(From Andrew Tang '65)
無獨有偶，蒙城中華語文學校卅周年校慶，適逢我校舊生同學會卅周年慶典。內子與我應邀出席蒙城晚宴，與分別多年的義工好友再聚一堂，樂也融融。席間由校長及董事長頒發義工獎牌，五年十年者彼彼皆是，廾年者有十多位，卅年者亦有三人。國會議員狄安（Dion) 先生更多謝蒙城中校，在其選區推廣多元文化活動，頒發獎牌以茲記念。這次遊蒙，一為神功二為弟子，更可在小兒住所掛單，享用為我們準備的羊鞍晚餐，意式即磨熱奶咖啡，法式麵包，加上中式油菜薳。內子亦回饋她的拿手咖哩牛坑腩，配上意粉助膳。
We cannot say that this was a culinary adventure of the Montréal revisitation; but nonetheless, we sampled different cuisine inside and out; enjoyed the French (Quebecoise) ambience of the city; and breathed the fresh spring air in the countryside.
Taking the $18 fare on the Megabus on the 24th was a steal which is much less than the gasoline paid between the twin cities. Upon arrival, we had dinner at a HK-style café at Chinatown on la rue de la Gauchetiére O with no surprises.
Hubert et Ginette, my ex-Téléglobe boss and his wife, invited us to lunch the next day at Au Petit Extra, a French restaurant located at 1690 rue Ontario Est. The menu was written on the board and we took la table d’hote avec la biere; le potage; la bavette de boeuf et frites; le gigot d’agneau en papillon grillé; le dessert et le café complementing our delicious lunch altogether.
A home cooked dinner with Indian curry paste manufactured in the US, Canadian beef brisket with Central American grown Chinese greens and Italian pasta complemented our appetite
Kelvin, our big little child, leased a 3-days weekend package for $60-some all-inclusive midsized vehicle; took us to the countryside for a ride the following day. We visited the La Sapaniere in Val David, an all seasoned resort catered for corporate clientele. I was tempted to have lunch there (usually they only serve their guests) but decided not to as we had to wait for 45 minutes. We then had lunch at La Creperie a la Gourmandise Bretonne in Saint-Sauveur; strolled along the main street in the town centre; stopped by at Boulangerie Pagé; and bought a piece of grosse miche cambagnarde bread.
We were honoured to be invited to the 30th Anniversary Celebration Dinner of the Montreal Chinese (Mandarin) School 蒙城中華語文學校 on Friday, the 26th April, at the Centre des Loisiers in Ville Saint Laurent. We took our children and studied Mandarin there on Sundays for ten years.
We acquainted with Francis (57) and Jenny Ho since they emigrated to Montréal in the 80s. Francis passed away two years ago. Jenny took us out for lunch on Saturday at the new restaurant, Le Cristal Chinois, located at 998 boul St-Laurent. The dim-sums were pretty good by the Montréal standard.
Knowing of our visit, Kelvin prepared a rack of lamb; demonstrated his culinary skill; and we enjoyed a gourmet dinner at home and complemented with his freshly ground coffee bean made cappuccino.
While having some free time during the weekend, we checked into the web-program “Exploring China: a Culinary Adventure” of the bbc.co.uk/food/programmes with chefs Ken Hom and Ching-He Huang who undertook the adventure across China and visited places like, Beijing, Yunnan, Sichuan, Kashgar, Kaiping, Taiwan and Hong Kong. To complement my photo gallery, I selected two photos at the Kashgar Sunday Market taken in 2007. It is said that no visit to Kashgar is complete without a trip to the Livestock Bazaar and we did. Looking at the beautiful pony, I was very much tempted to buy it for only RMB$3,000.
Going to school on Sunday has been a ritual for us when our children were young. Our friends treated us for lunch at the Restaurant Fu Kam Wah at 1180 boul Decarie in Ville St Laurent; visited the Montreal Chinese (Mandarin) School afterwards where they had a bazaar-like open house to entertain students and their families. We reacquainted with the teachers, principal & staff of the School and president & directors of the Board.
We visited the Jean-Talon Market Monday morning and found that it was not yet open on weekdays. We strolled around the neighbouring stores; stopped by at the Vinizza at 150 rue Jean-Talon E for lunch; sampled seafood linguini, thin-crust pizza with prosciutto slices and a glass of Italia wine.
Edwin Tse (65), our world-traveller, returned from business trip Sunday night; treated us for dinner at the Grinder Restaurant in the heart of Guffintown, at 1708 rue Notre-Dame O. We had popcorn shrimps, calamari and tartars as starters; followed with the lamb shank and bavette de boeuf as the main courses; complemented with glasses of red wine and coffee.
It was a memorable and remarkable visit after many years in Montréal.
Click here to see all the pictures.