98296 Tue Nov 08 21:38:16 -0800 2005 3 22 Quebec (including Montreal) 0 533349 Hi - I just had a fun dining experience and thought I would spread the word. There was a post on here some time back about unusual cuisines in town, but this didn't get a mention. The Uyghurs are a Muslim minority in northwest China. Restaurant Uyghur is on St-Laurent in Chinatown, just south of La Gauchetiere (look for the red awning on the left, on the 1st floor level). The atmosphere is nil (though I'll give it clean) but the eats seem to be quite good. I just had the laghmen (sp?), which is a stir fry of sorts with lamb, veggies, and great fresh noodles. It was very flavorful, pleasantly spicy (I was asked how spicy I wanted, and said "medium"... those with high heat tolerance could easily take more), not health food exactly but not too bad. I got a complimentary dish of little sweets after the meal, and the service was pleasant (I'm a woman and dined alone). There were a number of vegetarian options, and the prices were good (I had the "small" portion, which was plenty of food, and it was about $7). I'd love to go back for more, but I'm just passing through town, so instead I'll throw it out for future chowhound consideration! What I had, at least, wasn't terribly exotic, but you wouldn't mistake it for typical "Chinese" so it was much more fun. (I ate at Restaurant VIP or whatever it's called the last time I was here and found it nothing special.) Having a sweet tooth, I couldn't resist stopping off at the candy stand about a block west on La Gauchetiere and sampling "dragon's beard candy"... very light and peanutty... yum! I'll also report that I looked for a mangosteen in a number of neighborhood groceries and none were to be seen! So wherever they are to be found, it isn't quite as simple as just dropping through Chinatown. (I find it implausible that they'd be "out of season" given that all kinds of produce is flown in from the tropics.) Bon appetit - Emilie Tue Nov 08 21:38:16 -0800 2005 0 emilie 1 533351 Thanks for the report, Emilie. Restaurant Uyghur must be fairly new; I don't recall seeing it before and, as recently as August, I was told by the owner of Restaurant Arzou Express in Côte-des-Neiges that *they* were Montreal and Canada's only Uighur restaurant (there used to be one in Westmount/NDG but it folded a while ago). Restaurant Uyghur's menu sounds very similar to Arzou's, whose laghman (beef, vegetables and hand-made noodles) is quite tasty. I also like the dumplings (Pitir Manta and Su Manta). The flavours and heft of the food strike me as closer to Kabul, say, than to Beijing or Hong Kong; in fact, I've been waiting for colder weather to investigate further. And like Uyghur, Arzou doesn't really do desserts. Here's the contact info: Restaurant Arzou Express 6254 Côte-des-Neiges (near Van Horne) (514) 731-2184 Su-W: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Th-Sa: 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. By the way, Chez Louis at the Jean-Talon Market often has mangosteens but I was there on Sunday and don't recall seeing any. Maybe they *are* out of season. Wed Nov 09 00:47:18 -0800 2005 533349 0 carswell 2 533402 I ate at Uyghur last night (a rainy Tuesday with slush on the sidewalks, resulting from the year's first snow of any consequence). I arrived at 6:30PM only to find that I was the only customer at this 2nd floor establishment. The large room is set up like a banquet hall with a slightly raised stage at the kitchen end. I don't know if they ever have live entertainment for their diners, but it seems that the stage does get used for private functions such as weddings. Being slightly soaked as a result of having braved the elements, I ordered green tea ($1.99). It came with the tea, some dried red fruit and a large chunk of chrystallized sugar in the cup, accompanied by a large pot of boiled water. I managed to get at least five cups of tea out of it and even the last one was flavourful (and no cold this morning)! I ordered one of the noodle dishes with lamb. Not sure if it's the same one previous reviewers have mentioned ($8.49, it is #7 on the menu's front page but was not bearly as reddish in colour as on the picture). I enjoyed this, but can't say that it was anything remarkable. I also ordered a large soup ($5.49, it is #9 on the menu's main page). It's called "Won Ton" but is quite different in taste to that commonly found in Chinese restaurants. The soup came at the same time as my main dish, which was unexpected. I figured that the soup was probably quite hot and started with the noodle dish, but this turned out to be a mistake. By the time I got to the soup, it was lukewarm; by the time I got to the bottom of the generous bowl, it was at room temperature (which was about 70°F). I therefore strongly suggest that you ask the waited to bring your dishes out individually. Now that I think about it, he may have expected me to share the soup with my companion. Anyways, as to the soup itself, the taste was quite strong and distinctive and not something I expected. I did not particularly like it, although I did find it interesting. I suspect it was some sort of grass that gave it the strong flavour (the broth itself was a clear light green). There was a generous count of dumplings with ground lamb. The atmosphere in that restaurant is definitely lacking; IMO there's too much lighting. As this cuisine is unfamiliar to most potential customers, I think it would be a good idea for them to offer a platter with an offering of 5 or so small portions so that customers can get familiarized. The way it is now, each dish is large and filling enough that you can't eat more than one. A large party can share a few dishes, but that doesn't work for a solo or duo diners. By the time we left at 8PM, a party of 6 was occupying a second table, but that was it. Lastly, it's BYOB. Wed Nov 16 11:06:33 -0800 2005 533351 0 Roman 1 533356 That's so awesome! I went to Xinjiang in the summer of 2001 and I miss the food so much. I'm going to Montreal in a couple of weeks, so I'll make sure to go there. Thanks for the tip! Thu Nov 10 13:56:47 -0800 2005 533349 0 peter