Asian (thailand or nepalese) Restaurants

[anaToronto]

Hi,

I’m looking for some good Asian (not Japanese) restaurants in Montreal, namely good Thailand or Nepalese restaurants.

Any recommendations are welcome!

Merci

[foodinspace]

There are three Tibetan restaurants, at least. Om on St-Laurent, Tibetan on Ontario, and Shambala on St-Denis. I've only been to the latter two and both failed to make an impression either as being exceptionally good or bad. They were certainly different than other Asian restaurants.

[porker]

Theres only one Nepalese resto that I know of (even then its only 1/3 Nepalese - 1/3 Indian and 1/3 Italian - wierd I know) Shangrila in Lachine. I passed it hundreds of times, but never tried it.
http://www.shangrilaram.com/
Its also mentioned here
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/815830
I don't know if you're visiting from TO or what, but I'm not sure this restaurant would merit a special trip (if you do try it, please report back).

[kpzoo]

I tried Shangrila a number of years back. It was mediocre and definitely not worth a trip. Maybe it's gotten better - I never went back to find out.

[williej]

The explanation for Shangri-La's variety is that one of the owners (can't remember if it is the man or woman) trained as an Italian chef in Kathmandu. I like the restaurant. Very home style. I liked that their kids are sometimes around. The food is ok. Hey, what other restaurant would be Nepalese and Italian?

By the way Tao is one of our favourites for their 3 course meals at lunch and supper. It is pretty inexpensive for Westmount. It is mostly Chinese, not Thai at all (save for one or two dishes on the menu). It's next door to Park, which is mostly a Sushi place.

[porker]

Thanks for the clarification. Like I said, I pass the place somewhat often, but it seems so...so.. lets say under-the-radar peculiar. But its been there for 10 years, so they're doing something right. I also like the fact that its family-run and home-style - I prefer these kind of places. I'll have to give it a try sometime.

[Fintastic]

In general, asian foods are not well done (and are not cheap) in Montreal. This is particularly true of Thai food. Last week, however, I had an outstanding meal at Galanga. Even the cheap hungarian wine that was recommended was an excellent match. With the terrasse out front it is tough to beat on a nice night. I know others have been less impressed with this place, but I'm confident I've had no better Thai meal in Montreal. Really friendly staff as well.

For Korean I like Omma. Its definitely not cheap, and won't compete with the huge # of choices in Toronto, but everything I've eaten there has been good. Certainly better than any other places in Montreal.

[anaToronto]

Hi! Ok.. Honest answer.. so I should consider other options than asian.. What do you suggest? What can we say that is really well done in Montreal?

[514eats]

French in all of its variants: traditional, bistro, brasserie, nouvelle cuisine, fusion, quebecoise...

[Fintastic]

I don't want to make it seem like all asian restaurants here are hopeless, but if you're used to Toronto then we might not stack up in terms of quality or price. If you're really set on it, I was genuinely impressed by Galanga. It was relatively affordable, and one of the better meals I've had this year.
514eats is right about French-inspired cuisine - it is one of the few styles that will be consistently better here (for obviously reasons). In my opinion the best are le Filet (primarily fish), Cinquieme Peche (innovative French using Quebec ingredients), Laloux (most charming bistro), Pied de Cochon or Chien Fumant (best of the quebecois style which defines the Montreal dining scene right now). For a BYOW (sans corkage) you could consider Monsieur B or les Heritiers.

[514eats]

Here are my favorite Asian restaurants in town (asides from Japanese):

Chao Phraya: Thai in Mile-End

Fung Shing: Chinese in Chinatown

Mr. Ma: Chinese in Downtown

Tao Restaurant: Thai in Westmount.

[kpzoo]

Tao Restaurant - is this place still around? I thought it had been replaced by Park on Victoria. (And as an aside - the last time I ordered from Tao, it was inedible - very sad because I used to like it a lot.)

[514eats]

Yep it's still there, Park is next to it.

It's still decent. And affordable. Good bang for your buck.

[cherylmtl]

It's affordable, but hasn't been decent for several years. We used to order from there on a weekly basis. The food quality deteriorated over the years, probably due to changes in ownership and/or management, and we finally just gave up on them. There are so many better places for Chinse, especially now that Chintown West exists.

[514eats]

Agreed, very fair!

I like Pret a Manger in Chinatown 2 (or West).