doronin

I'm wondering if a good, natural or even better organic, preferably goat or sheep milk, but cow will do as well, cream cheese available in Montreal?

I have to confirm that WiSushi offers definitely better maki then Maiko Sushi on de Sources, but frankly, still far-far from what I'd call "good". BTW, what's wrong with their rice - both put so much vinegar and sugar into the rice, so it tastes like a dessert sweet-n-sour rice ball. Fish on it tastes simply unnatural. I never noticed this problem in places like Soto few years back, or in any of my favorite Japanese places in Ottawa.

What are the best sushi restaurants in Montreal these days? I guess some have closed, some new opened - what is the overall picture at beginning 2007? I would suggest to mention if the place is more of authentic Japanese, or Asian fusion - both will be appreciated here.

I noticed that quality of fruits and vegetables in Montreal isn't close to what I was used to in Ottawa (except a couple of extremely expensive places), although, frankly, I would expect it to be opposite. So, where did you say the high quality stuff goes?

Almost every time I tried to prepared anything with yogurt, such as curry yogurt recipes, I had a problem with the yogurt - when heated, it becomes, well, a cheese - milk solids separate from water, etc. Resulting dish doesn't usually goes well What's the secret technique am I missing here, how to make yogurt to stay... yogurt when cooked?

To my best knowledge diastatic malt sold as a powder (flour) only, and if it doesn't clearly state "diastatic" you're most probably left with non-diastatic malt...

That, of course, a matter of taste, but anyways I'm doubt they meant to use home freezer for that purpose. AFAIK, tuna frozen almost instantly and kept under -40C stays as good as it gets - assuming right conditions for thawing. But I'm seriously doubt it can be reproduced at home without the proper equipment.

Well, may be you could advise me... I enter into the store, I see large piece of tuna on the shelf. Looks beautiful. Is it the one you make sashimi of? I asked a piece of it (twice during two weeks) - and drove home right away. At home I found lots of water in there, and I couldn't slice it nicely with the very best of my knives (I use Hattori and Masahiro) - as it was falling apart. Both times I tried it happened. From the very beginning it didn't look and didn't feel like a tuna real sashimi usually made from. Did I chose wrong cut? Do they have different cuts for grilling and sushi?

I was there already twice, and everything looks fresh, but I would be looking for even better place. When I checked whole Salmon, the eyes, they didn't look "just from the water". I'll try to find what days they get Salmon, and to come the same day. Tuna (previously frozen of course), while being fresh, contains tons of water and falls apart in hands...

Too bad their web site is still not complete...

So, the conclusion is that most likely my tuna was frozen/thawed in some incorrect way, right? Should it mean I'd better change my fishmonger, or he might find a better stored piece if I ask nicely?

Tonight I decided to play with some tuna to make tataki-like dish... Well, I got some sushi grade tuna, it was looking gorgeous at store. Now when I brought it home, I discovered that the piece... kind of falls apart - I didn't really squeezed it, just to be able to hold it. It smelled very fresh. Taste was somewhat bland. Due to inability to hold the shape well I couldn't slice it as thinly as expected. What could be wrong with tuna - is it wrong cut, or just bad quality, or anything else I should be looking before i buy? Thanks!!

Interesting, the prices in Camellia are twice higher then in Ottawa's www.teastore.ca - is it reasonable?

What are the best places to get fresh and very fresh (sushi grade) fish in Montreal? The closer to West Island the better, but location isn't my major concern. Freshness, quality, and... well, a price Thanks!!

If anyone knows C A Paradis in Ottawa, that's about what I'm looking for... Not too fancy, not cheap either...

What are the good restaurant supply stores in Montreal? I'm looking for friendly ones, and as I'm just a home cook, they have to sell in retail... If there're any in West Island that would be perfect, but I don't mind to drive elsewhere if it worth it.

Just moved to Montreal... So much to discover yet Could you recomend few good tea stores in Montreal? I'm mostly into pure green teas from Japan and China, but like to taste others on occasion... Thanks, Dmitry

Are they really that special with regard to sharpness? Something tells me that steel knife can always be sharper if sharpened properly... As for lettuce - great idea, I'll consider getting one...

Sorry to disappoint you Japanese stainless steel knives I've got required frm me much *less* maintenance then all Henckels and Sabatier I tried. They just stay sharp much much longer. And cut better. They do require being careful - blade is thin, and chip easier then of European style knives. Electric sharpener will most probably ruin any good knife. But there are enough manual sharpening systems that do the job perfectly, with learning curve about 20 minutes, in $30 - $150 range. They just help you to hold the right angle against the wet stone - and that's all you need to resharpen knives even ten times more expensive then we're talking about. The only problem with Japanese knives - once you tried them, there's no way back, unless you deliberately prefer German style cutlery. Good example here

Well, I didn't recognize the price ranges are different that much. I absolutely agree that in our life there's always some room for simple knives. Regardless, for those who think the Japanese knives worth the premium (and they definitely do), shipping is $7 from Japan. When I ordered mine I wasn't charged any taxes - I lived in Ottawa, ON at that time. And when I happened to damage the blade, I was offered free repair/resharpening, I paid only one way shipping to Japan. You do the math.

You can get excellent Japanese cutlery in $35-$50 price range... Why would anyone care for "white label" knives?..

Anyone knows where can I find diastatic malt in Montreal?

Direct from Japan: http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/ I order everything from there, and I'm yet to see that good prices in Canada. Shipping is cheap as well.

They don't seem to match the purpose, unless you're into steam-cooked bread... Indeed, there is no home ovens that imitate steam functions of industrial ones?

Are there any methods to check the state of the dough while proving: is it under- over- or just proved - beyond the well known finger poke test?