Canada

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Tehran Restaurant, Montreal

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My last day in Quebec on this trip was Monday and I promised a cousin on my dad’s side of the family that I would meet up with her for lunch. I told her I was in the mood for sushi or Lebanese food. She countered by proposing an Iranian restaurant she loves. I’d never had Persian food before, so I was game. The restaurant is called Tehran and it is on de Maisonneuve Boulevard West, right at the edge of Westmount.

We were greeted warmly by our server. Since it was lunch on a Monday, the place was quiet, with only a large Iranian family eating there besides us (a good sign!).

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The meals come with soup or salad and my cousin encouraged me to try the traditional ash soup. That alone would have been two meals for me! It is a very thick soup made with lentils, chick peas, herbs (including mint), fried onions, noodles, and goat yoghurt. I had a few bites and had to leave the rest. I wasn’t crazy about it (not a fan of goat milk so I kind of ate around the yoghurt), but it’s something I would be thrilled to sit in front of on a cold winter day.

My cousin opted for the green salad. I neglected to ask her what the creamy dressing consisted of. 🙁

The soup came with pita. That’s such a rare thing out west that I indulged in what probably amounted to a quarter of a round. I really am trying to cut my bread intake and my family’s meals are very carb heavy, so the last thing I needed was to inhale an entire plate of pita. But when’s the next time I’ll get to eat fresh pita that I haven’t had to spend all day making myself?!

I wish I’d made note of the dish I ordered or at least the ingredients in it. It was some sort of very tender chicken kebab that was bright orange, oily, and super, super flavourful! My cousin and I think it might have been cooked in tomato and/or saffron. It was served with a whole roasted tomato and plain jasmine rice topped with a little saffron rice (what looks like shredded carrot in the pic!). I would have had enough for two meals! My cousin took almost half of my chicken home for her lunch the next day!

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As for my cousin, she had the steak and gave me a generous sample of it. Wow! It had a lot of flavour from the seasonings and it melted in my mouth. I would actually consider having the steak if I were to go back to Tehran one day!

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Our meal ended with cardamon tea. My cousin had it the traditional way, with sugar cubes, but I had mine plain. It was the perfect palate cleanser!

My cousin considers the prices at Tehran to be extremely reasonable. I have no idea. Sales tax in QC is so high that it skews the numbers a little. My plate was at the lower end of the price scale, around $12 and my cousin’s at the higher end, around $22. After taxes and the tip, our meal came to $52. It was my treat, paying forward a tiny bit of all the meals my wonderful blog readers have treated me to!

Even though I know that I barely scratched the surface of an ancient cuisine, I’d consider my tiny foray into Persian culture a success!

 

 

 

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Reunions

I got an early start this morning because my mother had some work for me to do. That ate up the morning and the first part of the afternoon. It was easy, but tedious, work that I enjoy and that my mother hates, making sure graphic elements are correctly aligned and adjusting them if not. My being here was perfect timing for this job and it will be nice to have a few hours to bill during my non-vacation.

Lunch was an item off my culinary desires list for this trip, Montreal style bagels, which we had with smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers, and grey shallots. YUM!

My older sister and her girls arrived late afternoon. It was my first time meeting the youngest, who is sixteen months old. The oldest is four and she not only remembered me, but was very affectionate. They have a lot of energy, so there was a lot of running around and shrieking. They are spending two nights, so I expect I’ll be woken early this weekend! It’s lovely to see them and we even Skyped with my brother-on-law, who is working on Vancouver Island.

Dinner was my step-mother’s amazing fish soup, made with cod, a creamy tomato base, and whatever veggies are on hand (this time, potatoes, carrots, parsnip, and green beans from the garden, plus cauliflower). This was another request of mine. 🙂 The girls thought it was great, too! I had bread, a beer, a glass of wine, and a glass of port, so I skipped dessert. 🙂

I don’t feel like I got much done today even though it felt like a very long one!

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Slightly Jetlagged

I fell asleep at one am local time and was up at quarter to ten! I had a quiet morning chatting with my mother.

Lunch was a treat I haven’t had since the 20th century because I was a vegetarian for so long: a genuine Montreal smoked meat sandwich!

After lunch, I borrowed the car to go do a little shopping to buy my eldest nephew a birthday gift and his little brother something, too (my younger sister’s boys). I was given a specific list , so it was an easy enough task. I made a stop en route to visit my dad’s grave.

I came back home and headed out almost immediately to pick up my grand-mother, who lives 1km away. When we returned to my mother’s house, my brother, his girlfriend, and my youngest nephew had come to say hi (they live a few blocks away. My sis-in-law is due with another boy any day now!

My grand-mother and I had a chance to catch up a little over dinner. After she left, I took advantage of the shiny new tub in the freshly renovated guest bathroom!

