the greatest wealth of Chinese restaurants in North America. However, one of the other things that we would also agree with is the fact that despite an abundance of those places, there aren’t very many that truly satisfy their customers. It’s no wonder that when a new place opens up in the midst of Chinatown, it gets the attention of many. Today’s place in question is Ethan, right in the middle of the pedestrian walkway known as De La Gauchetiere.
998 Boulevard St. Laurent
Montreal, Quebec
Metro: Place d’Armes
Bus: STM 55, 80, 129, 150, 410, 427, 430, 435, 747
Visit: July 30, 2012
http://www.lecristalchinois.com/
I have a real soft spot for Dim Sum and I take any opportunity to go out to sample what Montreal has to offer. Recently, Le Cristal Chinois opened its doors in the Swatow building in Chinatown. While the jury is still out about the success of the building itself, the Cristal Chinois sits atop and for rightful reason, it offers a luxurious take on one of the best facets of Chinese cuisine.
43 de la Gauchetiere E.
Montreal, Quebec
Metro: Place d’Armes
Bus: STM 55, 80, 129, 150, 410, 427, 430, 435, 747
Visit: July 12, 2012
http://www.restaurantmonnan.com/
My half-Chinese heritage demands that I scour the island for each and every restaurant that does my native cuisine justice. My purpose for my visit to Mon Nan is not to show what everybody already knows, but to shed light on another aspect that doesn’t get too much play. There are some pretty decent, well-known restaurants in Montreal where you can get lunch for well under 10 dollars and Mon Nan is one of them.
6730 Cote-des-Neiges
Montreal, Quebec
Bus: STM 92, 160, 161, 165, 435
Visit: April 20, 2012
Part of my heritage demands that I find the places in Montreal that serve my kind of food. In the past, I’ve made mention of trying to find the very best in Won Ton soup in Montreal. While trying to find Chinese food in general doesn’t really appeal to me, finding that specific dish does. While I’ve been given many suggestions to sub-par pork and shrimp won tons in Montreal, only a select few were able to tell me where to find the only type of these dumplings worth having. A shrimp-only won ton dumpling is far superior to the one I just mentioned and I think I’ve come across another place that does it.
This is a Revisited post for Fung Shing. Click HERE to see that original post.
1102 Boulevard Saint-Laurent
Montreal, Quebec
Metro: Place-d’Armes, Champ-de-Mars, Saint-Laurent
Bus: STM 14, 15, 55, 80, 129, 150, 410, 427, 430, 435, 747
Visit: March 9, 2012
Months ago, I made the decision to revisit some of the places that I did not do justice the first time around. For the time being, I’m reserving the distinction of a revisit to places where I did not give the 2011-2012 treatment. If you haven’t noticed by now, starting in the middle of 2011, my posts have been more detailed. With the fact that what I’m doing is getting more noticed, I am forced to put a lot more work and effort into what I post here. I should also note that once a restaurant gets revisited, I will never do another post on it, no matter what happens. So, with that being said, the first restaurant that gets the “lucky” distinction of being the first one to be revisited is my regular Chinese haunt, Fung Shing.
1077 Clark
Montreal, Quebec
Metro: Place d’Armes
Bus: STM 55, 80, 129, 150, 410, 427, 430, 435, 747
Visit: January 1, 2012
2012 has begun and I really wasn’t expecting to make a post out of this. However, when I was going over it in my mind, I really didn’t see another better moment to show you all the other Chinese restaurant that I frequent. For those of you who follow, the other Chinese restaurant that I’m a regular at is called Fung Shing on Saint-Laurent below Rene-Levesque. Everyone has their own Chinese haunts. Despite quality, these two places are where I hang my hat at.
1111 Saint-Urbain
Montreal, Quebec
Metro: Place D’Armes
Bus: STM 14, 55, 129, 150, 410, 427, 430, 435, 747
Visit: July 7, 2011
http://www.restaurantlamaisonkamfung.com/
This is the second of three Dim Sum restaurants I plan to visit on the island of Montreal. When it comes to Dim Sum, you need to know when to show up. Dim Sum usually runs from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. If you want to avoid the rush, you come either early or at the tail end of the service. We showed up just before 2:00 p.m. We suffered a bit because the service seemed rather rushed. From the second we sat down, dishes just kept on circling the table. The restaurant itself was a quarter full, so it wasn’t that busy. Eventually, the push-cart staff stopped their rounds to sit down and eat. That didn’t bother anyone since most tables were done eating. Our whole experience at this restaurant took a mere 20 minutes. My last Dim Sum experience in April of 2011 took 45 minutes.
Shrimp Cheong Fun w/o sauce
Shrimp Cheong Fun with sauce
Tried: July 7, 2011
These have become one of my absolute favorite dishes in Chinese cuisine. The shrimp contents are quite tasty and it goes down really fast. If you fold it nicely, you can fit it all in one bite. But then again, that’s how a slob eats. It’s usually better to cut them into halves.
Beef Cheong Fun with sauce
Sui Mai
Tried: July 7, 2011
This is usually one of my go-to dishes, but this time, it did not deliver. It tasted like it was made from a restaurant across the street. It left another funny aftertaste.
