Hoki Poke

I always wanted to try poke, but I just never got around to it - until now. 

Veggie bowl and Classic Bowl

The fish was really yummy and I loved the sauces on top. It also looked too pretty to eat at first and I didn't want to toss it, but it tasted even better once it was all mixed in. 

Website: https://www.hokipoketoronto.com/

Mickael Déjeuner-Dîner - Lasalle, Quebec

The bus tour had 4 different stops in Quebec City - depending on the package chosen, you could stay in a few different places: Fairmont Château Frontenac, another hotel in downtown Quebec City, a hotel a little outside Quebec City or a hotel outside of town. After we picked up the last group, the bus dropped us off at this plaza with a Chinese buffet for breakfast/dinner. We opted out of the buffet and went to Mickael Déjeuner-Dîner instead. 

 

Casserole Mickael

Scrambled egg strips - that's one way to serve a casserole or skillet. The stuff under the scrambled egg strips was okay - there wasn't a lot of hollandaise sauce though, which I found disappointing. There was also a LOT of fruit on the plate - which is kind of nice. I got this omelette because I felt that I hadn't been eating a lot of veggies and fruit and this totally satisfied my requirements. 

Crepe

Casserole Delight

This looked a lot more normal with the eggs over easy. There was also a lot of food under the eggs - mostly a lot of potatoes and sausage.  It's also nice that it came with a mountain of fruit. 

Viande Fumee sandwich with salad (Smoked meat sandwich with salad). 

We didn't really get to eat a lot of smoked meat on this trip, so my friend tried to make up for it here. 

Overall: I think this was definitely a better choice than the Chinese buffet, but I probably wouldn't make the trip out here even if I was in Quebec. 

Website: https://www.facebook.com/dejeunerMickaels/

Paillard - Quebec City

We did a little more exploring of Quebec City and passed by Paillard, where I decided to pick this up for tomorrow's breakfast:  

Fougasse with bacon and cheddar 

The bread was pretty hard the next day - but it was really tasty with the bacon and cheese. 

Website: https://www.paillard.ca/

Restaurant Aux Anciens Canadiens - Quebec City

With the bus tour, I wasn't sure what time we were going to make it to Quebec City - and I was pleasantly surprised we made it before 6. I was really excited to get to eat the $19.95 menu. However, they said they didn't have any tables open when we got there at 5:30 and that we had to come back at 6:15. So I had the $49.95 menu instead. 

 Bread to share

Wild caribou and bison rilletes

I was super excited to try this since you don't usually see caribou on menus. The rilletes paste was really good and came with two pieces of toast and some carrots. 

Soupe

Beef Wellington with bordelaise and mushroom sauce

The presentation was a little lacking, but the beef wellington was really good even if the pastry wasn't super flaky. 

Grandma's treat with meatball ragout, Quebec meat pie, salt pork grillades and baked beans

I loved the variety of traditional and classic Quebec dishes on the plate! It was a lot of food - the best part was definitely the Tourtière (Quebec meat pie). It was really flavourful and tasty. The rest of the food on the plate was okay. 

Bison Bourguignon with blueberry wine sauce

Interesting spin on the normal bourguignon, but I think I like the classic beef version better.

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Sugar Pie! 

So delicious and a great way to end the meal! 

Overall: I felt like I got the Quebecois experience with my meal from the wild game to the tourtière to the sugar pie. It was great and the restaurant was in a pretty quaint house - and we sat in a room with a fire place. It had a lot of rustic charm to it.

Website: http://www.auxancienscanadiens.qc.ca/en/index.htm

Ma Poule Mouillée - Montreal

Our original plan was to go eat at La Banquise. However, since there was a huge line, we decided to grab takeout instead (the line was just as long, but it moved slightly faster). When we were lined up, we couldn't help noticing the long line up across the street at Ma Poule Mouillée. We split up and half the group went to line up for Portuguese chicken. 

 

Huge portions! 

#2 Le Louis Cyr and #8 Bon, les Portugais font de la poutine (the two styrofoam boxes of poutine were from La Banquise)

The Portuguese chicken was AMAZING! The chicken was perfectly seasoned - flavourful and juicy and it came with a huge box of fries and separate box of tasty salad. Le Louis Cyr was a great deal! I also LOVED the Portuguese chicken poutine - the gravy was delicious, there was a ton of tasty delicious chicken and the cheese curds were squeaky and so great. The poutine at Ma Poule Mouillée was way better than the takeout boxes of poutine we got at La Banquise. 

Overall: La Banquise may be super popular with tourists and poutine-lovers, but clearly, this was the local favourite in Montreal! The lineup here is well worth it for the great chicken, huge portions and delicious food. 

Website: http://mapoulemouillee.ca/

Le Banquise - Montreal

October 13, 2017

La Banquise and the line up...


La Panoramix poutine with smoked meat, mushrooms and sour cream and La Mart poutine with hot dog, bacon and mushrooms (white containers - the other food came from Ma Poule Mouillée).
After trying these two poutines, I came to the conclusion that I really don't like mushrooms, mushroom gravy or sour cream in my poutine. I didn't really enjoy these poutines especially since we could also compare it to Ma Poule Mouillee's Portuguese chicken poutine.

July 23 2017

La Banquise is a super popular Montreal poutinerie. Luckily it's open 24/7 so you have your choice of when to go but there's always lineups no matter what time of day (but especially at night after people go drinking and partying). 

La T-Rex with hot dog sausage, ground beef, bacon and pepperoni

It looked so good! All the meats were delicious and the fries were nice and crispy. The cheese curds were amazing! Any poutine here is great! Definitely worth the trip here.