One of the main reasons we went to Montreal was to celebrate my sister's 30th birthday (yes, she's old old). So on our last full day in the city and LT's actual birthday, we spent the day eating and doing all of her favourite things.
Starting with the most important meal of the day!
Le Passe Compose is a popular French bistro located in Montreal's Gay Village. Closed on Tuesdays, they're open from 8:30am to 2:30pm the rest of the week. There's no shortage of brunch restaurants in Montreal, but I was particularly drawn to the elaborate and generously portioned plates served here. I heard that the restaurant gets pretty busy so although I suggested an early start, we had no problem with crowds on a weekday.
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I got their rural poached egg ($18.00) which starts with a thick toasted brioche base. Parsley pesto, wild mushrooms, Gaspor pulled pork, and a poached egg get smothered in a rich and creamy porcini sauce. The plate is rounded out with a couple fresh fruit ramekins and a smoothie shot. It was such a composed and well-balanced dish -- the perfect brunch plate!
LT ordered the foie gras poached egg ($19.00), an even more decadent creation with pancetta chips, caramelized onions, foie gras sauce, and a piece of pan-seared foie gras. LT gave me a piece of the foie gras to try; it reminded of a creamier, more robust bone marrow. It was buttery, rich, and melt-in-your-mouth, certainly not for the faint of heart.
MH ordered the vegetarian poached eggs ($23.00), which by default comes with two eggs. It was served on a wooden platter, with two squares of toasted brioche, a variety of buttered root vegetables, carrot and masala velouté, crumbled feta, pickled croutons, and sorel sprouts. Despite being vegetarian, it was a filling dish just because of its sheer size.
Don't forget to order a side of their famous panko French toast ($6.00)! I normally don't like French toast because to me, it's just soggy, eggy bread. However, I make an exception for Hong Kong-style French toast and now the panko French toast from Le Passe Compose! No joke, it was one of the best things I ate on this trip. Crunchy on the outside, soft in the middle, and sweet with a drizzle of pure maple syrup. It was worth all the delicious calories.
After brunch, we walked over to the Old Port of Montreal. Because we were right by the riverfront, the air was much more brisk. I don't understand how people were able to ice skate outside but I figure a few laps around would warm you right up.
We wanted to ride the La Grande Roue de Montreal, the iconic Ferris wheel overlooking the St. Lawrence River. I thought it was a bit expensive for what it was ($25.00/person), but it was still a fun time with great views of the city. Because there wasn't that many people in line, we were also able to get a private gondola to ourselves.
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We also explored the rest of Old Montreal that we didn't get to see the day before. Seeing all the old architecture was neat -- like a little slice of Europe in Canada.
We also paid a visit to the Notre-Dame Basilica. There was a $8 admission fee but it was worth every penny once you step inside. It's one of those sorts of places where a picture doesn't quite capture all of its beauty and splendor.
After a defrosting break at the apartment, we went out in the late afternoon to explore Chinatown. Montreal's Chinatown is not huge by any stretch but I liked how pedestrian friendly it was.
We were getting a bit peckish but we also didn't want to spoil our dinner plans later than night so we decided to get some dumplings! I was surprised at how many restaurants there were in Montreal that specialize in dumplings (although they call them ravioli, how cute). We went to Qing Hua, one of the OG dumpling shops.
We made it it in time for their lunch pricing which was really affordable. There were all sorts of fillings, from pork, beef, chicken, lamb, and vegetarian options. With each protein, there were also different ingredient combinations, like cabbage, corn, coriander, and mushroom. Each order comes with 15 dumplings, your choice of boiled, steamed, or pan-fried (+$1.50). You could also mix and match two kinds of dumplings for an extra $0.50. On the table, there are three types of sauces you can use -- soy sauce, black vinegar, and chili oil.
We made the mistake of getting an order each (I guess you are what you eat), but at least we had leftovers for breakfast the next day. LT and I shared an order of steamed curry beef dumplings ($7.49) and an order of the pan-fried pork and cabbage dumplings ($7.49 + $1.50). Both of them were well-seasoned and juicy! MH got two varieties, one vegetarian and one shrimp (couldn't remember which exact ones they were), pan-fried ($8.99 + $1.50 + $0.50).
