One thing I need to do every summer is to go to Kem Coba and have their ice cream. Kem Coba is only open during summer time and usually has a line up of more than 15 minutes. Last time, I waited about a little bit more than 30 minutes. But the waiting time never bothered me because the ice cream is that amazing – actually, the best in Montreal. They love to play around with different flavors so don’t be surprised that your beloved flavor is gone! Don’t worry their other flavors are equally good!
I finally tried their soft served ice cream which is strawberry cheesecake flavor! The texture is like yogurt but a bit more solid. Just delicious!
And we also tried their pandan and viet coffee flavor. I really love the pandan flavor, it tasted like coconut!
Haven’t tried Kem Coba? You are missing out, my dear friend!
Looking at the last few years, more and more restaurants specializing in dumplings are popping up in Montreal. And standing among the top tier is Mai Xiang Yuan.
Nothing out of the ordinary, Mai Xiang Yuan offers a menu similar to other dumpling restaurants. I guess the only thing that can set it apart from others is the quality of the dumplings.
The chosen dumplings were pan fried pork and cabbage and boiled lamb and coriander. Side dish was jellyfish and cucumber.
The dumplings were so much better than OH!Dumplings. How? They tasted more fresh and less greasier. The complaint that I have is that (similar to most dumpling restaurants I visited in Montreal) is their dough – or should I say how it was fried. The pan fried dumplings were a bit too soft for my taste. They weren’t crispy enough. And the dough just lacked texture…the specific amount of “elasticity” and firmness of the dough were not achieved.
As for the side dish, I bet most people would think there are only cucumbers if I didn’t tell you it was a cucumber and jellyfish dish! The cucumbers were soft and wet – I think they were prepared in advance for a while…the crunchiness of fresh cucumber fluttered away. Nonetheless, still very refreshing on a hot summer day.
How do I rank Mai Xiang Yuan? Probably in the middle.
Zuuchini
While driving by TMR, Mr.Butter and I have noticed this very cute house in TMR that seemed to be serving cafe and ice cream. But at that time, it was closed for Autumn. We said that we would come back in summer.
And summer arrives and coincidentally, we passed by this location again. And this time, it was opened. Dolce Vita is right beside Villa Armando, the main house which is now converted to an Italian restaurant. Dolce Vita was basically a garage converted to a nice ice cream parlour.
There were many selections of gelato in Dolce Vita, many that are unheard of. Like usual, it was very difficult to choose.
In the end, I had orange and fleur de sel caramel. I’ve been very fond of anything with fleur de sel and caramel.
I chose orange simply because I wanted to know how it was different from orange sorbet. To say the least, it wasn’t much different. I should have gone for a more wild flavour.
The fleur de sel caramel was good, exactly what I was expecting.
The price at Dolce Vita is fairly comparable to other gelato places. As for the taste, it was satisfying but I would not go out of my way to get my gelato there. It’s perfect for residents living nearby.
In my last meet-up with food bloggers, while exchanging opinions, Mr.Lew crowned Uniburger for best burgers. Being a burger lover, Mr.Butter jumped at any chance he had. And luckily, we were around the corners (ok not really…), Mr.Butter used this occasion to set his own opinion on Uniburger.
I was surprised to see the square footage of the fast food. It was small but efficient. You just go in, order, eat and go. I, of course, had to order the signature Uniburger burger.
First thing I noticed was how perfect the shape of the bun was! It was super inflated and full. But then I saw the waxed paper starting to overflow with grease. The first thought of this burger was juiciness. Indeed, the patty lacked no juiciness nor texture. But, I don’t know for what reason, I found the taste was still lacking. Each and every bite, I couldn’t stop myself comparing it with Burger de Ville and how much I preferred Burger de Ville over this burger.
Then for the fries, they were crispy but a bit too crispy for my liking – barely had any content inside deep fried layer.
Overall, I can see the appeal of Uniburger. It is easy access, close to Cegep Vieux Montreal and UQAM. But Uniburger failed to replace Burger de Ville’s best burger in my own books.
Zuuchini
Searching for a brunch place that I’ve never tried before with a all time long friend, I found sparrow as one of the highly regarded option. With that title, I wasn’t surprised that there was a bit of a waiting line on a Saturday at 1pm.
While I waited, I noticed quickly how charming Sparrow is. The wallpaper, the tables, the chair, the couch…. Sparrow really has its own personality. And I guess one of its personality trait is giving mediocre service…the service was so slow and it took more time than needed to settle our payments.
Anyway, how was the food though?
My friend A had Shakshuka. As per the menu, it has 2 poached eggs, in a Morrocan spiced tomato sauce, sourdough toast. Or can be plainly described as 2 eggs put on top of tomato sauce. That was what it tasted like. It was original but not something I was looking for in a brunch menu.
I had House-smoked Trout, served on spinach and green onion pancake with soft boiled eggs and beet salad. The smoked trout was delicious. But the rest of the dish could be better. It was lacking some oomph. The spinach and green onion pancake needed some additional spice and the texture was a bit dull. The beet salad was really just some marinated beets. It could definitely have a few leafy greens in there with some sort of cheese (Maybe feta?). I don’t know. I personally think it was missing many ingredients to make it as a substantial dish.
Sparrow, your looks had me. But the rest had me walking away for somewhere else.
Zuuchini
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