Food trip, the other part

From McGill, I walked through the ghetto, and took the 80 Du Parc from Milton to Rachel (less than 5 mins ride, could've walked it). I walked on Rachel toward St-Laurent.

First stop was a random Portuguese eatery on Rachel corner of Clark, I think (in the heart of Montreal's Portuguesa Quartier), and got myself a pork chop sandwich served in Portuguese bread w/ hot spices ($3.50). It was so random, that the restaurant did not have a proper sign. They also served steak ($15), and had full chicken cooked on the grill that's good for take-out.

The second stop was on St-Laurent, just a few steps north from Rachel. Was a nice-looking bakery, with a generic French-sounding name, but which was in fact (probably) owned by people of Portuguese descent, where I got myself a nata for $1.15. Natas are the proper ancestors of the HK Egg Tart. It is somewhat more wet than a HK Egg Tart, its crust not being as sandy, but more of a flaky caramelized texture rendered wet (not sure if voluntarily) by the custard. The top is broiled, unlike HK egg tarts. I gulped it down w/o tasting anything after the first bite (it happened in two bites, basically).

Third stop was Epicerie Andes, where I had pupusas twice. Wanted to fall again for the deliciously simple Central American dish, but went for something different, #22 on the menu. What was it? It was a plantain, served with a red bean sauce, and sour cream. I had in mind a dessert, but in fact, the red bean mixture was salty, and the plantain quite neutral (surely, I think, plantains != bananas, and everyone except myself would know that). Quite surprising. I was intrigued by the preceding patrons' choice, which was something called "tamal" (plural: tamales). It's like a Latino American version of the Chinese zongzi or rice dumplings, but made with corn flour, and made of a combination of meats and vegetables, depending of the style (Columbian, and Salvadorean were among the national types on sale at Andes). I bought one for takeout, and will probably have it frozen, or eaten tomorrow at lunchtime.

Then, I walked to Mont-Royal, and took the 55 St-Laurent up to Little Italy. Bought myself a copy of Asian Wave, an Asian-Canadian magazine (Chinese-Canadian, if we consider that it's bilingual - Chinese Trad, and English) that I knew about, but didn't realize was so full of contents on food!

After that 15 minutes at Multimags Petite Italie, I went to Jean-Talon market. Took pics of a sunflower with honeybees sniffing away like drug addicts, unfazed by my presence. Got myself a medium cup of ice cream (flavours: matcha and ginger) at Havre-aux-Glaces. Was tempted by the Quebec-made raw milk cheese, which name evades me, that Qui-Lait-Crû (excuse the spelling) was giving away. Met up with parents shortly after. Kept walking around, between the buffalo meat and arabic deserts stands. My mother got a basket of fried calamari. We met an old friend of my brother's, who was working at the fishmonger Delices de la Mer (which also sold varieties of Western-style preserved fish). Expectedly, I went to Premiere Moisson, and got myself a Baguette Au Levain (we have leftover cheese - so I'm only going to buy new cheese next week).

Stopped by the coffee shop for a double espresso allongé, but it made me extremely sleepy for the next hour (I wanted to try Caffe Italia, per many people's advice).

Then, went back downtown to meet friends for food (Trois Brasseurs, but I only had a Blanche) for Tony Jaa's Protector, probably one of the most plot-less pretext for showing off martial arts mastery. And mastery, it was, especially that one-shot scene at the fake multi-floors restaurant / bordello. For some reason, the gangsterness of that scene's environment was reminiscent of Red Steel. The rest was just pretty blissfully hahaha stupid, but we had good laughs and hurt for the bad guys whose asses Tony Jaa kept kicking on. Finished the night at McLean's Pub, where we saw the Alouettes do quite ok in the first half (later at home, I heard that they collapsed, lost the game 36-20, fwa).

Tomorrow, shit, nothing at all, except finishing the books I have, I hope. Duck Lo Mein for lunch, and BBQ for dinner, my mom says.