The evening was winding down when the phone rang. It was my uncle calling with news that the girlfriend of my youngest cousin had her baby tonight! Talk about a baby boom!

Tomorrow, my older sister is driving down from Sherbrooke with her two girls. I haven’t met the younger one yet. They will spend a couple of nights.

Saturday, my little sister will be hosting all of us for my eldest nephew’s birthday. This gathering would have happened without me, but I think there is extra effort being made for attendance because I made it out.

I’m glad I didn’t plan anything for the week except lunch with a cousin on Monday. It won’t be hard to fill the days! In fact, I’ll be working tomorrow alongside my mother, doing some of the work she trained me in when I was here last.

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Regina To Saskatoon To Ottawa To Montreal To Chambly

It was a good flight day, with no delays and a layover that was just the right length.

The first bit of the flight took us northwest to Saskatoon, where I did not have to deplane. I wound up being grateful for the detour because I didn’t have time in Regina to get comfortable for a long flight since a lady who really should have bought two seats made it impossible for me to get my boots off, remove my cardigan, and get my luggage sorted in a way that would give me some leg room. She got off in Saskatoon and I had time to settle in before my next seatmate arrived.

As it turned out, the Tim’s at the Regina airport only makes breakfast sandwiches, so my only options for food were bagels, pastries, and convenience store items. I decided not to bother and satisfy myself with the Cliff bar I got from the b&b.

But by the time food service started, I was feeling nauseous from the carb crash from the morning’s breakfast and no protein to speak of. So I decided to buy an on board chicken wrap and wound up being super impressed with it! I won’t be annoyed by my Visa bill for it at all. 🙂 It was loaded with crisp dark lettuce, a sharp cheese (likely Asiago), and chewy sun dried tomatoes. The wrap itself was lovely and fresh. I paired this with a cup of surprisingly decent (complimentary) coffee and ended up with a much tastier meal than Tim’s would have provided.

The flight was smooth and I was thoroughly engrossed in a novel I bought (used) just for the occasion. My seatmate asked me what the book was about and I told her to read the jacket because I couldn’t discuss it aloud. It’s a John Nance novel about a series of terrorist attacks on airplanes! What can I say, I’m not a nervous flier! 🙂

We got to Ottawa a little early. I wonder if I will ever get the “I’m home!!!” feeling landing in Regina that I have always gotten in Ottawa and never in Montreal…

I had about forty minutes to kill before boarding for the last leg of the trip, just enough time to grab an okay slice of pizza and treat myself to a magazine. I was too tired by this point to keep reading the novel, but the flight would be too short for a nap.

The weather was bad between Ottawa and Montreal and there was turbulence, enough that I was a little nauseated and glad to land when we arrived.

Dorval Airport is one of the larger ones in Canada, so I had quite a ways to go to get out beyond security, enough that there is even a moving sidewalk that surprised me and almost made me face plant!

My mother was waiting inside the terminal and we hurried out to the car. The drive to Chambly felt super fast.

I’m glad to be here and am beat! It’s late here, midnight, but 10:00 my time, which is my normal bedtime, so hopefully I’ll actually sleep and wake up at a reasonable hour.

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Waiting For My Flight

I left the Dragon’s Nest at about nine and decided to make a quick run to Walmart for some litre (quart) sized zip bags for my liquids. I had them packed in a gallon bag and was worried that I wouldn’t get through security even though I really didn’t bring much since I can get what I need at my mother’s. I’m a little finicky about sharing tooth paste, like to carry sanitizer gel on the plane, and recently received a sample size of my favourite hand cream so that’s all I have.

I had to drive around long-term parking for a while until I found empty slots, all near the exit and ‘far’ from the terminal entrance. I made sure to snap a picture of the sign telling me what row I’m parked in. 🙂

Regina Airport is TINY, so it was quiet today and there was no wait at security. I decided to use my iPhone as a boarding pass and am not sure yet that I like that. Even though I left the ‘Passbook’ app open, I still had to swipe a few times to get to the boarding pass. The lady at the first security checkpoint said I did it like a pro and thanked me for being organized.

Security people were nice, but I was there a bit and got felt up. Ladies, no underwire at the airport! 🙂 It was also my first time with a belt and I had to remove it as well as my boots.

I find it interesting that computers get singled out for special screening, but not iPads.

I also find it interesting that I haven’t yet had to produce ID.

There’s not much beyond security, just a Tim’s and a convenience store. I grabbed a coffee and will get a sandwich to go before I board.

Finally, I tried to get my new bag into the rack that lets you check the size. There was some smooshing involved, but it’s definitely okay. I also have a tote with my electronics and I stuffed my purse into the tote! If I have to gate check the big bag, I have everything I need in the tote.

So on to Saskatoon (stay on the plane) and then a short layover in Ottawa. No time to go there for a visit this time, but at least I’ll see my beloved city from the air. I’ll be in Dorval in about seven hours from now.