🏟😅 Montreal’s Chinatown Pho: A Love-Hate Nostalgia Trip

North American Chinatowns, no matter the city, seem to share a “Z, L, C” curse—Zero service, Long waits, Cringeworthy tactics. It’s heartbreaking, really. 💔 Living on the South Shore, parking in Chinatown is a nightmare, and with more eateries popping up nearby, there’s less incentive to brave the trip. I hadn’t dined there in four years… until yesterday.🌟😒 Montreal’s Chinatown once teemed with pho joints, but Peng remains my fave. 🍜 Spotting an empty parking spot outside during an Old Port event, I decided to reminisce. Big mistake. 😩 The restaurant was half-full (30+ tables), but there was only one waiter—even if he’d been Nezha on his wind-fire wheels, he couldn’t keep up. This “cost-cutting” is common but infuriating. 🤩🌟 A noodle shop that takes 15 minutes to take your order? I watched a neighboring table walk out after being ignored. The food? Solid. 👌 Grilled pork and chicken vermicelli (Bún Thịt Nướng)—classic flavors, unchanged. Pho Dac Biet—comforting and authentic.🌸👧 Weekend special: Bun Bo Hue (Hue-style beef noodle soup)—interesting twist! The broth, simmered with oxtail, was milder than my go-to Nam Quan, lacked that “funky” shrimp paste kick, but had generous oxtail chunks. Worth a try. Then came the bill drama. 💸 Montreal’s Vietnamese restaurants typically include tax in the listed price. My $48.50 bill was already tax-inclusive. The owner handed me a handful of coins as change, implying I should “tip generously.” Fine, but… why wasn’t he printing a receipt? 🤨 I refused to tip without one.🌸 He grudgingly hit the machine after glaring at my coin stash. Look, it’s just a meal. 🥢 We seasoned Chinatown diners are used to rough edges. 🥳 But after years of this nonsense, in an era of change, it’s exhausting. These petty games push people away. #TippingCulture #ChinatownEats #PhoProblems 🍜😤