Bonjour Montreal!

We were absolutely elated when we found out that our friends in Montreal are expecting a baby, due just 1 day after ours! It is such a pity we are not living in the same city otherwise it would be so much more fun to do things together since we are both first-time moms. So, off we went to Montreal to visit them for the weekend and also to eat some duck at the Festival of Duck in the Quebec countryside.

Stopping by a local farmer's market while Nori-chan and Dani shopped for their pumpkins, we couldn't resist taking a shot with Mr. Scarecrow. Another stop at a local farmer's market yielded an absolutely sinful BUT totally delicious tub of MAPLE BUTTER, which I am spreading on my toast every morning now. Mmmm...irresistible! And totally full of extra calories that my baby needs! *wink!*

At Lake Brome(Knolton) where the Festival of Duck is held, we had a very relaxing and long lunch at Au Trois Canard restaurant where they are supposedly the best restaurant in the East of Canada serving duck dishes. The 3-course lunch menu was only about $15-$26 per person and despite the 1.5hr wait for our main course to come, the food was impeccable(tho' we were really impatient at 3pm waiting for our food). Even the raspberry ice-cream was so perfect and creamy we left without a complaint. Montreal pictures

A trip to the Jean-Talon market in Montreal made me green with envy as I could only look and drool at the fresh produce displayed so invitingly and so artfully it wrenches my heart to know that no such market exists where we live now(sad). Reminds me of those HUGE fresh markets in Europe with every kind of fresh fruits and vegetables u cannot even begin to imagine, and lined with specialty shops offering artisanal cheeses, hand made pastas, fresh rillettes(my new favourite French meat spread), shops specializing only in olive oil and of course, the quintessential Boulangerie.

So far, the so-called Farmer's Markets here in Manhattan are quite a joke. But I guess, if there is nothing else better than the biggest one in Union Square, I guess nobody's complaining if they remain ignorant, really. We stopped short of lugging that ginormous basket of ripe tomatoes home for only $5 since we are crossing borders into the US and the less trouble with the unfriendly Immigration peeps, the better.

After a nice weekend eating Canadian traditional food(Poutine - french fries doused with gravy and lumps of cheese), Quebec Fondue(courtesy of Dani - it was absolutely delicious! Wish I had more space in my tummy for that end of the pot soup), artisanal cheese from Quebec(one of the most yummy cheese I've had in a while) and catching up with friends, we headed back for the big U.S.A. armed with our baguette and croissants.