Dishcrawl Coverage Collection

Mon Nan and Maison Kam Fung

Photo Elizabeth Ranger

I’m distracted right now. All I can think about is chocolate. Chocolate, feuilletine, caramel, crèmes, glaçages, chocolate (more chocolate), génoise, syrups, brittles, mousses, sabayon, pralines and biscuit and millefeuilles and butter and cream. It’s all dancing around my head, maybe a sign of the upcoming christmas season (which becomes increasingly about what I’m eating rather than what I’m gifting more and more every year – and I would argue that celestial dining with your most beloved of loved ones is the greatest gift. Evah).

Buuuuuut. Even with that kind of introduction, I’m going to be talking about a mostly sugar-free adventure. A Dishcrawl event. This is the plum-backwards way we do things over here at Bubble Tea. When other people have covered an event already so thoroughly, all I can do is be honest. And boy, I would really love a resplendent single origin 70% dark right now...

Buuuuuuut. I can tie this in. Watch this! See, it was a dark and temperate November 1st Dishcrawl night, hosted by the ebullient gastronome Jason Lee of Shut Up and Eat, and things were surprisingly void of dessert. Well, we did start with an ethereal and nutty-crisp bang by placing that little puff of confection – DRAGON’S BEARD! – on our tongues and letting it dissolve into softly sweet toasted acorn of gritty tongue-wakening chewiness. You might even imagine that this was my favourite part of the night, and perhaps if I had never experienced it before, this candy might have been.

Buuuuuuuuuuut. No. That was reserved for the peking duck pancakes we enjoyed over at Mon Nan. (It is at this point that I’m realizing that this post will in no way be thorough, informative, objective or complete. Boring! This is kinda just to complete my Dishcrawl coverage collection and give a brief recap of the yumz ingested). It was at these round tables that I learned the correct way to spread hoisin on the thin house-made pancake of flour (apply first, before the insane crisp duck pieces). Mon Nan is evidently the only place in Montreal that still makes Peking duck the proper way, and they’ve only whetted my appetite for more. Other things to mention: The meal starts (Number One!) with a thin duck broth floating with soft tofu, shared around the table washed down with amber tea – savoury, sweet and delicate. Then, the pancakes, wrapping ’round slivers of green onion, threads of daikon and carrot, BIG CHUNKS OF DUCK (oho!) and hot sauce if desired. Inhale, Construct, Repeat. Finally (Number Three!) out comes a quick stir fry of fat sprouts and duck meat, refreshingly crunchy and a textural contrast the rest of the meal. Lovely!

And so, on we go. Next stop was a one-dish wonder at Maison Kam Fung, which is otherwise known for it’s killer Dim Sum brunch on Sundays, and had a pretty lively dining room on that Tuesday night when our party of 50 (ish?) descended on them en masse. We started simply with one of the best spring rolls I’ve had in memory – darkly crisp skin, generously porky but not obscene inside.

Read the rest of this review here

About the author - Elizabeth cooks and makes desserts at Renard Artisan Bistro on the Plateau. Her obsessions are pastry, pastry, sugar, Asian food, travel and geeky philosophical meanderings. She also works as a freelance illustrator, and has a BFA in Studio Arts and Religion from Concordia. She's been living in Montreal for 6 years.