Cuisine AuntDai — Restaurant in Montreal

Where to start... My boyfriend and I initially went because we saw on Tiktok that it went on some newspapers for their honest reviews about their plates. We liked the idea and thought we could trust it, because it was so honest. We took a general tao chicken, because he said it on his honest review that it was the best in Montreal (which is wrong. It was just average.) We also took the beef in chili oil, because it was written that it was a traditional chinese dish and the best on the menu. We thought what the heck let's try something new, since we love chili oil. And beef.

DO NOT GO THERE YOU WILL GET FOOD POISONING! There was this Schezuan black pepper in it.This type of black pepper was sprinkled on top of the meal heavily. It made us have this tingling feeling on our taste buds that wasn't normal, as if we were having an allergic reaction. Keep in mind it wasn't because it was spicy (we're used to very spicy foods). I took a whole bite of it without noticing. Then i thought, okay that's my bad, a spoonful of normal black pepper would be as uncomfortable as this. So i mixed it up thinking it would diffuse the taste, but no! It was still the same level of sting!! Even after mixing it!!! It was worst than the cinamon challenge. I just googled it and it used to be banned in America until 2002!! With good reasons clearly!!! I asked kindly if it was possible to exchange the meal for something else, wanting to give them a last chance. The boss told us no! Because there's "nothing wrong with the meal on their end" (there was no hair in it or anything that would be their fault resulting in having to take it back). He said that's what it tastes like and we shouldn't order something we don't understand!!! But there was no disclaimer on the menu!! He said he explained it in the video which i didn't saw so i guess i couldn't really say anything. Also the beef tasted as if it was frozen. There was a weird taste and texture to it. I ended up having a 5$ discount, even though i wanted a full refund since we barely touched it, AND WE GOT FOOD POISINING!!

My boyfriend and I had 2 bites max, but it resulted in us vomiting and having diarrhea the whole night. Do not get this meal indeed if you're not used to that spice. And do not go to this restaurant thinking you'll have good customer service. Don't be fooled by TikTok unreal reviews about that place. We're never going...

Edit - response to owner's comments: I feel bad for leaving an unfavorable review so I'm sorry about that.

I've eaten at Just Noodles (Masson & St Joseph) since 2005. I frequently order the big bowl of wonton soup as a meal. It's a big bowl of tasty chicken broth and you can taste a hint of MSG in the broth. You can taste the spices in the wontons and everything is tasty, even the noodles, which soak-in the tasty broth. There's NOTHING left in the bowl when I'm done :)

They also make a FANTASTIC Cantonese Chow Mein on crispy noodles (sadly, it depends on who is chef though - it is sometimes very unremarkable).

You clearly are a talented chef and as I said, my meal was clearly well-prepared and appetizing-looking. I think that as a mid fifties Canadian guy who has eaten "Chinese food" all my life, I'm used to MSG in my Asian cuisine.

Honestly though, the imperial rolls weren't fully cooked. The wrappers were still a little mushy on the inside, which may have contributed to the off taste.

I really wish I had tried your shuǐ zhǔ niú ròu. I assume that' VERY tasty but I always order Cantonese Chow Mein the first time I try an Asian resto.

Original review:

After reading so many glowing reviews, I was anxious to try this place. I came for a Sunday lunch and ordered wonton soup, imperial rolls and the cantonese chow mein.

The soup was literally flavorless. The 'broth' is just hot water, not even a drop of sesame oil. The wontons had no discernible taste, not even salt. Imperial rolls are easy to make! Everyone loves mine but here, they're equally bland. I didn't finish either of my appetizers.

The chow mein was well-prepared, looked appetizing and did taste ok but I've concluded that the cook here is afraid of using spices. I drowned it in a bunch of sriracha sauce to give it some taste.

Sadly, if this is what it's like there, I won't...

I have ordered over 10 times at AuntDai. However, this time was the most disappointing experience, and I don’t know whether they changed the chef or not.

I ordered pork belly with sweet potato noodles 猪肉炖粉条and the mixed vegetables (eggplants, green pepper and potatoes) 地三鲜. The pork belly with sweet potato noodles is super super salty. Plus the color of the whole dish is black (See picture 1). You can imagine how salty this one tastes like.

Additionally, the mixed vegetables one tastes super bland. It feels like there is no salt in the dish at all.

I really love AuntDai, and it is very disappointing to receive orders with such poor taste. :( Hopefully the food quality could be improved soon since I do miss those yummy dishes I had before at Aunt Dai.

-Respond to the owner:

I totally get that there are different people cooking these dishes. I’m not asking for the same flavor, I’m simply asking for less salty with pork belly with sweet potato noodles and more salty with the mixed vegetable one. Just the normal flavor. Plus we are not picky customers since we have ordered so many times in the past and we were all satisfied with them. I don’t understand how hard it is to acknowledge that sometimes chefs did mess up the flavor of some dishes.

Anyway this time we had to put water into the pork belly dish in order to eat it since it’s so salty. Plus we also had to add soy sauce and some salt to the mixed vegetable dish. It feels like we ordered “half-cooked” dishes and we had to fix them on...