I just don’t understand. Why is La Banquise’s poutine so popular? I can name 2 other places right off the bat that serve much better poutine than La Banquise. This is the third time I come to try La Banquise and it hasn’t fascinated me once.

The only reason I can come up with is that it opens 24hrs and one of the first (if not, the first) to come up with more than one type of poutines. Therefore, it has the first mover effect.

La Mart

The fries are so normal. Totally comparable to La Belle Province. Alright, maybe a grade better, just because it’s not as greasy as La Belle Province. Now, the sauce. So mediocre. The cheese isn’t even squeaky. Boo. and all those fancy toppings do nothing to make it better.

It is NOT the best poutine in Quebec. NO. N-O.

Zuuchini

SQUEAL IN DELIGHT!!!

I finally got my hands on Point G’s macarons! How can I not be in excitement seeing all these colorful delicacy!

Their packaging is full of cuteness and playfulness! I like it very much! It gives justification to how much I paid for…lol so I can feel better consciously…not really.

The hardest part is to choose the flavors among all of them! I just stared at them blankly and mesmerized but how pretty they all look…sigh. Macarons, why do you drive me so crazy.

Look at these beauties!! Aren’t they stunning?!

Point G really made their macarons in perfect texture! I think so far, their texture is the best. However…the taste is another story…

Flavors:
Fleur d’oranger: Actually did not taste orange. More like floral. a sweet flower. Did not like it very much.

Lime-Basil: It was weird. The fact that the basil was quite strong. I am not used to this.

Pistache Grille: One of the best one I chose probably because I am more used to this flavor. I can taste the richness of the pistachio.

Choco-passion: Very chocolate.

Choco-sesame: Even more chocolate. not for me

One was sort of have tip “burnt” over, which i completely forgot what was the flavor…

Blackcurrant: very fruity and sweet!

Raspberry-rosemary: Tasted similar to blackcurrant

Poppy flower: Very floral! a bit artificial floral taste.

Lychee: MY FAVORITE! This one is a must have!

Although the texture is great, the taste is left something to be desired. Maybe they are just too unique and fancy for me… I think I am more accustomed to traditional flavors. But hey! I am not complaining as they are offering quite varieties and always offering something new to the table that just make me want to try more of their creations!

Zuuchini

I love oysters! What better place to eat  oysters than Maestro SVP?

Maestro is known for serving many kinds of oysters. However, they don’t come in cheap…well, oysters aren’t cheap to begin with…

I found the decor to be super cool. Makes me want to do the same thing for my wall, but finding such a oyster size would be the tough part.

To start off the evening, we had an appetizer of a variety of oysters…I do not remember where they are from exactly…

Some tasted very grassy. Like as if I was tasting grass from the park. Some tasted extremely salty, due to the fact they were closer to the ocean (pacific if I remembered correctly). The ones that I liked taste like those that are normally served from other restaurants. I guess I am no exotic oyster eater.

Freshness were not a problem at all!

And then we had cooked oysters, which I find it as a waste!! Oysters should be eaten raw for full impact! Once cooked, they are no different than mussels, I personally find. Anyway, the way Maestro SVP handled their oysters requires some acknowledgement. Why? The cooked oysters are very tasty! The cheese they incorporated to different oysters is very unique. However, this is also the downside. Oyster taste is usually very thin. Once covered with cheese, the taste of oysters really dissipates. Also, although they used oysters from different areas, it’s nearly impossible to tell. All I can taste it’s the different cheese they used. It’s quite a pity to waste such a delicate and delicious taste like this. I sincerely believe the best way to enjoy oysters is to eat them raw!

Obviously, just eating a few oysters cannot make me full, so I went ahead to order something more substantive. I had shrimps and risotto. The shrimps were huge, very meaty! And the risotto had nothing special to offer. A nice decent dish, but for the price…not so much anymore. I would price for 22$ max for this dish, but guess what was the price? 32$!!! for such a normal flavored dish…

We also ordered bruschetta, which came in late…Despite that, this bruschetta is heavenly! Can you actually believe that? It’s the best bruschetta I’ve ever eaten. I do not know is it because the previous meal was so unimpressive, that this one just totally made it up for me. But I’ve never eaten bruschetta on a spongy/soft bread! It was quite enjoyable.

And to finish our supper, we had oysters as dessert. Fine combination! I never expected to eat oysters this way, but it is such an obvious combination! The light taste of oyster merge with a sorbet with a hint of sparkling wine flavor. Just perfect! It was so light and divine! A must try!

To be fair, Maestro SVP should really be judged for their oysters, i mean it’s their specialty, and the main reason why people go there. No doubt that their oysters are high quality. As for cooked ones, yes they are tasty but I suggest to go for raw instead. And definitely order that oyster dessert!

Zuuchini

It’s a pho restaurant but why would I go there for their dessert? Sure, they offer some good pho, but it’s not as interesting as their dessert.

Pho Zen is an option when craving for pho in the south shore. But, be warned, their pricing is higher than other places.

Imperial rolls. First though: they are small! Generally tasty and crispy but greasy, but it’s always like this in other viet restaurants too…

Mong and pork, I believe. The pork was especially well done. A hint of burnt edges to add the crisp in the meat.

Pho. The broth was good, but not memorable (not that it’s bad, just easily replaceable). I was disappointed that my meats were 99% cooked when the bowl was brought to me… I usually like my beef bloody and see it cook in the broth in font of my eyes.

Now, this is what makes Pho Zen likeable! It serves sticky rice with coconut milk as dessert!!! I looooove sticky rice, especially in the form of dessert. I don’t see this dessert served anywhere in Montreal. Now, this may not be a dessert for everyone… but if you are just like me, that miss the good black rice with coconut milk and mango from Hong Kong Thai restaurant, I guess this dessert comes as close as that!

Pho Zen, please don’t stop serving this dessert…and please a version of this with black rice!

Zuuchini

Frite Alors! brings in so much memories! It used to be my biggest wishlist  restaurant to go.  A cool restaurant to eat at because it put so much focus on fries. That was old times…

After all these years, I came back to Frite Alors for some late night food because Mr.Butter was hungry…

I don’t know if I am going to too many fancy and clean places lately, I find Frite Alors! on st-denis a bit worn-out. The place looks a bit dirty too. It’s missing that trendy fast food vibe. Tintin drawings are gone too.

Because I wasn’t hungry, I only nibbled on Mr.Butter fries. Well, that’s all it matters right?! FRIES.

I don’t recall what burger Mr.Butter ordered….. but look at this damn picture I took….

It looks yummy!!! But I really wasn’t hungry to take a bite. According to Mr.Butter, it was good. He wasn’t savoring it like it’s heaven though.

As for me, I can only talk about the fries…Marketed as Belgium fries… Is it better? The fries are plainly normal. They aren’t bad, but they aren’t “GOOD FRIES!”.  What makes these fries to almost “GOOD FRIES” was a push from the sauces. Frite Alors! offers a variety of sauce to eat your fries with. We chose Frite Alors! and Mexican. I may be incorrect with the Mexican sauce, but that doesn’t matter because Frite Alors was so good that you can forget about the other ones. Frite Alors sauce is made with mayo, harissa and garlic! I can taste the slight spiciness of harissa, which I like!

I felt a bit guilty. Eating fries and then dip it with mayo… when I wasn’t even hungry. But the sauce was quite addictive.

Frite Alors! has once been one of the my wishlist restaurant…it is no more. I don’t even think it’ll come across my mind  if I didn’t pass right in front of it.

Zuuchini