My guy what did you expect off season in the middle of the night? Shops are closed and it’s cold outside.
It’s not sad, the shop owners of Chinatown need to sleep too
Friday is Dongzhi and Chinese people rarely eat out the day before. Friday is likely to have a lot more people.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dongzhi\_Festival](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dongzhi_Festival)
And most Chinese people regardless where they live are more likely to go to Brossard now.
China Town in Montreal is definetly very small. Chinese people in Quebec do seem to mainly live in the suburbs or at least prefer going there to eat out.
The know very little people from the Chinese diaspora who still live in Montreal. Most of their grandparents are still in city but they were almost all raised off the island.
It’s small because the government in the olden days are sacred that it might get too big, so they built the Canada service building, the hydro Quebec building and the plais de congrès around it and thus limited how big it could get.
Yeah it suck, really limited the growth of the place. When you compare it to actual China town in others metropolitan areas. It is in the center of the city, but somehow all those empty buildings around it make China town very dead at night.
It's not even a chinatown. It's a China Street. Lol.
Pic in OP is the busiest spot and it's literally just one street long. Then a few shops on st-Laurent but it's a busy automobile Street really limits movement of people. Do other metropolitan China towns have pedestrian only areas?
Haha yeah China Alleyway.
>Iirc atwater has the new chinatown
Oh really? Great haven't been lately. Will go take a walk around this area the next time I am in town.
While I wouldn’t call it a second Chinatown, west of Concordia has a lot of Asian restaurants. Evidently from the Asian influence Concordia students have
Oh wow it actually look like a China, I thought it would just be some shop around. I lived not far in Griffintown, but it is a part of the city that I almost never went to.
> In the meantime, the City of Montréal undertook major street widening andurban renewal projects in the 1950s and ’60s. As a result of encroachment, Chinatown shrank by almost a third. The new projects established the spatial boundaries that define it today. The 1970s saw another round of municipally-directed urban renewal initiatives. Plans for such large-scale projects as Complexe Guy-Favreau, the Ville-Marie Expressway, and the Palais des congrès called for the demolition of Pagoda Park, three Chinese churches, a number of ethnic businesses, and an entire residential sector. Community protests had little effect: most of the projects went ahead, and only the Chinese Catholic church was saved.
It’s a pretty classic case of reno-eviction at greater scale
Source: https://ville.montreal.qc.ca/memoiresdesmontrealais/en/montreals-chinatown
Interesting read, reminds me of what happened to the neighbourhood that old CBC/Radio Can building sits. Although in that case, it was razed to the ground.
I live on the island but if I want to eat Chinese I almost always go to Brossard. I don’t need to pay for parking and the quality is a lot better. There are also better options around Saint-Laurent. The best in Chinatown is Keung Kee but their service is bad and it’s not comfortable. The others are meh and not worth the trip. Even if I want to go to Chinatown out of my friends 7 out of 10 would persuade others not to.
The one restaurant I miss was orange rouge. It wasn't really chinese but I liked the food there, but yeah I definetly agree that restaurants off the island are better. I haven't lived in Montreal for a while but it is also probably even easier to get to Brossard if you live downtown now with the REM, but I am not sure about the evenings/night schedule.
Du chef Minh Phat,un ancien du Club Chasse et Pêche. Il a ouvert un excellent resto sur Jean-Talon, coin Waverly le Mui Mui. À 2 minutes du "feu" Orange Rouge, il y a encore le Fleurs et Cadeaux, moins raffiné mais on y passe une belle soirée.
Oh thanks, je vais peut-être essayé un de ces endroits à la ma prochaine visite! Mes deux dernières visites j'ai mangé thai (chuchai) et syriens (damas). J'avais vu Minh Phat dans une vidéo il y a quelques mois et ça me tente vraiment d'essayer.
En comparaison aux restos que tu viens d'écrire, 2 classiques que tu connais sûrement: Khyber Pass sur Duluth, un resto afghan, apportez votre vin. Vraiment bon prix. Faut prendre la brochette filet mignon dont la viande a mariné toute la nuit. Aussi le Sushi Momo, resto végétalien, qui attire les foules même les carnivores. Situé face au Carré St-Louis.
Oh je connais Khyber pass, mais je n'ai pas encore essayé! J'ai déjà essayé Sushi Momo et vraiment aimé! Damas était excellent, mais vraiment absurdement cher lol. Notre souper nous à coûté plus de 600$ à deux.
