January is the month of the year when we need comfort… And sometimes, that comfort comes from a huge bowl of noodles with rich, deep, enveloping and complex flavors. Here are my suggestions for when to satisfy this need!
PHOTO PROVIDED BY BANGLUCK
Bangluck
At this new Thai counter in Plateau Mont-Royal, you can enjoy bowls of noodles with or without broth, a few rice dishes (khao man) alongside cushiony steamed breads, a handful of traditional starters (fried shrimp toast, curry puff pastry, papaya salad…), as well as a few cold drinks that take you on a journey. The couple behind this project are Chitakone Phommavongxay and Siriluksamee Rangthong, who already have the excellent Thammada restaurant in the Outremont district. By opening Bangluck, the duo wanted to share a piece of Thai street food culture, other than through pad thai or pad see ew. We hasten to opt for a bowl of kuay tiew generously garnished with BBQ pork, ground pork, fish balls and vegetables, all in a light broth which will only be waiting to be enhanced by the condiments added. available to customers. A bowl that comforts — and takes you on a journey!
bangluck.ca
4509, rue Chabot, Montreal
Ras L’Bol
This micro-restaurant of just under 200 square feet located in the village of Aylmer in Gatineau prepares tasty broths according to the rules of the art, into which the chef dips ramen, udon or soba noodles, before finishing it all. with appropriate toppings. This chef is Romain Riva, formerly at the helm of the late Vilains Garçons restaurant. He thus swaps the art of fine market cuisine for that of comforting noodles, which can be slurper seated at the four-seat counter, or in the comfort of home.
137B, rue Principale, Gatineau
NeoTokyo
Imagined by the remarkably creative restaurateur Yann Levy, the NeoTokyo noodle bar is his latest project with an absolutely fantastic concept. He to whom we also owe the restaurants Biiru, Escondite and Gokudo presents here his interpretation of a canteen straight out of a Japanese neo-futurist science fiction film, in which the main actors are the pasta. Inside a ramen soup, a decadent bowl of mazemen (ramen without broth) with bacon cream or my favorite, mazesoba, you will certainly find all the comfort you need for a few days.
neotokyonoodlebar.ca
425, avenue Viger Ouest, Montreal
Kitano Shokudo
He was born in Japan, began his culinary career in New York and is now flourishing in the great metropolis. The gifted Hiroshi Kitano, from the Kitano Shokudo restaurant, offers Japanese cuisine that is authentic, uninhibited and personal, in a very warm setting. Here, brothless noodles called mazemen are an integral part of the menu, alongside plates of raw fish worked into sushi, sashimi and nigiri, as well as a few simply prepared vegetables. The creation that has never left the menu is the duck confit mazemen: imagine syrupy, lip-shine noodles with a rich, deep duck flavor, lightly lightened by simple chunks of green and red onion . Pure indulgence that is good for the soul!
-bistrootto.com
143, avenue du Mont-Royal Est, Montreal
Bati Bassac
The Bati Bassac restaurant is a love letter to the owners’ Cambodian roots. Through a cuisine halfway between innovation and tradition where spices are kings, we owe it to noodles to be the vehicle of excellence that takes us on a journey. Whether they are crispy – the Kompong Som seafood nest is a flagship dish – in vermicelli or flat inside street food-style pad thai, they will perfectly accompany a signature cocktail with flavors of Southeast Asia.
batibassac.com
125, rue Saint-Joseph Est, Quebec
Koi Noodle Bar
If you’re hesitating between a bowl of tonkinese soup phở (pronounced “fire”) or the indulgence of a Japanese-inspired ramen soup with rich pork or chicken broth, the Koi Noodle Bar, located in Laval, might please you. Although the restaurant characterizes its cuisine as “fusion” – think teriyaki chicken ramen soup or General Tao style – some recipes remain faithful to tradition, particularly phở soups. However, my attention was directed to Bún Bò Huế, a spicy soup made from beef broth, also called imperial soup from the Hue region.
koinoodlebar.com
1775, boulevard Saint-Martin Ouest, Laval
Hono Ramen
It is the love of culture and the passion for ramen that pushed the Hono Izakaya team to open a second restaurant dedicated to this quintessential Japanese specialty which is slurpe at any time of the day. With Sylvain Boudreau, a noodle and broth geek in the kitchen, we savor soups with rich, deep flavors, and above all artisanal, since everything is homemade. Even the pasta is made on site by a machine imported directly from Japan. Vegetarian and vegan creations are also offered, such as tantanmen with spicy milky broth made from soy milk with textured vegetable protein (TVP), cabbage, corn and puffed rice. A cocktail on tap, edamame, shumais (steamed dumplings) and some fried foods can complete your comfort cure.
ramen.honorestos.com
680, rue Saint-Joseph Est Québec
