Montreal: Kinka Izakaya Review

So another new Japanese Izakaya restaurant called Kinka Izakaya has opened up in Montreal, this time from the same people who brought us Guu Izakaya in Toronto which I've been to just over a year ago. I made reservations for six people and made sure to be on time, as it was sure to be a busy night (which it was).

Haier 40D3505 40-inch 1080p LED HDTV Review

Not many Canadian reviews out there for this budget Haier 40D3505 LED HDTV, so I decided to take a chance on this after seeing it at Costco a little while ago. The price is clearly a big selling point, and it had the basics that I needed in a secondary TV which were the following: 1920 x 1080 (1080p resolution), LED, 3 HDMI Ports and Costco's 2 year warranty. Not asking or expecting much, just a basic and inexpensive HDTV.

Montreal: Kiko Mufflers Review (Car Muffler Repair Garage)

My muffler broke off while driving so I pulled into my regular garage at DT Auto. The guys there were good enough to actually refer me to a different garage called Kiko Mufflers, who it turns out specializes in repairing and installing car mufflers. So I gave them a call, and I was told that no appointment was needed, just drive in and cross your fingers that there isn't a huge lineup of people waiting.

My Broken Car Muffler

I decided to drive across town to get there and hoped for the best. I was hoping the place would be easy to find, and it was...Hard to miss that sign outside and flags mounted on it.

Large Kiko Mufflers sign

Montreal: Le Cristal Chinois Dim Sum Review (2014 Update)

It's been two years since I've been here last time, and the dim sum is still good. Although the food is more expensive than other places in Chinatown, it's arguably the best dim sum around. The pork dumplings (Shui Mai) actually have a bit of caviar on them like they used to, years ago in Montreal restaurants until they decided to cut it out for some reason (they still use caviar in Toronto restaurants). In any case, on to the food pictures!

Le Cristal Chinois Dim Sum Food Photos

Chicken Dumplings

Montreal: Bouillon Bilk Restaurant Review

With no apparent sign sticking out on the street, it's an easy restaurant to miss on the busy St. Laurent street. Bouillon Bilk falls under the "New Canadian" restaurant category, but I don't really care what it's called as long as it's good.

We got in and had seats at the back corner of the restaurant. They had to play with the air conditioning throughout the night since for some people the place was too hot and too cold for others (low ceiling vents meant that the A/C draft made it cold for people sitting near them like us). We were seated in the corner near a vent, but instead of being cold, it was quite warm since they hardly (never?) even turned on the A/C very often that evening.

It's not a French restaurant, but for some reason I thought it was...Maybe it was the name of the restaurant that threw me off. In any case, the food was pretty much what I expected. Small bite size portions of food, but tasty and nicely presented. If you have a large appetite, you'd probably end up still feeling hungry after you walk out.

Bouillon Bilk Food Photos

Sign which is right next to the doors.