Imadake

What is sho...chu? Or oooo.....ko...no...mi...yaki?

This was me Tuesday night at Imadake, a new izakaya, Japanese pub food, opened on St-Catherine street accross from Alexis Nihon ealier this year. I have been meaning to go there since my japanese designer friend T.K. told me about it over lunch at Tokyo earlier in march. "That place is better than Kazu". I haven't been to Kazu, but I knew about the hype.

What caught my attention at first was the decor. I was mesmerized . "Very plateau" Monsieur said. "You don't see this a lot in Westmount". Yeah, I thought, it's about time. 

The menu spikes your curiosity *, shochu turns out to be a date-alcoholic beverage (they were out of) and okonomiyaki is a seafood pancake, which I shall try next time. We decided on a handful of appetizers, all at 3-8$ each. The first plate (forgot the name, sorry, Imadake's website is still in the process of creation and my Japanese skills are ... inexistent!) was raw beef sprinkled with fresh black pepper and covered in a aroma-ful marinade, with green onions on top. This plate was a success, a perfect way to start our supper. Then came edamame, mushroom miso soup, karaage chicken (deep fried with a wasabi-mayo sauce on a bed of greens), vegetable tempura, chicken on skewers, shrimp tempura and black sesame ice cream.  Everything was fantastic, the tempura was lightly-battered, the chicken was juicy and the ice cream blew my mind. They have a wide selection of alcoholic beverages and ramen noodles as "mains". The clientele was mainly asian, which is always a good sign. Next time, I'm going for takoyaki and okonomiyaki, perhaps with my japanese friend.

*if you're not Japanese 

Queue de cheval

For our 5th year anniversary, Monsieur and I went to Queue de Cheval.

Queue de Cheval is a posh New York-style steak house, and I was expecting it to be intimidating to say the least. As we entered, a hostess walked us to our table, taking our coats along the way. Then, seated, our waiters brought us to the table the daily's cuts: thick, prime, dry-aged USDA beef butchered in-house  of various cuts, giant shrimp and crayfish lobster displayed on a rolling table. I was dazzled by the thickness of the meat. But I was set in mind before entering this place, I was going for the Lou's choice cut [20 oz]. At this point, cheating on lent was ... an understatement.

As a side I chose a Idaho style baked potato and Monsieur took garlic mashed. With red wine the mix was a delight. My "cut" was beyond any steak I've ever had = I see why this place costs an arm and a half. When we asked for the dessert menu, they brought a rolling display of all the desserts on the menu and we dived into a "Death by chocolate" cake. Death, indeed.

I left the place, roses in hand, impressed by the service (waiter to ourselves - check, bringing-your coat-for-you-at-the-end-of-your-meal - check, making you feel like you're on-top-of-the-world- check), meat-cravings satisfied... feeling like one hell of a lucky gal!

Chu Chai

Last Friday night*, I made a huge gastronomical discovery. I went to Chu Chai.

Chu Chai is an award-winning gourmet Thai vegetarian restaurant located on St-Denis. Inside, the atmosphere is - in Quebec we say flyé. Upscale, really cool, very now-this-is-a-nice-place, so-glad-I-brought-my-people-here. I brought people there because Monsieur went there and swore it was amazing. Monsieur, who, at the mention of "it's tofu" stops eating, told me he wouldn't have known his duck was real meat or not, so much it was A-mazing.

Welcome to Chu Chai.

We started with their famous 5 flavour bites: a mix of grated coconut, ginger and other spices on a spinach leaf. The finger food is very interesting, perhaps the most experimental dish I've had of late. The mango salad had so much texture to it and the dumplings were heavenly. I stayed true to my coconut milk obsession and ordered the chicken in coconut milk, green curry and basil. It was fresh, tasted what I  wanted and more. My dad's shrimp surprised me (prior to Chu Chai I imagined tofu ground beef, but tofu chicken? shrimp? duck?) - and what a great imitation of real shrimp it was! The noodle dish was very spicy, but I was warned. And now, the reason you must go to Chu Chai... the Ped Palo, also known as crispy duck. When you go, let me know if you think its tofu or real because Istillcan'tbelieveit'svegetarian.

Miam Kram: Bouchées 5 saveurs / 5 Flavour finger food, winner of best finger food among the top 50 chefs of Quebec in 2005

Yam Mamuang: mango salad

Kiao Satay: peanut sauce dumpling

Khiao Wan Gai: chicken in green curry, coconut milk and basil

Koung Himaparn: shrimp with cashew nuts and pineapple

Ped Kemow: rice noodles with duck, egg, chili and basil

Ped Palo: crispy duck, soya sauce and spinach

Lychee for dessert and green tea ice cream (not pictured)

*2 weeks ago, I had problems posting this

Tokyo Sushi

You know that a place is really good when half way through your meal your friend exclaims (her mouth full) : JULIA, YOUR CAMERA!

And there goes half of potential pictures, inmymouth. Ahhh... 

Tokyo Sushi, located on St-Catherine, is fantastic for a all-you-can-eat lunch for a great deal. The extensive menu offers food for every eater. My soft spot here is the mango and green tea ice cream. Careful though, it disappears quickly!

On a side-note, don't come in a hurry and don't expect much from the waiters. At lunch time the place gets packed very quickly... come early and ask for a booth.

O'burger

Last Tuesday, Monsieur and I ventured to the hip club-music-playing burger spot O'burger located in the heart of Downtown Montreal. We both went for the 100% Angus beef O'burger burger : swiss cheese, crisp bacon, balsamic glazed onions, sautéed mushrooms and O'sauce, with tomatoes, lettuce, pickles and onion on the side. I was frightened at first that aside from a couple in the corner, the somewhat (for Downtown Montreal) huge restaurant was empty, but Monsieur swore that during lunch-hour it's ultra-packed (we came on a January-freezing Tuesday night). The modern-50s décor was amusing and I can only imagine how fun this place becomes once it's full. My burger was very filling and I'm eyeing a chicken on ciabatta bread burger with roasted peppers and Tzatziki for next time... perhaps on a hot July evening on the terrace...