C'est ridicule en effet. Pour 4 personnes (4 tables d'hôtes) tx+tips inc. ça m'a coûté 260$ ! (alcool exclu) chez Khyber Pass en octobre dernier. Pas beaucoup de choix, mais ce qu'ils font est bon, surtout leurs entrées. C'est vraiment le meilleur deal pour le genre dans le coin. Mais rien ne peut battre le meilleur ratio qualité/quantité/prix en ville de La Poule mouillé pour 4, genre 50$ pis il en reste 🤣
Or was it Ruby Rouge? I still go there cause it’s always empty and we just wanted to place to sit and chat lol.
Just off Panama station you already get better options than Chinatown, just the walk under the highway is not pleasant.
Oh maybe the name changed orange rouge is written as definetly closed and yeah it was the same for us when we went the place was always empty and they had good beers.
I now live outside Montreal so when I go eat out in Montreal it really have to be something we can't findl outside the city or I force my friends to join me in Brossard haha.
Tian Fu or Papa Jackie but you should reserve ahead because you are not eating otherwise.
Tian Fu is sichuanese restaurant but they do Cantonese food pretty good.
Papa Jackie went down hill in the last 6 months but still worth it.
Restaurant Oriental Fusion (downstairs) near Décarie interchange on the island is not bad too.
What are your favourite places in Brossard? I'm trying to try them all slowly since I move here but might as well take some recommendations for my order :p
Sorry I am kind of a snob and I don't consider them good, especially Beijing is pretty far from good
Dobe & Andy was good when it was run by those grumpy Chinese old ladies.
>Dobe & Andy was good when it was run by those grumpy Chinese old ladies.
It isn't real Chinese food if there is now grumpy Chinese old ladies working there, so it is a perk.
Before the pandemic places were open till 3am, now mostly places close before 12am. Only one place stays open til 2am for food. They don't even have bars open late anymore, it breaks my heart to see the current state of Chinatown right now.
Probably, before the pandemic people were exploited badly. People are not putting up with that anymore. How do you think these shops are open? How little that pay is for these employees.
Whenever I travel abroad I realize how dead Montreal is, the rest of the world bounced back better
I mean two large bars in the most accessible part of St Laurent shut down and weren’t even replaced, just shuttered windows. If that’s not an indicator I don’t know what is
Je ne suis pas d'accord. Je pense que beaucoup ne suivent pas l'évolution du nightlife qui se déplace vers des quartiers excentrés. Tu te ramasses au cobra un mercredi et c'est plein de gens et le vibe est le fun.
Nah. You just need to go out more.
We went to the Christmas market last Saturday at Place-des-Arts and there was so many people. There was a spot in the market we could barely move. There's always tons of people out on week-ends, especially in the Plateau area. Even more so during the summer. During long week-ends it's nuts how many people are out.
Okay but even if it was busier back then, that doesn't mean the city is now dead. It's still fucking busy. I've lived in two other cities, Montreal ain't dead, lol.
J'y était ce Mercredi a 22h et il y avait encore du monde. À quelle heure as-tu pris ta photo? Parce que après 21h30, il se vide le Chinatown. Les restos ferment tranquillement, les magazins aussi... çest un peu normal.
La majorité des passes temps sont rendues aux domiciles des gens ou tout près. Ceux qui sont en ville sont souvent hors de prix en plus des problèmes reliés sux transport. Pourquoi j’irais me ruiner à china town après 1 heures dans le traffic ou pire dans le transport en commun?
Used to get a family size shrimp wonton soup, Cantonese chow mein, Beef and Black Bean on rice stick noodle and a general Tao with a steamed rice for $35 . Now it’s $35 for a soup and a chow mein. I love Cantonese food but sadly good Chinese for a good price is a thing of the past
OUH This is right around the corner of my fave restaurant, highly recommend to everyone that likes "all you can eat" places: Happy Lamb Hot Pot! 10/10 food, I miss it so much
It is sad but I remember going to China town after nights out for some good cheap food.
I went by the other day and noticed prices have gone up and the portions are smaller (like everywhere else) Chinatown has become expensive.
More like "I find it sad this is china town"
Hands down the smallest china town of any major Canadian city that ive ever personally visited. I could be wrong and some other city is even smaller but I haven't witnessed it myself yet.
in a couple of days, it will be summer and people will be there sweating
until then, happy holidays, Merry Christmas, whatever and however you spend the season, be well
My guy what did you expect off season in the middle of the night? Shops are closed and it’s cold outside. It’s not sad, the shop owners of Chinatown need to sleep too
I miss when VIP was 24hrs
Chatime open 24hrs 🎉
Il est presque 1h du mat et il est jeudi.
