Family Style Dining at McKiernan in Montreal

There's a big dining space at McKiernan if you can get a table

A food staple for Montrealers is the rotisserie chicken. One time we got lost trying to find the nearest metro station, and a guy carrying his roast chicken dinner in a plastic bag not only gave us directions, he escorted us, as he was walking in the same direction.

One place well known for its rotisserie chicken is McKiernan, a bustling restaurant in an industrial space overlooking Lachine Canal.

The rotisserie chicken is a must here

Chef Andersen Lee suggested we go there for brunch, but with last-minute reservations, we could only get a table at 1.30pm. However, when we arrived early and wanted to add another person to our table to make it five, we were told we'd have to wait even longer.

As we waited around, we could see large groups of people, extended families ranging from babies in carriers hooked on the arms of their fathers, to seniors well into their 80s who climbed up the stairs to dine here. 

Hungry diners waiting for a table can play foosball to pass the time, otherwise they are forced to watch what others are dining and salivate even more.

When we were finally seated we quickly ordered several dishes from the brunch and lunch menus, and none disappointed. 

Thinly shaved prime rib with arugula

The half rotisserie chicken was roasted perfectly, juicy, tender and seasoned just right, topped with arugula that had a lemony dressing.

We also ordered a schnitzel Holstein that was garnished with anchovies for a briny flavour, and the tuna crudo that was seasoned in a tangy sauce.

McKiernan is also known for its prime rib dinners, but for lunch and brunch you can have thinly sliced prime rib with a light creamy sauce and lots of arugula on top. Again tender and delectable. One can only imagine the prime rib dinner being even better.

There's also simple dishes like pasta with garlic and broccoli -- now that's different and delicious, or how about roast Brussel sprouts tied together with a creamy ranch dressing and lots of toasted sliced almonds.

Lemon meringue pie, donuts and banana pie

How could we not have dessert? There was banana pie, not cream pie, where banana slices are mixed with custard, and a lovely lemon meringue pie, light and dreamy. McKiernan is also famed for its donuts. One online review advised asking the server to save us some in advance, but he said there was plenty to go around. We ordered two pillowy donuts, one filled with strawberry jam, the other cookies and cream.

I didn't know about McKiernan but now I do and fully understand why you need to make reservations way in advance. If it's good for people of all ages, it's good for you too.

McKiernan

5524 Saint-Patrick Street

Montreal

514 759 6677

Palm Springs' Meal Deals

Olive Garden: Americanised Italian cuisine

Palm Springs used to be a fun place for seniors to eat, taking advantage of the early bird specials at various restaurants. But post-Covid those days are long gone... unless you are interested in eating dinner at 3pm and finish by 5pm at Pacifica in El Paseo, one of the glitziest shopping areas.

Nevertheless, we managed to find a few delicious deals. One was lunch at Olive Garden, where on weekdays they have the soup and salad and breadsticks deal for US$11.49 where you get unlimited servings of each. 

Fresh salads were the highlight at Olive Garden

My first bowl of soup was the pasta e fagioli, white and red beans, ground beef, fresh tomatoes and tubetti pasta. But then I made the rookie mistake of ordering the chicken and gnocchi, a creamy soup that filled me up quite quickly. I managed to squeeze in a third bowl of minestrone but was extremely full afterwards.

The unlimited salad is simple but very fresh, featuring chopped cabbage, slices of tomatoes, shredded carrots, black olives, pickled peppers, and chopped red onions in Italian dressing, while the breadsticks are more like pillowy soft wide sticks that are oily and sprinkled with salt.

Another weekday lunch deal is unlimited soup or salad with certain pasta dishes like shrimp scampi, chicken parmigiana, spaghetti or cheese ravioli for between US$12.49 or US$13.49, and the portions are just right.

Minestrone soup was choc full of vegetables

We also went to IHop for breakfast before heading to the airport. The menu looks like it offers a lot of dishes, but many are all combinations of eggs with either bacon or sausage, toast or pancakes. There's a section offering deals for 55+ diners, such as the 1x1x1 -- one egg, one sausage, one bacon and toast or pancakes. 

I had the 2 quick eggs -- two eggs, either sausage or bacon, hash browns and toast for about US$13. The eggs came perfectly cooked over easy, and a rectangular slab of hash browns that was decorated with two skinny (and fatty) slices of bacon, and two slices of wholewheat toast that were further sliced in half and buttered.

While IHop was good value, it was kind of sad to see the sign on the door explaining the hours had changed to Monday to Sunday, 6.30am until 3pm. When we went on a Sunday morning, the place was just over half full; it used to be bustling with customers, and sometimes we had to wait for a table.

IHop's 2 Quick Eggs breakfast

It seems Covid hit Palm Springs hard, and tourism is its biggest industry, other than healthcare services. Fewer tourists are coming, resulting in restaurants closing or downsizing, and the same with shops. Golf courses have noticeably fewer visiting golfers, which has resulted in fewer staff catering to them at the reception desk. Tee times need to be booked online instead of on the phone or in person.

Hard to say if the city will be bustling again... the people are still friendly, but out-of-town visitors are few and far between.

Five HK Food Inspectors Charged with Theft

ICAC has charged five food inspectors for theft of food samples

Five Hong Kong health inspectors have been charged with the theft of food samples, from canned abalone to white truffle sauce and crab bisque they had purchased using public money for radiation testing.

The three women and two men aged 28 to 37, have been suspended by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department. They did not have to enter a plea at West Kowloon Court on Thursday, but Magistrate Li Chi-ho has adjourned the hearing until mid-August for the inspectors to consider their legal options.