Another stop we made in Chinatown was Patisserie Bao Bao Dim Sum. It shares a space with Patisserie Harmonie, which is your typical Chinese bakery. On Bao Bao Dim Sum's side, it's a takeout counter selling steamed buns, dim sum, Hong Kong-style snacks, and bubble tea.
We couldn't resist the cute characters and bought two baos ($2.50 each) to save for breakfast the next day. The Hello Kitty bao was filled with custard while the panda bao was stuffed with a black sesame paste. The baos are huge but it's deceiving since the ratio between filling and bun is way off. I also found the black sesame paste to be really gummy in texture without much black sesame flavour. Let's be real, you're only buying these for the gram.
For LT's birthday dinner, we had made reservations at Park, one, if not the most, premium sushi restaurants in the city. It's headed by Antonio Park, who is almost like a celebrity chef around these parts. Reading his biography, he's Korean in ethnicity, but born in Argentina. He immigrated to Canada when he was young and later on in life, went to culinary school in Japan. All these cultural influences are apparent in the restaurant as well as his other projects.
Park is a higher-end restaurant with a price point to match. The interior is elegant and refined, with white cascading flowers dropping down from the ceiling. We were seated by the entrance so it did get a bit chilly every time someone new walked through the doors.
It was a special occasion so LT and MH both ordered a drink. The one on the left was a lychee cocktail and on the right was a yuzu gin & tonic. I hate the taste of alcohol so I don't normally drink but I had a sip of both (peer pressure, I tell ya). I didn't like the lychee cocktail but the yuzu gin & tonic was actually not half bad. It was refreshing and didn't have the astringent taste I usually associate with alcohol.
Instead of the omakase tasting menu, we decided to just order a la carte. Starting with the sashimi moriawase ($45.00), a beautifully presented bowl with 18 pieces of assorted sashimi. Our order came with albacore tuna, Japanese mackerel, salmon, hamachi, bluefin tuna, and sea bream. Instead of just soy sauce, they also provide a trio of different sauces, including a chimichurri, basil, and carrot onion. Of the sauces, I liked the carrot onion the best as it had a sweetness to it that complimented the sweetness of the fish.
Next, LT and I shared the nigiri moriawase, while MH also had an order to herself ($45.00). There was two pieces of six different kinds of nigiri, making for a grand total of twelve. Our server went through every fish and garnish but he went through his spiel too quickly that I couldn't quite remember much of it.
Some of the garnishes included French caviar, shishito pepper, chimichurri, and jalapeno. My favourite piece was definitely the salmon, dressed with maple and soy and then lightly torched.
So was it worth it? I'm not sure. In hindsight, we should have gone all out and treated ourselves to the omakase, seeing as our bill was roughly the same price as the tasting menu would have been. The food was good and the fish was fresh, but somehow I didn't leave feeling like I had the best sushi meal of my life. With all the different sauces and garnishes, it almost felt too ... complicated.
Rather than going straight home after dinner, we found ourselves at gaZette in the Westin Hotel, just a few doors down from our apartment. We must be the most gullible people in the world because when we mentioned to the host that we were there for dessert, we totally believed him when he said they ran out.
We each ordered a dessert each, mine being the white chocolate and Irish cream crème brûlée ($10.00). It was sweet, smooth, and crackly, everything a good crème brûlée should be. MH got the deconstructed carrot cake ($10.00) with mascarpone cream and coffee ice cream. Deconstructed is sort of a funny term -- in this case, it's a lazy presentation shortcut. You can never go wrong with carrot cake, but I didn't feel like coffee ice cream is a complementary flavour. Finally, LT ordered the molten chocolate cake ($10.00) with vanilla ice cream and salted caramel. They over-baked it as the inside wasn't really molten but it didn't matter to LT as she was the only one to polish off her entire plate.
We ended the night doing some packing as MH was going to be leaving in the morning and us in the afternoon. Before we knew it, the trip was already coming to an end. Sad times.
Fin!
- CT
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