Canada | North America | North American Sojourn 2017

North American Sojourn Day 9: Montréal

December 13, 2017

Day 9: 18 May 2017, Thursday

It’s our last full day here in Montréal and KP generously gave us some of his time to show us around the city he had been calling home for the past 11 months or so. For breakfast, KP brought us to his favourite dim sum place called Restaurant ChinaTown Kim Fung, located at 1111, Rue Saint-Urban M05, Montréal. From KP’s apartment, we walked to the Terminus Angrignon station (which was just around the corner) to take the train to Chinatown.

To make the most out of our day, we bought a Day Pass for unlimited travel on the Metro system. It cost CAD$10 (S$10.35) and it is much more value for money because a single trip fare is already CAD$3.25, regardless of the distance travelled.

Tariffs for Metro train tickets
The Day Pass provides unlimited travel for 24 hours
On the Metro train
Just to show that we are in Montréal
Bicycle sharing system here in Montréal

We alighted at Place-D’armes. From there, it was a short walk to Chinatown. Most of the shops in Chinatown were still closed at 8:45am so it was pretty quiet and almost devoid of people. The dim sum restaurant was located on the second floor of a plain-looking building so it isn’t obvious at all to the casual passerby. It was one of those hidden gems that you only know about if you have lived in a place long enough and happened to stumble across it one fine day while exploring.

Chinatown is quiet in the morning
The restaurant is inconspicuously tucked away on the second floor of this building
KP brought us to his favourite dim sum restaurant in Montréal

The restaurant served traditional dim sum on a dolly, and it looked like one of those old-fashioned, authentic Chinese restaurants that we had in Singapore in the 80’s and early 90’s. We ordered all of our favourite dishes, including the century egg porridge, chee cheong fun, har kow, carrot cake, yam pastry, siew mai and char siew bao. We ended up really stuffed but the food was so good and we enjoyed it a lot. Thanks, KP for the great recommendation!

Century egg porridge
Crispy you tiao
Chee cheong fun, har kow and carrot cake
Yam pastry
Siew mai
Char siew bao

After breakfast, we took a leisurely stroll to the Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal nearby, located in the historic district of Old Montréal. When we visited at 10am, the sun was behind the building so it was hard to take a good photo of it. There was an admission fee of CAD$6 and we didn’t pay to enter. On hindsight, I kinda regret not doing so because I have seen pictures of the intricately designed interior and it looks absolutely beautiful. Oh well, next time then!

Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal
Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal
You have to pay an admission fee of CAD6 to enter
At Rue Saint-Paul O
At Rue Saint-Paul O
At Rue Saint-Paul O
Conversations with statues

We continued walking east and soon found ourselves at the Old Port of Montréal. It stretches for over 2km along the St. Lawrence River and it was used as a trading post in the old days. Today, it has been redeveloped into a recreational and lifestyle area, making it a nice place to hang out and enjoy a stroll.

At the Old Port of Montréal
At the Old Port of Montréal
At the Old Port of Montréal
At the Old Port of Montréal
At the Old Port of Montréal
At the Old Port of Montréal
At the Old Port of Montréal

The area around the Old Port is surrounded by many heritage buildings. One of them is Marché Bonsecours, a beautiful 1847 two-storey, domed building housing boutiques and fine restaurants. The building’s exterior reminded me of our Old City Hall building in Singapore, which has since been transformed into the National Gallery today. We did some window shopping here while KP went back to the office to settle some matters.

Marché Bonsecours, a heritage building housing boutiques and fine restaurants
Marché Bonsecours – reminds me of our Old City Hall building, which is National Gallery today
You can self-test your alcohol level with this machine. Quite a good idea, they should install this machine at drinking establishments here too, so that the onus is on the driver to get tested before they drive. At least, drivers can make a more informed decision and not have to worry about exceeding the alcohol limit after they have had a few drinks.
Nelson’s Column at Place Jacques-Cartier
Archives de Montréal building
Archives de Montréal building

After that, we continued walking around the area, marvelling at the beautiful architecture and enjoying the chilled-out vibe. At about 12:20pm, we took the train to Peel station, where Montréal’s main shopping area is located at Rue Sainte-Catherine. The weather was very fine but the temperature was a blazing 31 degrees Celsius, so it was nice to escape the heat outside and enjoy some air-conditioning in the malls for a while.