They have been charged with a conspiracy to steal, an offence punishable by up to two years in prison when it is the only charge tried at the magistrates' court.

On Wednesday, the Independent Commission Against Corruption said the five inspectors allegedly conspired between May 2022 and March last year to steal food samples bought by the centre for testing.

As part of their job the inspectors were instructed to buy randomly selected food samples at fair and reasonable prices. The ideal food sample size is typically around 1kg, according to the ICAC.

The centre bars inspectors from ordering too much food samples or misappropriating any untested items, and any unused goods to be accounted for and properly disposed of.

In this case, the five inspectors allegedly used public money to buy more than HK$88,000 (US$11,270) from five importers for two radiation tests.

But the centre told ICAC that after testing, the five inspectors took the remaining goods home, instead of keeping records of their disposal.

When investigators when to the inspectors' homes, they found more than 80 unused food samples, including canned abalone, white truffle sauce, crab bisque, Japanese rice and various types of pasta.

What could one do with all those delicious ingredients? 

Chinese New Year Western Style

The dragon winding its way through the crowd

Last night I was invited to a Chinese New Year party held at a popular restaurant in downtown Vancouver. When I got there after 6pm it was already heaving with people and I barely knew anyone.

Nevertheless it was fascinating to people-watch during the hour that I was there.

Many women took advantage of the theme to wear cheongsams with heels, warmed by the mobile heaters, or something red, from sweaters to slip dresses and one woman even wore a body-hugging hooded floor-length red dress, something Grace Jones would wear with shades.

Two acrobats posed on spinning hoops

Some men wore Chinese jackets, mostly the tacky satin embroidered kind found in Chinatown.

The music was definitely not Chinese, but it was pumping dance music with a strong beat from a DJ and so I was surprised to see a Chinese woman carrying a one-year-old boy around and then later some girls, five to seven years old with red decorations in their hair looking up to see a scantily-clad acrobat twirling around from a hoop suspended from the ceiling.

What were these kids doing here on a school night?

Perhaps their parents are regulars at this restaurant? These people congregated in groups and had already commandeered tables where they had plates of food and glasses of wine -- red of course.

Ah yes the food. We were in a restaurant, after all.

But this is a Western restaurant and nothing Chinese about the food, with queues for every thing to eat and drink.

There were freshly-shucked briny oysters -- and amazingly I didn't get sick -- as well as tons of sushi, and two stations where giant parmesan cheese wheels were melted to coat penne pasta. There was also a queue for roast beef and mini Yorkshire pudding complete with three different mustards to choose from and gravy poured from a teapot.

Freshly shucked and briny oysters

And then there were glasses that from a distance looked like dessert. When I got one, it was under a heat lamp and when I dug my spoon into it I soon realised it wasn't sweet -- it was beef stew topped with mashed potato.

However the Peking duck spring roll was good, stuffed with meat and vermicelli, while dessert of mandarin mousse in what looked like a mini mandarin orange was a nice finish.

I felt badly for the servers who had to hold heavy trays with one hand and put their other arms around glasses and plates to prevent people from knocking them over. What a tough night.

Just after 7pm the drumming and clashing of the cymbals began and there was actually a glow-in-the-dark dragon weaving around the crowded restaurant. Quite appropriate since it was pretty dark in the place and the dancers had to try and wind their way around people and food. 

An hour was enough time spent there to take in the revelry and see Vancouverites turn out for a Chinese New Year party. Next time wear red red red! And heels heels heels!

The World's Thinnest Pasta

Very thin pasta called su filindeu or "threads of God"

Today I tried what might be the world's thinnest pasta at a small quaint Italian restaurant called Caffe La Tana on Commercial Drive.

From now until November 17, La Tana is offering this rare pasta called su filindeu for about CA$38, which comes in a flavourful lamb broth and bits of lamb that has been simmering for 24 hours, and topped with pecorino cheese and extra virgin olive oil.

Apparently only about 10 women know how to make this pasta called "threads of God" in Sardinia -- by hand.

It was served in a lamb broth and pecorino cheese

A story last year by the BBC interviewed one of the women who knows how to make su filindeu, and she made the dough every morning, pulling it into two, four, 16 noodles until she got 256 even threads that she places on a platter.

Chinese hand-pulled noodles come to mind, which is made in a similar way, but probably not hitting the dough on the table -- instead she dips it in either salt water or water to stretch it further. And she knows when the dough is ready to be stretched just by feeling it with her hands.

"Many people say that I have a secret I don't want to reveal," said Paola Abraini, smiling. "But the secret is right in front of you. It's my hands," she told the BBC.

The ingredients are only semolina wheat, water and salt.

In 2020 a team of engineers from pasta brand Barilla came to see if they could figure out how to make this thin pasta with a machine. They couldn't.

The summer of 2022 British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver came by to Abraini's to learn how to make this rarified pasta. After two hours, he gave up, saying, "I've been making pasta for 20 years and I've never seen anything like this."

Indeed! The pasta is even thinner than angel hair pasta, which probably explains why it needs a woman's touch to make it.

How does it taste? It was presented in a lattice shape (criss cross) and basically like very thin noodles in a heart-warming broth, the texture, as one of my dining companions said, like eating Chex cereal -- but much finer and smoother.

We were wondering perhaps a Chinese noodle expert could come to Sardinia to learn from Abraini... that would definitely push the evolution of Chinese noodles!

Caffe La Tana

635 Commercial Drive

Vancouver, BC