Montreal

My sis brought me to Rayan a while ago…and to my surprise, it’s nothing like I expected? How can I explain it… It’s almost like a “seafood market”, you choose what you want, tell them how to cook it, and then they bring it to your table!

How it works really, it’s simple. You go to the end of the restaurant, which really looks more like a cafeteria. Over there, all sorts of seafood are displayed! And you choose what you want and how much you want! They weigh the chosen seafood and price it at the market rate. Pretty reasonable right? Then, they ask you do you want it fried, grilled, or steamed. I simply ask them what is the best way to eat each of my chosen seafood! They then give you a number and you go grab a seat and food will be delivered to your table! Simple like that!

Oh and hint…if you are nice enough to the cashier lady…and pay cash. No taxes will be charged 🙂

All of these costed under 100$ for 4 people. And i tell you..it’s more than enough for us. And they were GOOOOD!

We had fried calamari and fried fish ( i forgot what kind of fish). The fried calamari is a MUST to order! They are perfectly, yes really PERFECTLY, fried! I might say just as good as Marven’s fried calamari if not better! Not burnt nor soggy! The fried fish was good as well! But i think i got overwhelmed by the amount we ordered…

We had their signature fries as well! Although it’s nothing that much out of ordinary. They were still good fries! And again, super well fried! I think they should make poutine out of these fries….I think I’ll just bring my own gravy next time, haha.

I think ordering a salad is very crucial especially when you are having so many fried seafood! The salad was fresh, but again nothing spectacular.

I was overly excited to try their grilled octopus – because I am a fan of octopus and still am searching the perfectly grilled octopus dish. However…the pieces were a bit too tiny to  enjoy fully the texture/taste of the octopus. I found certain pieces are way too burnt to enjoy wholly. Also, the flavor was lacking… Totally disappointed.

Look at these shrimps! A good size! I really like the spices on the shrimps.

Overall, I think they serve really good seafood, especially fried ones! I would really go back for their fried calamari and try other seafood! I am curious about their rice as well. Every table there ordered one!

Zuuchini

Rockaberry used to be THE place to get apple pies. But now, for some reason…whenever I go, I crave for their other desserts!

Their other desserts are not the best per say but I love the environment there and how they are opened till very late! Don’t misunderstand, their cakes are good but not the kind  of “oh gaaaaawd, soooo deliciooous hmmmmmmmm!”

I got Tiramisu and it was pleasant! The size is not overwhelming at all as the cake is very light.

 On the other hand, Mr.Butter ordered a strawberry shortcake which is not memorable at all! maybe i am biased because i don’t like shortcake already….

I would still choose La Fontana and Zibo over this place though!

Zuuchini

If you have Arahova as a go-to-restaurant, please scratch it off immediately without regrets. Why? Because there’s a 10 times better replacement, which is Atomic.

Atomic is a lovely Greek restaurant with ever so friendly staff. They serve big and most importantly, they serve quality – their food is fresh!  

 Their assortment bread! Perfect for our next dish…

We ordered this huuuuge appetizer! It is written that it’s for 4 people to share…but um…I think it can feed more than 5 people as an appetizer! Can be like a full meal for 3 people! The dips were so good! It’s very easy to get full by eating the dips with the bread! Too good to stop! 

And then I had the grilled lamb chops! These are especially special because they are lambs from Quebec!! How do they taste different? Difficult to explain, but let’s just say it’s just somehow taste fresher and juicier! They were well marinated as well and not burnt at all. The dish comes with salad – very edible and fresh salad.

This is not a restaurant that I would say that it has the tastiest food ever. But it does serve one of the most tastiest Greek food I have tried. If I want Greek food, this is the place to have it – except the fact that it is situated in Laval…the only downfall…

Zuuchini

Broadway Cheesecake sure looks exciting! So many cheese cake flavors to choose from! From Margarita to Creme brule cheesecake! Doesn’t that intrigue you already?

Well…let me help you save a few calories. They only sound and look interesting. The flavor itself…really nothing amazing.

I chose creme brule and tt tastes like 90% creamcheese. Just pure sweetness and barely any creme brule flavor.

