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| - An unpretentious, casual restaurant-bar with terrific food. I've been here a few times and after sampling a good portion of the menu I can attest that the food does live up to the hype!
My favorite dish was the mini pancakes (banh khot). I was sitting at the bar yesterday and was mesmerized by how much care the chef put in making them. He patiently pampered them until they were crispy all around yet bouncy on the inside. The pancakes were topped with a mixture of ground pork and shrimp and sweetened with coconut milk. They were then ready to be dunk in a homemade fish sauce; a real treat! You get six mini pancakes in one portion; I shared everything tapas-style but I could have easily finished the plate on my own.
Another highlight was the beef carpaccio. In contrast with its Italian counterpart, the Vietnamese version is really heavy on the lime juice (which I love). There's also no raw egg in this version, just a lot of crispy fried shallots and peanuts.
Red Tiger offers spring rolls rolled in square (pretty cool!) rice paper and filled with either a shrimp or pork sausage, or tofu. I tried the non-vegetarian options and liked it, but wasn't wowed by it. The addition of what seemed to be fried egg wrapping paper was a nice touch since it added dimension to the roll, though. If you are craving meat, I'd definitely recommend ordering the fried chicken wings or skewers. They are a must!
My only complaint would be that the cocktails, while good, seemed watered down and didn't deliver the same punch as the food.
Overall, it's a good place to come to if you want to dance to 80-90's music on your bar stool and indulge in a type of cuisine we rarely come across in Montreal. It's open late too, which is always a plus!
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