For a birthday celebration, we took the opportunity to benefit from  Vieux-Port Steakhouse Happening Gourmand menu. Happening Gourmand allows a taste of a full course service for a slashed price. This means the restaurant is operating at full capacity and a reservation weeks in advance is a must. But do not worry, Vieux-Port Steakhouse offers a service at 4 in the evening. You may think this is an odd hour to have supper. On the contrary, I think it is brilliant! Why? Once finished, the evening is still young and you will have the whole evening awaiting for you. In addition, you will have more time to digest the food and hence less fats stored. Double bonus!

And just before you hop off and call for a reservation, here’s my review of Vieux-Port Steakhouse.

Salmon tartare. A faithful reader can already tell that I ordered this tartare and was disappointed with the amount and quality of the salmon. However, I had to reason that the quantity of the salmon was justified by the generous pricing of the 3 course service. The salmon was a bit slimy, missing the dense texture from a fresh salmon. And a hint more seasoning would really lift the tartare taste. If this was the only selling pitch for Vieux-Port Steakhouse, they would not have my vote.

Escargots. This was a standard escargots in the oven covered with cheese. I have yet to come across a screwed up escargot.

Sirloin steak in baseball cut. My first baseball cut was experienced at Keg. When I saw this was offered, I just had to compare. Who does it better? It is indeed difficult to determine. This specific baseball cut from the Happening Gourmand menu is 7 oz. They serve 9oz in their normal menu whereas the baseball cut at Keg is 12 oz. So, Vieux-Port actually asked me how cooked did I want it to be while at Keg, the only option was medium rare. Ignoring the size, their steak was undeniably wonderful. However, Keg’s baseball cut was just more memorable because of the size. When I asked for rare at Vieux-Port, it was done splendidly. Nicely charred on the outside, and red in the inside.

Porc Osso Buco. It was beyond my imagination that TWO pork shanks were served. They were definitely delicious! The braising was done beautifully. The meat was tender and juicy.

The desserts were a big let off. This chocolate mousse cake was anything than a mousse cake. The “mousse” layer was too hard to be considered mousse.

The cheesecake was not great either. It wasn’t dense. It had a light and mousse texture. This could pass as a cheesecake mousse cake more than the chocolate mousse cake. The coulis was good though.

I was skeptical about Vieux-Port Steakhouse, but their main dishes really surprised me. The steak quality is definitely there, but to say that it beats Keg, I cannot say. However, for 21$ for 3 courses, I would say it does. Happening Gourmand 2015 will end in February 8, 2015. So, for those interested, there’s still time!

Zuuchini