beautys luncheonette || montreal's famous deli

93, avenue du Mont-Royal Ouest (rue St-Urbain), Montreal, QC
Beautys


Around mid-December, I told my colleague that I will be spending my winter holiday in Montreal and he recommended this place called "Beautys" to me. He was raised there and he would go to Montreal once in awhile, I asked him, what is Beautys? Never heard of it. He told me: "It's the best breakfast place I have ever been to".

So I gave it a try. Here it is!

look at all its' recognition!

beauty's is always jam-packed!

the short order counter

beauty's mish mash

cheese & bacon melt

beauty's menu

service || very friendly, the waitress who served me interacted with all the customers and would always ask if we liked coffee in our cups (free of charge if you ordered a drink beforehand). I read somewhere on the Beautys' menu that it is a tradition the owner of the diner would personally greet every customer that comes into their store. It is true, the owner (who is now in his 80s) seated everyone who came in, he had a great sense of humour, I noticed that for every customer who was waiting in line, he told them (including me) that it would be a 5 minute wait. I waited for around 20 minutes and I gave him a dirty stare when he told his incoming customers that it was "a 5 minute wait" because obviously for me, it was way longer. Then he looked at me and said "never discourage a customer, right? And by 5 minutes, I meant 5 Jewish minutes". LOL. This man made my day and I could no longer be mad at him.

food || if you are use to eating high class food, this place is not the place for you. this is the kind-of food you can cook at home but since i'm not the best cooker, I can't make this kind of food. I decided to order the most basic dish on their menu because I had the mentality that if they can't perfect a thing like "cheese and bacon melt", then the rest of the stuff on the menu wouldn't be that great either. But boy, was I wrong, their cheese and bacon melt was DELICIOUS. They used a generous amount of butter spread to grill the bread and the cheese was melted perfectly, not too hard and not too soft. And not to mention, my sandwich was golden brown, how can you make a grilled sandwich without have any burnt sides? I guess I just suck at making grilled sandwiches! But anyways, I do admit, my mentality was wrong. My boyfriend said "that's like walking into a bar and calling a beer, and if you don't like the beer, you assume that all their cocktails don't taste great either, it doesn't make sense". Fine, you win this time (like all the other times lol!).

price || drinks start at $4+ (i think it's a bit expensive for the price of drinks) and my dish was around $5. i would say it's affordable.

decor || once you walk in, you will feel like you went back to the 1960s with the old, yet classic diner decors - the metal stools with cushions, the open diner counter and not to mention the classic two-people seatings. I personally thought that the diner was too small. I know they must make alot of money because this diner is well-known to tourists around North America (I noticed a few couples from New York and even one who travelled all the way from Japan to come here), so why don't they ever expand the place? Keeping the tradition is why. It has always been small and I assume the owner wants to keep it small. Not to mention, they always have customers coming in so the tiny diner's capacity could only take so much people and it would make the diner have line-ups most of the time. That's a good marketing strategy, people who pass by the diner would wonder "why does this place always have line-ups??" and BOOM! you get curious customers coming in and that means more sale. ok, sorry, I'm a little bit off topic. :) Long story short, if you like the 1960s diner decor and want to travel back in time, give this diner a look. 

what I ordered || cappuccino & cheese and bacon melt. Apparently, Beautys' is famous for their "mish-mash" (which by the way, they have a patent on this dish, lol) and also famous for their smoothies. I will go there again if I crave for diner food! :)

note || Beauty's has been operating since 1942! And if you want to buy your relatives a little souvenir, Beauty's also offers a range of souvenirs - the classic tomato canned soup, Beauty's maple syrup, postcards and much more, explore them for yourself!