Har Gau
Tried: July 7, 2011
This is another one of my all-time favorite Dim Sum dishes. This time, it lived up to the hype. The shrimp contents tasted good and we ordered two containers, which I was more than happy to take down.
Dumpling w/Shrimp and Greens
Tried: July 7, 2011
This is the first time I tried this dumpling. I’m unsure as to what it’s called, but what I do know is that it tasted good. The addition of the greens added to the power of the shrimp and casing.
Smashed Vegetables
Tried: July 7, 2011
According to my sources, these are vegetables smashed together. I may be completely wrong, so please correct me if I am. This had no taste and was one of the hardest dishes to finish for the table.
Chinese Style Egg Rolls
Tried: July 7, 2011
This looks like a spring roll, but it is filled with egg roll contents. This tastes much like an egg roll and I had no complaints. The sauce is something that you can get at any ordinary Chinese take-out restaurant.
The Bill
150 Sainte-Catherine Ouest
Complex Desjardins
Montreal, Quebec
Metro: Place-des-Arts
Bus: STM 15, 55, 80, 125, 129, 150, 410, 427, 430, 435, 747, 935
Visit: June 29, 2011
Tiki Ming Website
I will be honest, this was never in the plans for the day. After about 30 minutes of wandering around aimlessly, past 2 in the afternoon, I came to this conclusion. To be frank, I’m really not good at picking restaurants without prior research. Having had “Chinese” two days prior, I was more or less curious at the “quality” of one particular item, as you’ll see. I’ve been here many times in the past, and the food is barely passable.
NOTE: This is an updated picture of the sign, I’m still not too wild about it.
Trio
General Tao/Veggies/Fried Rice/Egg Roll
Tried: June 29, 2011
The main reason I chose this combination was for the General Tao. The chicken itself wasn’t so fresh, it was over fried and there was no zing to it. The pieces may have been big, but they were hard to chew. The veggies didn’t scream out Chinese to me whatsoever. The rice and egg roll were probably the best out the whole thing. The rice tasted fine and was finished rather quickly. The one thing I didn’t like about the egg roll is the need to pour the sauce all over it. Something to dip it in would’ve been better.
67 de la Gauchetiere
Montreal, Quebec
Metro: Place D’Armes
Bus: STM 14, 55, 129, 150, 410, 427, 430, 435, 747
Visit: June 27, 2011
When I think of Chinese buffets, this place, in my opinion, is the top of Montreal. I don’t claim that because it is the best, but because the rest isn’t any better. As a half-Chinese fellow myself, I’ve been brought to other Chinese buffets to act as the litmus test for decency of quality. Still, nothing comes close. The problem is that I’ve been here so much that the variety doesn’t work for me anymore.
Another note that one should consider is the servers and tipping. If you don’t tip, they will hassle you. I’m not kidding. I’ve seen them run after people for tips, not just in the restaurant, but in the street. Our server was hovering around our table until all members of our party left a tip, They didn’t care so much about the bill, but the tip was paramount.
Sui Mai
Tried: June 27, 2011
This is my go-to dish whenever I come to this buffet. I know you can get this at any Dim Sum location, but I tend to always stock up on these every time I fill a new plate.
BBQ Pork
Tried: June 27, 2011
This is usually hit or miss. BBQ pork tastes a lot better when fresh. The harder the piece is, the worse the experience. It takes a very keen eye to spot the good pieces in the tray. I try, but I’m 50-50.
Spring Rolls
Tried: June 27, 2011
There’s nothing much to say about spring rolls. I like the size of the ones offered here. Having worked in a Chinese packaging plate before, there’s smaller.
Egg Rolls
Tried: June 27, 2011
These are standard to most Americanized Chinese meals. I always make it a point to get one of these during my buffet blitz, though I’ve have much better from a take-out place near Lew central.
Vegetarian Noodles
Tried: June 27, 2011
These are the exact same noodles that are offered at the Ruby Rouge Dim Sum restaurant just a block away. I usually take this to help vary the flavor on the plate.
Sweet and Sour Pork
Tried: June 27, 2011
This dish is one of the better choices, thus why you see it half empty. The flavor of this one isn’t half bad and actually earned a second helping later on.
Beef Rice Noodles
Tried: June 27, 2011
This dish is one of my standard weekly dishes I get from my regular place. I find they do it a lot better here. You don’t have to fight the noodles due to the fact that you don’t have to overchew.
Greens
Tried: June 27, 2011
I have a soft spot for leafy greens during Chinese meals. They go well with almost anything. They also help counterbalance all the “garbage” selections I tend to make, though, not by much.
Dessert
Tried: June 27, 2011
Chinese restaurants don’t really offer dessert options, and this is why. These are very simple cakes. You can finish them in two bites and feel blah about the whole thing. If you want something dessert like after the buffet, just cross the street and go to a pastry shop, there are plenty.
Plate 1
This plate contains Sui Mai, an egg roll, a spring roll, beef rice noodles, and bbq pork.
Plate 2
This plate contains vegetarian noodles, greens, Sui Mai, sweet and sour pork, and beef rice noodles.
Plate 3
This plate contains a spring roll, sushi (yes, I know), Sui Mai, sweet and sour pork, and bbq pork.
