Tuesday, August 28, 2012

La Salle a Manger - tad overpriced and faster than a chinese restaurant!

Went to Salle a Manger a a few friends and I must say the food is good but I've been so rushed ever in my life for a restaurant that is priced on the high side.

It is so hard to describe each dish as it went by so fast.... all i remember was that the charcuterie, tartar and carpaccio was delicious and there was this pork belly bun with crab that reminded me of momofoku but not as tasty. They also have their own version of kimchi ramen with wagyu veal which tasted good but odd. 

I think the issue here is there description versus what we received. 

We ordered around 8-9 plates and it was delivered at the speed of a chinese restaurant / fast food....

Overall I would rate this restaurant 5/10 - simply because they serve food way too fast for a restaurant that charges similar rates as joe beef or chez l'epicier. Speed = loss of time taken to appreciate each dish and makes the ambiance feel rushed.








La Salle À Manger on Urbanspoon

Monday, August 13, 2012

In season and on special - buy buy buy

Hey Everyone,

Now is the time to buy corn, peaches, strawberries and blueberries... they are now in special and very sweet.

13 corn ranging from $2.00-$3.50
Strawberries and blueberries are about $8 for huge basket
Peaches from Ontario are $4-$5

Oysters: 33 cents each at Metro
Alaskan Crab: $7/lbs
Filet Mignon: $14/lbs
Pork Filet: $3/lbs

Monday, July 30, 2012

Kafta a la moshi

Annie and I love eating Mediterranean grilled meats... so we figured we would make a homemade version of Kafta... I don't really have a recipe for it but this should give you an idea on how to make your own rendition.

Approximately 2 kg of meat! (For 4-6 people)

1 Kg - 1/2 Ground Beef
1 Kg - 1/2 Ground Lamb
1 Whole chopped onion 
1-2 cup of chopped parsley (regular or Italian)
3-4 Minced Garlic clove
3-4 teaspoon of ground cumin
3-4 teaspoon Ras Hanout spice
Handful of pine nuts
pinch of curry
pinch of sugar
Salt and Pepper
1/4 cup of Olive oil 

Mix the meats together and combine all ingredients... and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Once completed form sausages that would fit in a pita wrap. 

Cooking: 

You can bbq the meat (which would be best) or you can pan sear on cast iron all sides 1-2 minutes per side to seal in the juices. Then finish in the oven for 10 mins @ 400 degrees. 

I find that adding the olive oil in the meat mix makes the meat juicier somehow....

Serving suggestions:
- Pita Wrap with hummus, with tomatoes, pickled turnip, onions and tomatoes
- Eat with Fatouch Salad or Tabouleh Salad
- Also great with Basmati Rice

Enjoy!

- Chef Moshi

Find me on Instagram for photos @ mase3k

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Deep Fried Corn Tempura - Simple and Delicious

Am feeling for Japanese Pub Food. A while back when I was in NYC after eating at Sushi Yasuda... we were still hungry so we headed to a nearby Isakaya and had corn tempura to snack on with our drinks...

It was so good and simple... I liked it so much I asked the great folks at Imadake to make it for my birthday and they did!!!

I was able to replicate it somewhat and some peeps had a chance to try it a house party I hosted a while back....

Here we go!
- Tempura Mix (Egg + Flour + Cornstarch)
- Frozen Corn
- Sea Salt
- Cold Club Soda
- Oil @ 400 degrees

Make your tempura batter with cold club soda and make sure that batter is sitting on top of a big bowl of ice. The colder the better.

Once your batter is done thrown in your frozen corn kernel... you will notice that it will almost form like a giant frozen rice krispie square...

When the oil is ready thrown in the frozen corn tempura mix in the fryer - size it to the size of a tennis ball or so.

Once its golden brown - takes about 5-6 minutes - take it out and place it on paper towel to remove excess oil. While it is hot, sprinkle sea salt...

And Voila - Corn Tempura!

It should look like this in the end:

Friday, July 20, 2012

Pho Recipe

Some people have asked me how to make Pho. The truth is I don't have an exact recipe but I can say that all phos are not created equally. Its one of those things that you can season as you go and does require a certain amount of attention.

For 12-15 large Bowls

Here we go:
1 large stock pot - about 6-8 Liters of water

2-3 Whole white onions chopped in quarters
2-3 pieces of ginger cut in the sizes of your thumb
2-3  tablespoon Fennel Seeds
2 tablespoon spoon Clove
2-3 tablespoon of salt
2-3 tablespoon of whole peppercorn
2-3 Asian cinnamon stick
8-12 Star Anis (depending on how much you like the taste)
Tendon 3-4 pieces of tendon
2 lbs of beef shank
4-5 beef bones / knuckles
2 lbs of Brisket
A few Table spoons of Fish Sauce 
1 tsp of MSG
1.5 lbs kg of Ox tail
Daikon cut the size of hocket pucks
Carrot if you want a sweeter pho


Step 1:
Take Onion and Ginger and char it on a cast iron skillet. Once completed, split each onion peel and put it on a rack that you will broil

Step 2:
Take your stock pot and blanch all the meat in salt water and throw away the water.