Just recently, in 2011, Beauty's has been rated by Zagat (a well-known international restaurant guide with reviews and ratings) as one of the best breakfast place to go to in Montreal. 

candi bar || adults' eye candy

candi bar -  need a late night sugar fix? 


ever since my friend (who lives in Montreal) told me about this candy-themed bar, i have always had it on my must-go list when i make a visit back. it's been awhile and i finally went this week. thought i might share with you guys because it is a pretty awesome bar and surprisingly, it wasn't too far from where i stayed at during my visit here. :) <3

do you like to drink? do you like to eat candies? do you like colourful things? and are you that kind of person who needs a sugar fix 12am in the morning? if you answered "yes", then candi bar is that place for you to satisfy your sweet tooth and your alcoholic problems, no i'm just joking about the alcoholic problem LOL.

once I walked in, it was all candy, candy, candy. not to mention, the floor and the tables were all colorful  and the chairs were very unique (refer to the pictures below).

candi bar serves a variety of drinks (a lot of them have vodka in it, WOO-HOO!) and all drinks are served with candies - that's the cool part. my girl friends and i ordered the "Tiffany&Co." drink because what girl doesn't like rings, right? haha. the drink tasted good but i didn't taste the vodka much and i'm a light drinker! i do recommend this place though because the decors are very unique and one-of-a-kind. toronto should have more theme restaurants and bars, it creates such a fun environment :). anyways, i've got more pictures but i'll leave the rest for later, gotta catch a bus back to t-dot tomorrow.

happy new year and live life to the fullest y'all. God bless. xx

-Anna

these were fun chairs to sit on/play with!! 



Men's washroom



girls' washroom with lights that are bird cages!



drinks avec mes amies :) 

i ordered the "Tiffany&Co."

our ring shots! hehe

note: must be 21+ to enter into this bar, sorry :) (uh-oh, I just revealed my age)
operation hours: 5pm to 3am
price: 11$+/drink

Like them on Facebook: 
Candi Bar on Facebook

my christmas dinner

this year, there are no presents, there are no special trips, there are no surprises...Just love.

home-made garlic bread

sausages!

califlower dipped in fondue, deli-ciousssssssss

breaded chicken

breaded chicken breast and mushroom baked in chicken broth, it turned out great!!

classic - bacon wrapped around asparagus

viola! end result :)

pan-seared brussel sprouts

Coffee, tea or Me?

FEATURE "DRINK" OF THE MONTH

Well hello there, it's been awhile...and I am quite behind in my food blogging (even with my Asia trip entries. Yikes!). I will definitely get back to those during my winter break from work *crosses fingers*

It's December already! And what is more appropriate than to celebrate it with a hot drink? =D Lately, I have been obsessed with Teaopia's Matcha Superior. http://www.teaopia.ca/

Green tea has always been one of my favorite drinks, why? No artificial flavors, it tastes fresh and it helped me lose weight. A lot of my friends have noticed a dramatic change with my body weight and I give props to healthy eating and green tea itself [here you go, there's my secret lol]. I lost around 15-20 pounds within the past five years of drinking green tea religiously. I noticed every time when I'm eating a big meal, green tea helps me digest the food a lot quicker and easier. I have always used the green tea bags, they all range from Costco's Kirkland to Starbucks' Tazo or to some really random ones I buy from a Chinese supermarket.

There's one thing I didn't know until recently I picked up a brochure from Teaopia - matcha vs. green tea. Green tea are the leafs itself and matcha is a fine powdered green tea. So one are leaves and the other one is powder. What's the difference? Since matcha is the final product from green tea, you are taking in all the nutritious residue and you are receiving 10x more than an infusion of Green Tea leaves [source: Teaopia].

According to research done by Teaopia, Matcha Green Tea is ranked the highest for antioxidant when consumed by one. Based on 1 gram, Matcha has 1384 ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity), this is why matcha is good for you. Antioxidants are used in medicine to prevent diseases such as heart strokes and cancer, I think one of the reason why I lost a bit of weight is because green tea kicks out the bad stuff in your system (such as fatty cells and radicals) and acts as a catalyst to increase your metabolism by 35-40%. Quite frankly, when I drink it religiously, I go to the washroom and make #2's almost every other day. LOL!

MATCHA SUPERIOR

"Teaopia's Superior grade Matcha has a mellow and fresh taste. This Matcha is ideal for those who are new to the art of Matcha drinking and is great for adding to smoothies, sprinkling on yogurt and of course traditionally prepared." 

Very rich and smooth matcha powder :)

just half a teaspoon was enough!

