Moti Mehal May 24th

1024 Jean Talon West
5143158801

One of the so many Indian restaurants in what I remember being the Greek area of Park X. Since today is Dylan's birthday all I can say is the times they are a changing. At times for the better and at times for the worse. Being an amateur of all things Indian I am often drawn to this part of the city for the food. I have sampled most Indian restaurants on this strip. I had a few years ago tried this restaurant and noticed they offered Balti dishes which immediately made my mouth salivate with the memories of the Balti chicken from the Shahi Palace on Sources. Well it seems the owners of this restaurant were part owners in the Shahi Palace which I consider to be the best Indian  in Montreal.

Now  a few years later I returned with 3 friends for some late Friday victuals. The room was full and we managed to get seats after another couple were displaced...this only happens in ethnic restaurants it seems.
We ordered the Nan some Balti chicken  Beef Palek (hope I remember that correctly)  Okra and a vegetable briyani.
We also started with 2 dishes of Chnan samosa which had been hand written in the menu..this street food seems to have gained quite a following in Montreal Indian restaurants.

All the food arrived quickly and was either warm or hot which for me is a big plus. I would say I was impressed with the briyani not because it was to die for but I expected less as with many of the area restaurants that soak this dish with oil.  The beef was cooked with the pureed spinach and was fair with not enough discerning flavours for my taste buds. The bread was also acceptable but not noteworthy. The best dish of the nigh was the Balti chicken which has several layers of flavours. The okra a beautiful vegetable on its own was completely devoid of flavour once mixed with the onions and sauce , luckily it still retained some of its crunchiness.

I was glad to have been asked how hot we wanted our dishes and having responded with medium is what we got.

Overall a good experience with he servers being attentive and pleasant. If however you crave something more do make it to the Shahi palace. 

Gourmet D'Asie May 2011 2481 Fleury 514 3818883

I have eaten at this restaurant more often than any other in the last 10 years, on average 1.5 times a month.

It's features are proximity to my work, it is relatively inexpensive, it is a BYOB restaurant and to a great extent the owner Mai is absolutely charming.

The table d'hote is always a good deal despite the standard Vietnamese offerings of brochettes. The stand out here is the soup which has a rich textured flavour with something other than broth. My companions are also fond of the wonton soup although I have yet to try it myself. One thing I must try is the pad thai which one of my companion eats regularly and swears that it is the best he has ever had.There a few interseting dishes such as the lotus root salad and the beef salad which unfortunately is sometimes served with too much dressing that masks the wondeful  flavours.

The large seafood soup usually fits the bill with soem tasty scallops shrinp and the obliging clams that amkes the dish look pretty.

Meals are ususally between 12-18 dollars including tips. Fridays and Saturdays are busy so reserve. They have a terrasse at the front  but the view is  blah some flowers and vines to hide the drab street would be an improvement.

One word to those that do not like salt stay away from any of the breaded fish dishes.

Ma Grosse Truie Cherie

!801 Ontario Corner Papineau.

This is another restaurant that has shot to notoriety in an area best described as changing. The exterior of the building has been decorated with a stand out piece of art resembling what else a Sow.

Sitting around and wondering where to eat my companion asked to go somewhere nice and new. Having just been told of this restaurant I called and got a 6:30 reservation which suited us just fine. On arrival our hostess led us to our table via the kitchen which I thought was WOW. As we walked on she asked if we could leave for 830 since another group had reservations at that time. I mentioned 2 hours should be sufficient give or take 5 minutes.

The room is to my liking with some old and new but decor is not what I long for in restaurants. The menu is a one page list with a few appetizers , and 5 mains all revolving around pork safe for a fish dish and some beef.

We ordered a soup and the foie gras as appetizers. Our server suggested a Spanish wine in the "modest" category which turned out to be the best thing of the evening . It matched beautifully our meal and just seemed to get better as the night wore on. For mains we had the pork ribs and as I mentioned to our server I just had to try what a $28 burger tasted like.

The soup arrived with the foie gras. I am no fan of foie gras nor too fond of soup but my dinner companion loves both so we shared . Not being a fan of soup I especially do not like lukewarm soup. I mentioned this to the server and the soup was returned piping hot which suited me fine. However her comment that the soup was hot but maybe the container was cold just killed it.

The soup was a beef based broth with pieces of smoked ham as best I could make it with some Quebec cheese that really cut through the soup very nicely indeed. The foie gras was as my companion mentioned good as she has never had bad foie gras. The mains arrived and the hamburger looked delicious with some well caramelised onions a large grilled mushroom and what should be a succulent piece of foie gras to enhance the veal patty. All in all a very tasty burger indeed but the foei gras really did not add  all that much. I must say I only ate a third of the burger as the soup was quite filling. The burger was accompanied with parmesan coated fries which were good but not spectacular.

My companion had he ribs that were accompanied with slaw and the same fries. The ribs were succulent and moist with a sweet sauce. Very well done. The whole was presented to the table in a large  square casserole that really did not fit in , but who am I to say. The rack was al;so too much for us to tackle and both the ribs and burger were placed in small Chines Food containers a s doggy bags a cute touch.

Now back to my reservation, as the night progressed my companion noted that she felt rushed with her meal with the server asking if she had finished with her plate as she was actually pulling fries from the dish. At 8:10 our server mentioned that a reservation was coming at 8:30 and could she ease the bill in. Immediately following this another employee began rearranging tables all around us in a loud manner disrupting our conversation.

My entire tab with tip was $178 not the most expensive meal I have had but certainly not a cheap ticket and it was spoiled by the greed of this Establishment. Had I known this would have been the case I would have chosen another restaurant and made nothing of it. It is my opinion that once the Establishment is committed then see it through.

I can overlook this somewhat but my companion will never return under any circumstance.


My suggestion is go to La Boucan on Notre Dame  ( will review again soon) the food is as good the crowd is hipper and the cost is as you can guess cheaper

Phuket Restaurant May 11 2011