Step 3:
Add water to boil back in stock pot with all the meats and make a cheesecloth pouch  or massive tea ball of all the spicespeppercorn and add the fish sauce and salt. Also put in the onion and ginger that you charred earlier

Step 4:
Bring to a bowl and then let simmer for 2 hours. At that point add the carrot and daikon and let simmer for another 2-3 hours. The longer you let is simmer, the more tender the meats become

Step 5:
Well at this point, taste your broth and adjust seasoning to your liking and add water as needed if you need to dilute the flavor. Take out all the oxtail and thinly slice brisket, shank and tendon

Step 6:
I like to pre-soak pho noodle for 30-45 minutes and then cook it in boiling water for 2 minutes. When its cooked, feel free to rinse it in luke warm water. This will help in keeping the broth hot when you serve your pho.

Step 7:
Hot broth ready, pho noodles cooked in a bowl. Garnish with Raw thin slices of beef, chopped coriander and green onion, chop suey, thai basil.


Enjoy!

PS. Every broth I make taste different as I don't follow a recipe.... enjoy!
PPS. Open your windows and have the fan at all times... your house will smell like a pho restaurant!

Photo below - Thanks to my friend Sheep!

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Maison Boulud nothing like Daniel NYC

And so... I had the opportunity to go to Maison Boulud for a bachelor party. Honestly, it is the last place I thought I'd be for a bachelor party... but what can I say we wanted to be classy for at least a small portion of the night.We went for the tasting menu where half of the group were served different dishes.

Food: 7/10
I can't say I didn't like the food but I can't say that it was memorable. Everything that was served tasted and looked exactly what I'd expect from this restaurant. The presentation is definitly high level and requires alot of attention to details. The pricing I find is fair but I am sure you can find something at a lower price or something that tastes memorable at the same price.

Decor: 6/10
Decoration was nice but we were place in a random corner away from all the folks dining there and the kitchen action. I like the wine display and the open kitchen concept so you can take a peak at what the chef's are cooking. The look feels like a restaurant template with nothing unique except for a chandelier made of wine glasses

Service: 5/10
I don't think it was bad but it wasn't spectacular or attentive. I don't think they did a good job of explaining what we were eating nor did they sound interested. I expect a high level of detail for a restaurant with a brand like Daniel Boulud.

Overall Value: 6/10 Well with 1 cocktail, 2 wine glasses and the meal - the total came to approximately 150 tax tip included per person. I am not really impressed... except for the foccacia. Lasting impression: This is a farcry from the level of service and detail from his restaurant in NYC... This place is no different than any other typical french restaurant in Montreal at that price range. I'd rather go to 400 Coups, Europea, Club Chasse et Peche or Chez L'epicier Would I recommend this place: Sure if you have no idea where to go in Montreal and try to impress a lady. you can find pictures of the food @ mase3k on Instagram :)

I wouldn't mind paying for 150$ tasting menu if it was 5 courses with exceptional service.


  Maison Boulud on Urbanspoon

Monday, April 23, 2012

Vietnamese dessert soups - Che. Well we've got family coming over this weekend and I think for dessert we will make Che. (sounds like Chair without the R). Taro or Corn dessert soup... mmm

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Food craving....

What are you craving for today? I am craving a Paradise Cone and Katsu Lunch at Maiko... that was the best thing ever when I worked in the West Island. Also its' funny cause whatever the served for lunch was exactly the same as for dinner but at 50%.

If you have a day off - go to Maiko Bernard and finish up at Bilboquet!

Friday, April 13, 2012

Pho-Shizzle

Well time to make my mom proud - I will attempt to make Pho for the first time.

Wish me luck!

Monday, February 20, 2012

Sunday Breakfast potatoes recipe

I really enjoy breakfast potatoes.... I've finally found a balance to ensure crisp and moisture...

You will need:

- Cast iron pan
- potatoes
- Bacon Fat
- Herbe de provence
- Spanish Onions
- Olive Oil
- Sea Salt
- Fresh cracked pepper

Real simple and easy to make.

Chop potatoes in half circle wedges about .5 or .75 cm thick
Add about 2-3 tablespoon of bacon fat in the pan.... fry up the potatoes and let it sit there for 3-5 mins before rotating.... Do so until there are chard marks every where...

Preheat oven at 400 degrees

10-15 mins later... add in rough chopped onions, salt and pepper and herbe the provence and mix up the potatoes. Once done take aluminium foil and seal the pan for another 5-7 minutes.

Open up the pan, drizzle olive oil and reseal and place in oven for another 15 minutes or so sealed.