It tastes great, I love how you can really taste the green tea. There's a difference with tea bags and powder. Powder gives you the richness and the sweetness of green tea, something you can't taste when you use tea bags. It is probably the best quality of green tea I have seen in town at the moment. Though I must say two things: this one tiny can is quite expensive - ~$30/can. AND be careful when you prepare it. Do not put more than half a teaspoon because your drink will end up really powdery and you will waste the green tea goodness. Some serving suggestions: sprinkle it with vanilla icecream, bet you won't be disappointed!! :) Hope you'd enjoyed this entry! Till next time! <3

mochi sweets || nom nom nom mochi

FEATURED FOOD OF THE MONTH!

http://mochisweets.com.hk/eng_index.html

Shop 38, B2, Langham Place, Mong Kok, Hong Kong

 

*Photos taken with an iPhone 4. Excuse the picture quality! Sorry!*

[top left] black chocolate
[top middle] red bean
[top right] green tea
[bottom left] chocolate mousse
[bottom middle] chestnut
[bottom right] strawberry


Oh my gosh, it's so fluffy!!! I love everything Japanese. I love Japanese culture, I love Japanese boys and I love Japanese food! =D Whenever I drop by J-Town in Toronto, I always buy tons of mochi to eat.

Mochi is a traditional Japanese dessert, the most traditional flavors I know inside mochi are red bean paste and green tea filling. Mochi is a Japanese rice cake with paste/fillings inside, when you eat it, it gives you that chewy texture because it is made from glutinous rice. The ones I always eat from J-town are always sweet but I know other places like Hong Kong/Taiwan may serve mochi with shredded dried pork which is also very delicious!!!

When I went to Hong Kong, Mochi Sweets was one of my top places to go to. I have seen some of my friends took pictures of mochi sweets on facebook and seeing how Mochi Sweets placed their products on the display instantly attracted me to go there. Hey, what girl isn't attracted to colourful things? lol.

What is special about Mochi Sweets is that they offer varieties of flavours, not just only the traditional green tea or red bean paste/filling. Flavours like purple potato (aka sweet yam), chestnut cream and sakura are very creative and unique flavors. Why am I not surprised that I can only find these kind of stores in Hong Kong? Because Hong Kong is well known to get creative with their food - by giving you a whole list of different flavours to experiment with.

FYI: Most mochi range from $1.25 CAD to $1.50 CAD. (prices may change from time to time). It may be more cost efficient if you buy them in a half dozen (6 in a box) or a dozen (12 in a box).

TIP: It is best to consume the mochi when its skin is soft. Do not refreeze it after thawing.

Critique: I tried the black chocolate one and it tastes like the 70% Lindt dark chocolate candy bar. I like this flavour the most because it does not taste artificial compared to the fruity-flavored mochi strawberry. The outside of the black chocolate mochi is a layer of dark chocolate flour which is bitter but once you eat the inside, which is a filling of sweet creamy milk chocolate, the bitter/sweet flavours just clashes together and you can taste heaven. LOL.

Check it out and give them a try! :)

-Anna

the chocolate library @ ritz carlton || so you fancy, huh?

1 Austin Rd West, West Kowloon, Hong Kong

http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/HongKong/Information/Default.htm%20


The Chocolate Library

As promised, I would blog (and possibly, there will be a bit of bragging involved haha, just joking!) about my trip to Asia. First off, I would be blogging about a five-star & a world class hotel's high tea restaurant! I gave it a five star rating for it's five star service & food & the price (surprisingly).  

Courtesy of Ritz Carlton Hong Kong

Do you see this amazing view?! I was at the 103rd floor! Sorry I didn't get closer, I am afraid of heights. Apparently, Ritz Carlton is the tallest building in Hong Kong at the moment! I definitely enjoyed the view, too bad I went during a foggy day...

the concept of Chocolate Library

hungry, anyone?

Why is it called the Chocolate Library?

I think their concept is pretty cool. The way CL presents their desserts is unique. the desserts are placed on a "shelf-like" box. I would say, it looks exactly like the shelves that I see at my local library. Sometimes it's not the food that attracts to go to the restaurant, it is also their concept that amuses me!! 

This is where the desserts are placed in, in one big box! I remember when the waitress brought it over to my table, all my friends were so excited. Once she opened it, we all went "WOWWWWWWWWWWWW". A moment worth to cherish hehe.

