I was in Montreal on a Christmas getaway from New York with a friend - and decided to assemble foodstuff for our Christmas Eve Dinner from this highly-raved about Marché! Visiting this marché was one of the highlights of my one-week long trip in Montreal and Toronto.
I read through all the Yelp reviews on this place to fish out all the must-visit stalls to make sure that I did not miss out on getting any delish produce from this indoor Marché. This Marché was not as large as expected. You could probably cover the whole place in under an hour if you know what and where you are looking for. So where you should visit:
(1) Premiere Moisson - a very popular patisserie and boulangerie which is found in a separate "cabin" at the part of the marché. The baked goods and pastries which it had to offer were AMAZING and mouth-watering. I felt like I was transported to a popular PAT+BOU place in Paris instantly! Remember to get a ticket number for the patisserie section and watch out for your number (instead of ogling over the euphoria-inducing pastries which was what we did ...)
We bought the following pastries:
- creme brûlée, profiterole, strawberry cheesecake and praline buchette. all of them tasted really great!!!! The strawberry cheesecake was slightly dry ... and so could be more perfect.
We bought a tub of mushroom soup from its cold section - the soup was very delicious with small little bits of mushroom scattered amidst its thick potato base! Together with the soup and pastries, we acquired a loaf of bâtard which was the best best best best french bread I had in my life.
(2) Fromagerie Hamel - located outside of the marche, locate it by exiting via the exit next to the only crepe place in the marche! Bought some meat loaf, a slab of blue cheese and apple cider. Everything was so good! Quality stuff!
(3) Pain Doré - also outside of the marche. If we had not gone crazy and bought an insane amount of stuff from Premiere Moisson, I would have bought some bread and tarts from this bakery. They had some jams out for sampling ... tried its caramel jam. It was so brilliant!!!!
I felt really happy the entire time I was in the marché and its vicinity - this place brimmed with freshness and quality! Tourists and Montrealers alike should visit this place! I am so sad that I would not be back in Montreal to visit this marché again!