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| - Anyone paying attention to the Montreal restaurant scene has probably noticed the fact that between Griffintown, Little Burgundy and St-Henri, Notre-Dame Ouest has boomed restaurant-wise. The number of new and awesome places that have opened up over the past few years is staggering and difficult to keep up with. I've had my eye on Junior, a Filipino restaurant for a while now but hadn't truly made the time to visit. Over the holidays, getting the Montreal Cooks cookbook - a great book by the way - and trying a recipe from Chef Dre Mejia made me more anxious to go. This month, I finally find my moment to give them - and Filipino food - a proper try.
I went both for a late night snack and then for their "Rice n' Shine" brunch on the weekend. I like the overall visual style of Junior - a indoor street vendor. Very colourful elements all around and the in-house DJ is a nice touch. I enjoyed the selection of music both times I was there but it was a little too loud on my evening visit. When it is hard to have a conversation at the table, it's not a good sign.
To start on my evening visit, I went with the dish that brought me there in the first place - the Adobo Baboy - Soy-Vinegar braised pork shoulder. A nicely hearty portion of wonderfully tender and fall-apart pork. Perfect braised texture. The sauce is very strong on the soy so could be too salty for some of you but the vinegar helps to tone it down and creates a light finish. Add some sweetness, acidity and saltiness to the fatty pork. Very enjoyable - my imitation version just didn't match up!
One of my friends chose the palabok - rice noodles with pork and shrimp gravy. This was sadly a big disappointment. It looked good but surprisingly had no real flavour - the noodles felt overcooked and only the egg served on top came through taste wise. The gravy provided nothing and the pork and shrimp felt brand and lifeless.
Our third dish brought us back on the right track. We went with the Daing na Bangus - Baby Milkfish marinated in vinegar and garlic, de-boned and butterflied and pan-fried. First thing that hit us was the texture. Moist and flaky, the fish came apart so easily. The use of vinegar and garlic provided some sweetness and a little kick flavour wise.
2 out of 3 wasn't what I had hoped but it was enough to come back for brunch with my sister. We first had the Longasilog - fried rice, sunnyside-up eggs, sweet pork sausage, plantain chips and atsara. A solid dish all around - I really enjoy the sweetness of the housemate sausage and how it mixed well with the runny egg and the rice. The plantain chips provided some crunch and the atsara a little bitterness. Very homey and filling.
We also had the fried chicken and waffles - jollibee-style fried chicken and coconut waffles with maple syrup. This dish stood out a little more. As much as I hate coconut normally, the little hint in the crispy waffles worked really well and the fried chicken was outstanding. Loved the crunch of the skin and the overall moistness of the chicken.
I'm happy to have finally been to Junior. It was great to try some Filipino food and realize how I do enjoy it and would like to come back. On the flip side, it was really disappointing to have a dish fall so flat on us. Junior is a solid part of my neighbourhood and a cool addition to the culinary scene in Montreal. Nice to have a generally underexposed cuisine be brought forth like this. I will be back Junior - I just hope that one blip was just that.
Cheers!
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