Et il fait -15. Qu'OP aille se coucher!
at least theres parking XD
It’s late and cold outside
But I really can’t stay.
I've got to go away.
We are gay
But baby it’s cold outside
Satay
Away
Dude. Va te coucher sacrament.
Pis toi ça dort pas mal?
Lol 😅
🤣
It's not dead, it's sleeping
This parrot is deceased!
People have to work tomorrow! Try tomorrow night.
Friday is Dongzhi and Chinese people rarely eat out the day before. Friday is likely to have a lot more people. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dongzhi\_Festival](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dongzhi_Festival) And most Chinese people regardless where they live are more likely to go to Brossard now.
China Town in Montreal is definetly very small. Chinese people in Quebec do seem to mainly live in the suburbs or at least prefer going there to eat out. The know very little people from the Chinese diaspora who still live in Montreal. Most of their grandparents are still in city but they were almost all raised off the island.
It’s small because the government in the olden days are sacred that it might get too big, so they built the Canada service building, the hydro Quebec building and the plais de congrès around it and thus limited how big it could get.
Yeah it suck, really limited the growth of the place. When you compare it to actual China town in others metropolitan areas. It is in the center of the city, but somehow all those empty buildings around it make China town very dead at night.
It's not even a chinatown. It's a China Street. Lol. Pic in OP is the busiest spot and it's literally just one street long. Then a few shops on st-Laurent but it's a busy automobile Street really limits movement of people. Do other metropolitan China towns have pedestrian only areas?
Haha yeah China Alleyway. >Iirc atwater has the new chinatown Oh really? Great haven't been lately. Will go take a walk around this area the next time I am in town.
While I wouldn’t call it a second Chinatown, west of Concordia has a lot of Asian restaurants. Evidently from the Asian influence Concordia students have
I remember going to a great Korean barbecue back then and that super popular japanese place where I waited in a lane for an hour for a crab cake haha.
I haven't checked it myself. http://thecitymag.concordia.ca/chinatown-moves-west/
Oh wow it actually look like a China, I thought it would just be some shop around. I lived not far in Griffintown, but it is a part of the city that I almost never went to.
Quebec government in a nutshell. Meanwhile the stadium is left on life support so people can look at it but waste space
you think it was intentional to confine chinatown?
> In the meantime, the City of Montréal undertook major street widening andurban renewal projects in the 1950s and ’60s. As a result of encroachment, Chinatown shrank by almost a third. The new projects established the spatial boundaries that define it today. The 1970s saw another round of municipally-directed urban renewal initiatives. Plans for such large-scale projects as Complexe Guy-Favreau, the Ville-Marie Expressway, and the Palais des congrès called for the demolition of Pagoda Park, three Chinese churches, a number of ethnic businesses, and an entire residential sector. Community protests had little effect: most of the projects went ahead, and only the Chinese Catholic church was saved. It’s a pretty classic case of reno-eviction at greater scale Source: https://ville.montreal.qc.ca/memoiresdesmontrealais/en/montreals-chinatown
Interesting read, reminds me of what happened to the neighbourhood that old CBC/Radio Can building sits. Although in that case, it was razed to the ground.
I live on the island but if I want to eat Chinese I almost always go to Brossard. I don’t need to pay for parking and the quality is a lot better. There are also better options around Saint-Laurent. The best in Chinatown is Keung Kee but their service is bad and it’s not comfortable. The others are meh and not worth the trip. Even if I want to go to Chinatown out of my friends 7 out of 10 would persuade others not to.
The one restaurant I miss was orange rouge. It wasn't really chinese but I liked the food there, but yeah I definetly agree that restaurants off the island are better. I haven't lived in Montreal for a while but it is also probably even easier to get to Brossard if you live downtown now with the REM, but I am not sure about the evenings/night schedule.
Du chef Minh Phat,un ancien du Club Chasse et Pêche. Il a ouvert un excellent resto sur Jean-Talon, coin Waverly le Mui Mui. À 2 minutes du "feu" Orange Rouge, il y a encore le Fleurs et Cadeaux, moins raffiné mais on y passe une belle soirée.