I highly recommend this place for young adults, especially for girls because I know us girls JUST LOVE desserts (way more than guys). I went with my couple of girlfriends and we stayed there for literally 4 hours just talking and having a good time =).

the WOW factor

Look at the intricate details of their desserts/high tea goodies! Everything is made to perfection!

service || great! they didn't seem to care that we stayed for such a long time and occasionally, the servers would come to refill my teapot without me having the need to ask.

food || *chocolate afternoon tea starts from 2pm-6pm*, the chocolate cake that is shown above is part of the tea set. I LOVED IT! It's probably my favorite one out of them all because it tastes like ferrero rocher~ the cake is sweet to my tasting. One box of CL is probably enough for two people, don't order too much or else you'll have to take them home! Also, the smoked salmon pastry was good too, the bread part was soft and you know, when bread is soft and easy to chew on, you know it's fresh out of the oven ;)

price || one set is around $250HKD, two set is around $440HKD PLUS service charge (~$20CAD to $30CAD per head). High tea-ing in 5-star hotels like the ones in Toronto are SUPER EXPENSIVE. Usually around $40 to $50 person (add taxes/tips on top of that). So in my opinion, high tea-ing at Ritz Carlton was affordable. 

decor || warm tones like the food chocolate itself! The sofas are very comfy and the tables are huge! The view is also one of things worth going to this restaurant for. If you want to see a higher/better view without eating any of the food, you have to pay $150HKD just to go few levels up, definitely not worth spending that money!

what I ordered || two sets/boxes of chocolate afternoon tea, for every box of pastries ordered, two drinks are included. I ordered a tea that tasted similar to jasmine tea. TIP: if you want to make your money's worth, my suggestion would be to order tea because they give you a huge teapot and refill it every time it's empty. :D If you order drinks like latte or cappuccinos, they will not refill it.

café en passant || reader's choice french cuisine

10133 Yonge Street, Richmond Hill, ON
http://www.cafeenpassant.com/index.htm


I have never tried French cuisine at Uptown before, to be honest, I never knew there was one in Richmond Hill until one day I was reading a Chinese magazine and I have discovered Café en Passant. Café en Passant is one of those restaurants that you always pass by but never thought of trying it out. I went there on a hot summer day with a good friend of mine's and we sat outside on the patio. Sitting outside on the patio was not a great idea because there was not enough shade and secondly, the flowers they placed outside attracted quite a few bees and insects.

The restaurant is small in size and the decor lacked originality, some people may find the decor out-of-date and if people are picky, some may even find it squishy to sit inside. One thing I noticed was that this French cuisine charges atleast $20/head but has no AIR CONDITION inside the restaurant. Well, not when I was around. I mean, if you were to charge people at a costly price, why not just treat your customers a bit better and not let them sweat like crazy? lol.

For the appetizer, I tried the Baked French Onion soup (surprise!). It's like a tradition, I have to try the French Onion soup at every single French cuisine I go to. The French Onion soup has won many awards so I had super high expectations from it. After tasting it, I notice that it was a bit to salty, I didn't like it all that much because I hardly tasted the onion, it was just cheese and tons of salt. French Onion is definitely not easy to make.

baked french onion soup



escargot a la Bourguignon (escargot marinated with red wine)



creme bruleé - classic french dessert



cobb salad - a healthy meal <3




















































 Creme brulee is a classic French dessert, the surface is a crusted piece of yellow sugar. This dessert was made nicely, the steamed egg inside was super smooth and the sweetness did not take over the taste of the egg. Most important of all, this dessert wasn't too sweet!!! I totally recommend this dish.



FYI: A little fact of Café en Passant: the chef Ralf is German himself; there is free parking behind the restaurant & the restaurant has been operating for more than 30 years!

service || friendly, the waitress was quite talkative and we were joking with each other, haha! 

food || the salad was nothing special, Drake Hotel's cobb salad was 10x better because they used way more ingredients for the same price and it had a stronger taste with bacon and eggs. But I do recommend their creme bruleé

price || $30-40 per person (DURING LUNCH TIME, it was TOO PRICEY)

decor || needs renovation, too ugly for a French cuisine.

what I ordered || escargot a la Bourguignon, creme bruleé, cobb salad