This text is part of the special Pleasures notebook
It is under the sign of the dragon that this new year begins and spring arrives, according to the lunar calendar. For the occasion, we are spending this New Year’s Day visiting the good Chinese and Vietnamese addresses in Montreal.
It is in the company of Victor Yu, famous for his culinary recommendations on his Instagram account @randomcuisine, that we go to Chinatown. “Montreal’s is special, it is as diverse as the city itself,” he says. Today we find dishes from different Chinese provinces. »
Among the good places he shows us is the Ding Xiang restaurant. We taste typical dishes from northwest China in the Xinjiang province. “We are close to Pakistan, Afghanistan, so we find all kinds of skewers, like those with lamb, flavored with cumin and coriander seeds,” he adds.
We also taste the jian bing, a specialty from Beijing, northeast China. These are thin pancakes of fermented millet and scallions, topped with tian mian jiang sauce (a sweet sauce made from fermented wheat and beans), crackers, egg, scallions and cilantro. . “Fermented products are common in northern Chinese cuisine,” he explains. We are near Russia and Korea, two countries known for the art of fermentation. »
Special mention to our gourmet tour at the G&D grocery store. And there, a whole world of food is available to us. In each aisle, we discover all kinds of ingredients, small sauces to concoct our favorite Asian recipes, a large collection of instant noodles and chips with extraordinary flavors. Bring your reusable bags!
In search of little Vietnam
While there isn’t really a Vietnamese neighborhood as clearly defined as Chinatown, there is no shortage of good addresses in the metropolis. And Charles Nguyen, aka @mtlcharles on Instagram, has great stories to tell from restaurant to restaurant, neighborhood to neighborhood.
In this case, the culinary adventure begins at Banh Xeo Minh, rue Jarry Est, where typical cuisine from northern Vietnam is served. “The balance between salty, sweet, bitter, sour and spicy is essential to every meal,” describes the person responsible for public relations, partnership development and cultural programming at the Cho Ðêm MTL festival.
As its name suggests, we opt for the banh xeo, the house specialty. This is a turmeric and coconut rice pancake stuffed with pork, shrimp and bean sprouts. Everything is accompanied by fresh herbs and fish sauce. Indeed, all tastes are present in this exquisite dish.
We also enjoy a bun mam, a soup with rice noodles, fermented fish, pork belly, shrimp and fish sauce. Although the broth is harmoniously flavored, it differs greatly from that of pho, better known from Vietnamese cuisine to which most of us are accustomed.
“Due to the more temperate climate, fewer fresh herbs and vegetables are used in northern cuisine than in southern regions,” says Nguyen. Frying and slow cooking are common to add more heat to dishes. »
We continue our culinary epic at the T’ami restaurant, on Saint-Laurent Boulevard, in the heart of Little Italy. He strongly recommends the nem cua be, imperial rolls with crab, pork and shrimp. “It’s the only place where you can eat this in Montreal!” » he exclaims. Then, the bún đâu mam tom is a Hanoi specialty consisting of fried tofu, succulent pork croquettes and green sticky rice (unmature), accompanied by shrimp sauce. The meal ends with cà phê trung, an egg coffee. It is therefore a Vietnamese coffee on which a creamy mixture of egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk is placed, topped with meringue. It’s divine!
Where to celebrate Lunar New Year
This content was produced by the Special Publications team at Duty, relating to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part.