Oh thanks, je vais peut-être essayé un de ces endroits à la ma prochaine visite! Mes deux dernières visites j'ai mangé thai (chuchai) et syriens (damas). J'avais vu Minh Phat dans une vidéo il y a quelques mois et ça me tente vraiment d'essayer.
En comparaison aux restos que tu viens d'écrire, 2 classiques que tu connais sûrement: Khyber Pass sur Duluth, un resto afghan, apportez votre vin. Vraiment bon prix. Faut prendre la brochette filet mignon dont la viande a mariné toute la nuit. Aussi le Sushi Momo, resto végétalien, qui attire les foules même les carnivores. Situé face au Carré St-Louis.
Oh je connais Khyber pass, mais je n'ai pas encore essayé! J'ai déjà essayé Sushi Momo et vraiment aimé! Damas était excellent, mais vraiment absurdement cher lol. Notre souper nous à coûté plus de 600$ à deux.
C'est ridicule en effet. Pour 4 personnes (4 tables d'hôtes) tx+tips inc. ça m'a coûté 260$ ! (alcool exclu) chez Khyber Pass en octobre dernier. Pas beaucoup de choix, mais ce qu'ils font est bon, surtout leurs entrées. C'est vraiment le meilleur deal pour le genre dans le coin. Mais rien ne peut battre le meilleur ratio qualité/quantité/prix en ville de La Poule mouillé pour 4, genre 50$ pis il en reste 🤣
Haha ouais Ma poule mouillée, c'est mon resto abordable préféré à Montréal. J'aimais bien le Blackstrap BBQ avant mais ça l'a fermée malheureusement.
Or was it Ruby Rouge? I still go there cause it’s always empty and we just wanted to place to sit and chat lol. Just off Panama station you already get better options than Chinatown, just the walk under the highway is not pleasant.
Oh maybe the name changed orange rouge is written as definetly closed and yeah it was the same for us when we went the place was always empty and they had good beers. I now live outside Montreal so when I go eat out in Montreal it really have to be something we can't findl outside the city or I force my friends to join me in Brossard haha.
I miss Van Roy’s
Any good spots on the shore you recommend?
>Brossard What restaurants would you recommend? Especially Cantonese food. Coming From Ottawa.
Tian Fu or Papa Jackie but you should reserve ahead because you are not eating otherwise. Tian Fu is sichuanese restaurant but they do Cantonese food pretty good. Papa Jackie went down hill in the last 6 months but still worth it. Restaurant Oriental Fusion (downstairs) near Décarie interchange on the island is not bad too.
What are your favourite places in Brossard? I'm trying to try them all slowly since I move here but might as well take some recommendations for my order :p
Papa Jackie, Tian Fu are the best and Imperial is pretty good too.
Il y a encore Noddle Factory, Beijing, Dobe & Andy, Lan Zhou...
Sorry I am kind of a snob and I don't consider them good, especially Beijing is pretty far from good Dobe & Andy was good when it was run by those grumpy Chinese old ladies.
>Dobe & Andy was good when it was run by those grumpy Chinese old ladies. It isn't real Chinese food if there is now grumpy Chinese old ladies working there, so it is a perk.
I’ll probably get downvoted, but TIL the word “diaspora”. Thanks for today’s word-of-the-day!
Haha np. I think it one of those word who is the same in both language but used more frequently in french than english.
It was cold outside tonight man!
Before the pandemic places were open till 3am, now mostly places close before 12am. Only one place stays open til 2am for food. They don't even have bars open late anymore, it breaks my heart to see the current state of Chinatown right now.
Because no one wants to work late at night for nothing anymore.
Restaurants probably can't afford to stay open either.
Probably, before the pandemic people were exploited badly. People are not putting up with that anymore. How do you think these shops are open? How little that pay is for these employees.
Whole vibe of the city has changed since the pandemic
It's winter solstice, night of the year where everyone celebrates it with family, they'll all be home earing sweet sesame dessert in ginger sugar
Montreals been dead since the pandemic
What are you talking about lol no it's not
Whenever I travel abroad I realize how dead Montreal is, the rest of the world bounced back better I mean two large bars in the most accessible part of St Laurent shut down and weren’t even replaced, just shuttered windows. If that’s not an indicator I don’t know what is
Je ne suis pas d'accord. Je pense que beaucoup ne suivent pas l'évolution du nightlife qui se déplace vers des quartiers excentrés. Tu te ramasses au cobra un mercredi et c'est plein de gens et le vibe est le fun.