For about 7$ a piece, I rather go to La Fontana or La Premiere Moisson. ( or even Cheesecake Factory!! If they only have it in Montreal sigh ).They cost about the same and taste100x better.

Another drawback is that they don’t always serve all the cheesecake flavor shown in their website. It’s limited what they have on display at their counter….

One good thing i can think about is that this place opens till pretty late, like midnight. So those late dessert cravers like me can enjoy some sweeet food at late hours!

Zuuchini

Kiss Grill is like a fusion of northern China, korean ish and japanese ish cuisine! It’s just beside the famous Kazu but it has a lot less recognition…

Let me state my bias first. I am a HUGE LOVER of northern china cuisine…you have no idea… I was in such high spirits when i got there!

They are known by their grilled meat and their hot pot. Since I went there during summer time and they didn’t have AC, I skipped their hot pot (But i can affirm that I cannot wait to go back to try their so delciously looking hot pot!!).

Instead, I went for their combos where we get to choose a variety of dishes for more than reasonable price(about 15$)! My goal was to try as many dishes as possible (don’t worry their dishes aren’t pricey at all, if you were to order one by one, it’s about 6$). It’s almost like a tapa-style – almost.

I was too intrigued about a few of their dishes – spicy pork jelly and spicy pork ear! Funnily, the attentive owner made sure that I was comfortable eating those and at which level of spiciness.

Squid legs – marinated duck wings – spicy pork jelly

 We ordered these as a combo appetizer. Squid legs were nothing great. The marinated duck wings have barely anything to chew on – only maybe you got the bone to do that. BUT! The OH the spicy pork jelly was so interestingly good! It’s really just like a gelatine with…some parts of pork in it. Just imagine a salty with a hint of spiciness jello with pork flavour. Is that too much imagination needed? Well…maybe. You just need to know that, you gotta order this when you go there!

Spicy pork ears

 After that, we had spicy pork ears obviously! They tasted like jellyfish but just even more harder. Ok…if you have never tried to eat jellyfish in your life…then a more representative comparison would be….joint cartilage from beef but trimmed super thinly. If you still have no clue, then i suggest you to venture out a bit more in your food area. You are missing out too much in life! These are the types of food that i just by nature just love. I just like how chewy  and refreshing the texture is!

Vegetables

 And then I ordered the vegetables. I LOVE THIS! These the kinds of veggies that I love from chinese cuisine. Do not ask me to name them because I have no clue what their names are, i just know what they are because I eat them at home as well. Let say it’s not your typical veggies from the so called chinese restaurant where they give you cheap veggies (like Tiki-Ming style). Once again, the dish is refreshing and very light texture.

Combo with seaweed salad, grilled  skewered lamb, and spring rolls.

The grilled lamb was delicious! But I wouldn’t say they are so good that I would want to come back for that. The spring rolls were very crispy and nicely deep fried.

Combo with grilled skewered lamb, fried rice and julienne salad.

The fried rice was tasty! But slightly a bit too oily for me (but I am very picky in that). and the julienne salad was surprisingly good as well! Simple but good!

Combo with Japanese rice, julienne salad and chicken wings.

 I don’t remember if I had tried anything from this dish…lol so no comment!

AND THEN WE HAD THIS!

Spicy silvery pomfret fishes

 This dish is so nostalgic because it’s almost the same way my mom makes it! It’s so simple and so delicious! Everyone on the table was amazed with the pomfret fish! 😀

and then we ended with mochi and fried banana as dessert! – but i think the mochi is way overpriced…

Fried bananas and mochi

Fried banana as dessert is something that I love! but they didn’t do it quite well…and they are missing some extra sugar to deep in as well! And there was only one single mochi for the an order of mochi for dessert. Hm…I would go buy my own mochi instead at the grocery store…more for your bucks!

I think I am so satisfied with this restaurant because it gives a non-pretentious and cozy environment. The owner is so attentive and nice. The dishes are so homy. Everything just fits well together!

I really can’t wait to come back during super harsh weather in winter to have their spicy hot pot warm up my body!

Zuuchini