Long range weather forecast predicting our next few days stay in Quebec will be packed with nothing but sunshine and blue skies really lifted our spirits. After a leisurely and uneventful drive, we managed to avoid the rush hour traffic and checked into our ‘surprisingly gorgeous‘ Airbnb apartment, ahead of schedule.
For dinner we have selected ‘ Chez Boulay ‘, a highly touted and popular ‘Boreal’ restaurant within walking distance from our temporary home. Located inside a chic boutique hotel, the modern but cramped front-of-house was packed with hungry patrons even on an off ‘Wednesday’ night!
Our astoundingly delicious food was prepared by a kitchen manned by a couple of talented local chefs. Applying French classical know-how to ingredients from Boreal forests and Quebec’s northern territory, dishes were lovingly prepared with flair.
Dishes ordered included:
An appetizer using a main ingredient outside of my comfort zone - ‘Seal’ meatloaf from Cote-Nord, Grilled lettuce, Creamy Spruce, salted herb vinaigrette, seasonal vegetable and garnished with a crispy Arctic Char fish skin.
An entree of ‘Braised PEI beef cheeks, Celeriac and grilled Camelina puree, wild herbs, Camelina Crisp and Veal sauce.
For dessert, we save room for ice cream at an ice cream parlor just down the road!
The seal meatloaf was surprisingly tasty with no discernable gaminess. Exterior was properly seared and caramelized, the main body, a bit more dense than your regular meatloaf using beef, veal and pork…etc. Accompanying sauce was delicious. The ‘ Singaporean ‘ style crispy fish skin garnish was light and crunchy….a very nice touch!
The piece of fork-tender braised beef cheeks was out-of-this-world amazing. The taste and texture reflects the long 30 hours of slow, loving-care cooking! However, this was trumped by the piece of melt in the mouth, velvety ‘beef cheek size‘ seared Foie Gras addition. At only $16, it was a steal of epic proportion!
Sadly, by the time we reached our ice cream parlou
r, it was closed! Sigh!
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