Right before serving, remove aluminium foil and broil that bad boy.

Booya - bacon infused herbed breakfast potatoes.

Feel free to add red/green peppers for that fiesta feel and drizzle with valentino hot sauce.

Enjoy!

- Mason

Monday, February 13, 2012

Ryu - the restaurant - no Hadoken here....

As anticipated, Annie will always say yes to sushi.... which gave me the opportunity to try Ryu Tapas restaurant.

I found out about this restaurant when friends were posting it on facebook and also when I walked by the restaurant when I was heading to Greasy Spoon....

I'll break it down into 5 category: (Ambiance, Decor, Service, Food, Pricing)

Ambiance: 7

Well... This place feels like a sushi place you'd find in NYC for yuppies. You gotta have that swagger and dress like you're the coolest shit since the MC HAMMER pants. Upon entering the restaurant I could feel for a moment as if the restaurant went silent and the crowd was staring at both of us. WHY? Maybe because we look young or they had the OMFG Asians are eating here look. Clearly the people here are either European or french folks from the plateau. They play a blend of house lounge music, trying to mimic some kind of weird supper club ambiance.

If you are ready to act like a snob and be snobbed by others.... this is the place for you :P

Decor: 6.5

Err... lots of purple and pink neon hues all over the place with black walls and white tables and chairs. I can't help but wish there was a dance floor with dancers on top of the sushi bar. Kind feels like an after hour at 7 am.... you know when everything is a blur. The place is trying really hard to have this PLUR feel to it. The only note i'd say is that the space is really cramp and we were pretty close and sandwiched to other tables.

Service: 8

Our waitor was alright, clearly he had some issues translating things in english as he was more french. He took our orders, made recommendations and chatted with us a bit. He was a good guy. The only thing I can complain about is that drinks take a while to be served. I guess the bar is too small and there's only one bartender. Dessert, they messed up the order but they didn't charge for it so that was a PLUS!. The table beside us asked to doggy bag the leftovers but it never came. They didn't eat 3 rolls and that is prolly about 40$ worth of food.


Food: 7.5

Some plates are hits or miss.... so I went for a variety of things to measure it on freshness of seafood and creativity.

Jalapeno Hamachi Sashimi:  Yellowtail was fresh, jalapeno was cut a little too thick. The sauce is some ponzu blend but didn't taste deep or robust

Red Snapper Sashimi with sauce: Tasted pretty standard, had cracked pepper and grains of sea salt on top. Nothing special and pretty forgettable.

Salmon Sashimi: It was fresh, cut really thick and oddly priced. I ordered 6 portions. I got a plate of 9 salmon sashimi for 18$. Tho the 9 slices is easily equivalent to 18 slices at other places. lol so I felt like I got my moneys worth.

Club Ryu: Sushi Burrito/Wrap cut in half. It was a pretty tasty treat, its like a giant kamikaze roll with extra seafood wrapped in soy paper. Reminded me of a food truck in the West coast I saw on food network.

Beef Tataki: Tasted more like a warn seared steak. Came with a fresh kimchi style coleslaw. Too sour for my taste, clearly it didn't ferment long enough

Kyo Roll: This is there most expensive roll, comes with different fishes and lobster. at 25$, I expected alot out of it. In the end it tasted like a glorified rainbow roll. Not worth the cash.

Godzilla Roll: Eel and etc type of roll, that tasted good and I would definitly order it again.

Sauces: They provide 5 different kinds of dipping sauces for their sushi. You can ask for soya sauce and wasabi. That was a nice touch.

Cocktails in general: Their cocktails are great and I would definitely go back for just drinks and a few appetizers.

Dessert Sushi Roll: Strawberry and blueberry with alot of tempura bits in a soy paper roll with a bit of rice. Came with some watered down nutella to dip with. It was surprisingly good and much better than Shodan's romeo and juliet. (that roll is by far the weirdest shit I ever ate)

Price:
Well - I was pretty full by the end of the night and the total bill was 200+ for two with 4 cocktails and sparkling water. Do I think it's overpriced... Absolutely. Can I justify why the overpriced it? Yep. Comes with Valet parking and I assume that rent is expensive on Laurier.

Some of the rolls are over priced by 30% or so. If the pricing overall would be about 20-25% less, this place is a clear winner. Not good for groups tho. I would recommend a maximum of 4 people. There's no way the kitchen, bar, sushi chef, waiters can properly execute for a greater group.

Conclusion:
- I would go there to impress a girl
- I would not go there for a group outing
- I would probably go to NYC next time for a restaurant of that style
- I doubt I would come back to this place
- I think they are trying to hard to look like a super cool trendy restaurant
- I wish there was some kind of homage to street fighter on their menu :P

Ryu on Urbanspoon

Thursday, January 5, 2012

2012

So what did you get for Christmas and what are your new year's resolution?