The main shopping belt at Rue Saint-Catherine
Holdine haha
Someone was being an “S” and got itchy hands, defacing this advert for the Barbie Expo
Christ Church Cathedral
Christ Church Cathedral
Sad sight….my poor HMV has closed down
St. James United Church
St. James United Church
Google office

At 3:45pm, we met up with KP again and we proceeded to Marché Jean-Talon, a popular farmer’s market. There were many stalls selling fresh seafood and cooked food, and they all looked yummy. KP had brought his family and friends here many times in the past to feast on the lobsters and oysters, because they were much cheaper compared to back home. We bought a huge red lobster for CAD$26 and a dozen fresh oysters for CAD$30. The lobster meat was succulent and the oysters were very fresh.

At Marché Jean-Talon
KP brought us to Marché Jean-Talon for some fresh seafood
Lobsters…
Oysters…
This beauty costs CAD$26
Tuck in!
Succulent meat
A dozen fresh oysters for CAD$30

As it was still early, we decided to head over to Parc du Mont-Royal for a look. We took the train back to Peel station. From there, we walked up the steep Rue Peel towards Avenue des Pins. The street was flanked by beautiful and expensive houses on both sides and it looked a lot like San Francisco. The street was only 700m long but it was very steep and it took quite an effort to reach the top.

The long slopy road up to Mont Royal
Houses along the street up Mont Royal
Reminded me of those in San Francisco

From Avenue des Pins, there was still more hiking to be done before we reached the lookout point. As we walked through the park, we saw beautiful, leafy maple trees and many people doing brisk walking and jogging. It was a very nice place to exercise and I could imagine how much more beautiful it would be in autumn when all the leaves turn red.

Lots of people jogging here at Parc du Mont Royal
Maple trees
Maple leaf, the national symbol of Canada
The final ascent up to Mont Royal
Taking a breather from climbing the stairs

After half an hour of hiking and climbing many flights of stairs, we finally reached Belvedere Kondiaronk, the lookout point at the top of Mont Royal. There was a large, open area with a panoramic view of Montréal city below. The view was gorgeous and it was well worth the effort to get up here. All around the area in front of the large Chalet du Mont Royal building, lovely orange tulips were in bloom and they added to the beauty of the place. We spent about 20 minutes here before making our way back down to Peel station.

At Belvedere Kondiaronk, the lookout point at the top of Mont Royal
The view from Mont Royal
The view from Mont Royal
At Mont Royal
The photo
The photo behind the photo
Tulips in bloom!

 

More tulips because they are just so pretty

Chalet du Mont Royal building in the background

For dinner, we went back to Chinatown for some Vietnamese food. I ordered a large bowl of beef pho for CAD$9.50 and it was really quite large. But I was up to the challenge and I slurped it down in no time.

Back to Chinatown for dinner
This time at Pho Bang New York Vietnamese restaurant
The pho bowls are priced from CAD$8.50 to $10.50
Ordered spring rolls as side dishes
The Large bowl is quite big

We then strolled through Chinatown again, and it was much livelier at night compared to the morning. I spied a Chatime bubble tea shop and couldn’t resist buying a cup for a taste of home.

Chinatown is more vibrant in the evening
Cute cute buns
Couldn’t resist buying a cup of Chatime bubble tea for a taste of home

From Chinatown, we walked to Boulevard de Maisonneuve Ouest, an upscale area home to many arts and performance venues including Place des Arts, the largest artistic complex in Montréal, like our Esplanade Theatres back home.

Emerald City
Place Des Arts, the performing arts centre in Montréal, like our Esplanade area
Complexe Desjardins
Inside Complexe Desjardins…doesn’t it remind you of our Changi Airport Terminal 1, with its teardrop hanging display?
Interesting that the trains run on tyres instead of wheels
You can bring your bicycles up the Metro trains

At about 9pm, we called it a day and went back to KP’s apartment to do our final packing. For us, it had been a good day out visiting all of Montréal’s sights. For KP, it was also a way of revisiting all his favourite places and restaurants for the last time before coming back to Singapore in 3 weeks’ time. So it was nice for all of us. With that, it was the end of our Canadian sojourn and we would be heading to New York tomorrow. Big Apple, here we come!