All You Can Eat

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Geo: 45.5075, -73.5587

Much has been made the past few years about eating locally, organic food, the Slow Food movement versus the Fast Food Nation - who would've thought we'd find a commentary on these very subjects at ... Montreal's Museum of Fine Arts?!???!! There for a a temporary exhibit on the forbidden city, The Warrior Emperor and China's Terracotta Army - which was super interesting - the highlight of the museum was actually Karine Giboulo's "All You Can Eat".

Not only is it a commentary on the eating habits and over consumption prevalent in North America, it also references the fact that millions of Chinese live and work in massive complexes in order to produce all that we consume. It's definitely one of the most interesting pieces I've seen in a long time at a museum, one with stunning attention to detail. There's way too much to describe with mere words ... best to let the pictures do the talking.

Like I've said before, Montreal has so much to offer - a few great hours at the museum were followed by a stroll down St. Catharine's street, a little cafe time, and a stroll through Mont Royal park. Given that this was the first truly nice day we've had so far, Montreal's favourite green space was the ideal place to spend a few hours on our last full day in Montreal.

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Photos

La Belle Province ...
... popular fast food chain in Quebec. All-dressed hot dogs with a side of poutine - this version can't touch the one from La Banquise yesterday.

Museum of Fine Arts ...
... super interesting temporary exhibit on the Forbidden City.

All You Can Eat ...
... incredible diorama-style art exhibit. Within the structure are about a dozen different little rooms.

Manufactured Processed Food ...
... workers painting processed food with chemicals and who-knows-what-else.

Gotta Work it Off ...
... notice the humans in their bellies.

Awwwwww ...
... "Nest', by Patricia Piccinini.

Snack at Vasco Da Gama ...
... some good lattes with a delightfully-light coconut mascarpone mousse, with some candied orange peel and pineapple, and a chocolate nut tart that was a bit too sweet.

Pisco w/ Passionfruit ...
... not really a Peruvian drink, but from nearby Chile. It's been a long time since I've had some, and it was a helluva lot stronger than I remembered!

Papa a la Huancaina ...
... light balls of potato in a Peruvian yellow chili pepper (aji) sauce with parmesan cheese and chives. It's a traditional Peruvian dish that turned out to be far more delicious than its simplicity suggested.

Modern Taken on a Shrimp Ceviche ...
... though the shrimps look cooked, they were just lightly cooked on the outside by the citrus juices, and remained raw inside - it was somewhere between a cooked shrimp and sushi. The sweet but slightly tart perfect cubes of mango, the kick of the aji, the freshness of the micro greens ... unbelievable.

Grilled Baby Octopus ...
... a bit scary looking, but super tender, served with an assortment of excellent grilled vegetables. The black olive pesto was a tad salty. Some Andean chili pepper gave it a nice hint of heat.

Very Tender Braised Lamb w/ Aji and Coriander ...
... again, a tad salty, and served with some mashed Peruvian corn, which was a bit pasty.

Warm Purple inca Corn Pudding ...
... more gelatinous than a typical pudding, it tasted a bit like apple pie filling, with flavours of cinnamon and cloves. Mixed in with the pudding were a variety of fruits. The passion fruit mousse in the background was much better - lighter, with fresher flavours. Both were served with biscuits that were a bit like shortbread, perhaps made with corn meal.