I get excited every time I hear about a new restaurant opening in the West Island. I don’t live there, so why do I care? Because that part of the city deserves it. Spots like Grill Seleect, Nolahor KBBQ prove that there is space in the West Island for legit dining establishments and these types of places dismisses any stereotype that anything west of the 13 is devoid of quality restaurants. So you can imagine my excitment when I heard about a new dumpling restaurant that opened in Kirkland – Dumplings Hinata. [click to continue…]
I’m often asked for my opinion on restaurants or if I’ve been to a particular spot – I’m always up for a restaurant talk. I like finding out why someone thinks one place is good and not another, or standout menu items that would justify a trek out of the way to cop a certain dish. If I’m convinced, it usually means I’ll add it to my ever growing list of restaurants to visit, but what I don’t do is check out their public online reviews of ratings. I like to go in not knowing anything other than what was suggested that I order and form my own opinion. The most recent restaurant I checked off that list is the Syrian destination in Laval, Beroya. [click to continue…]
I love spicy food; the spicier the better. But I have my limits. I can get down with a spicy Szechuan spicy poached fish with dried chilis and tongue-numbing peppercorns or a head-sweat inducing lamb vindaloo, but I draw the line at novelty chili pepper eating competitions. I like the flavor of chilis and how they work with a dish. Once you’ve gotten used to and can get past the heat of hot peppers, there is another level of flavors waiting for you on the other side of that fiery wall. In all fairness, there are dishes that will amp up the heat for spiciness sake, but then there are cuisines that use chilis and “heat” as a way to compliment and bring out inherent flavors of the dish. A great example of this is Thai cuisine. I was recently invited to check out Brasserie Thai Pamika‘s menu to explore their take on Thai cuisine. [click to continue…]