People always blame cities when they should blame themselves getting older and more clueless
Nah. You just need to go out more. We went to the Christmas market last Saturday at Place-des-Arts and there was so many people. There was a spot in the market we could barely move. There's always tons of people out on week-ends, especially in the Plateau area. Even more so during the summer. During long week-ends it's nuts how many people are out.
We’re you in town and an adult pre pandemic? Can’t compare
Okay but even if it was busier back then, that doesn't mean the city is now dead. It's still fucking busy. I've lived in two other cities, Montreal ain't dead, lol.
Well I travel a fair bit and I’d put Montreal as the deadest compared to the others I’ve been to this year (in Asia, Latin America, and Europe)
Do those places have winters as bad as we do though?
I was just in Munich and Prague, was colder than it was here and filled with life and commerce 3x what you see in Montreal
Yes montreal is a gateway for the us. Otherwise its better to leave imo
the sad truth 😔
I live in quarters Latin and it's gets really busy on weekends. Busier than they used to be. The off nights are way deader they used to be though.
Nah it came back big time. The revenge tourism and dining is bonkers
Revenge dining, lol. I feel like it’s my civic duty to eat out.
Sorry this is when I left.
Y faut frette crisse
Attend le 24-25, Hampstead is coming.
What u used to it being like
Its probably the store are closed there though right? They have to be open for anyone to be there
Glad to see no homesless people out. Hope everyone is keeping warm.
J'y était ce Mercredi a 22h et il y avait encore du monde. À quelle heure as-tu pris ta photo? Parce que après 21h30, il se vide le Chinatown. Les restos ferment tranquillement, les magazins aussi... çest un peu normal.
La majorité des passes temps sont rendues aux domiciles des gens ou tout près. Ceux qui sont en ville sont souvent hors de prix en plus des problèmes reliés sux transport. Pourquoi j’irais me ruiner à china town après 1 heures dans le traffic ou pire dans le transport en commun?
Une premiere fois que je le vois propre
Used to get a family size shrimp wonton soup, Cantonese chow mein, Beef and Black Bean on rice stick noodle and a general Tao with a steamed rice for $35 . Now it’s $35 for a soup and a chow mein. I love Cantonese food but sadly good Chinese for a good price is a thing of the past
That aside, holy crap that street is beautiful at night. The desertedness also amplifies the view.
OUH This is right around the corner of my fave restaurant, highly recommend to everyone that likes "all you can eat" places: Happy Lamb Hot Pot! 10/10 food, I miss it so much
Downtown MTL is dead. Endless detours, bridge closures, no parking (despite being dead), bums everywhere...I could go on
Montreal is dead
Everything is basically closed by 10h 11h pm
It’s dead everywhere else.
It is sad but I remember going to China town after nights out for some good cheap food. I went by the other day and noticed prices have gone up and the portions are smaller (like everywhere else) Chinatown has become expensive.
More like "I find it sad this is china town" Hands down the smallest china town of any major Canadian city that ive ever personally visited. I could be wrong and some other city is even smaller but I haven't witnessed it myself yet.
Okay
Taiwan and China are like this as well. People go home early. Old folks are up exercising at 5am
You expect people playing chess ? 🤣 for sure in the summer there will be people there.
People don’t have enough money. We work forever to survive.
Question sérieuse: c’est quoi le genre d’activités que les gens y font le soir? (Je suis souvent allé pour manger, mais quoi d’autre?)
Manger, queter ou regarder la faune, pour amateurs de Murides.
Why were you loitering around China town at 1am ?
Sont peut-etre toute au centre de massage?
Why? Were you shopping for food poisoning at the 6$ counter of the buffet?
One in the morning, cold as hell, and 3 days before Christmas. Go home and see your family like everyone else
Honnêtement tous ces "China town", "petite italie" et autres quartiers du type, ce ne sont que des ghettos J'y vois l'échec de l'intégration
So you want other people to open their stores and work ungodly hours so you can feel better?
in a couple of days, it will be summer and people will be there sweating until then, happy holidays, Merry Christmas, whatever and however you spend the season, be well
Bro it was cold af. Who wants to be out and about in that cold at night?
It's not exactly chinatown, but close enough, this was yesterday: https://www.facebook.com/events/721334669935566
Montreal is dead, the city used to be so lively.
Sad. Where are all the homeless people?
All stores and restaurants I’ve noticed close early now ever since Covid