Back to the buffet !
Buffet Fu lam, Wok & Grill 

So I ended up at another buffet but this one I will admit was different. The good kind of different. 

Buffet Fu lam
http://www.restaurantfulam.com/

This restaurant is known for having some really great different buffet choices. It leans towards the canada / asian take on dishes. You can still find anything from salads, soup, meats, vegetables, a large array of desserts and more. They also have a sushi station with someone making fresh sushi but personally the best part of the restaurant is the make it yourself wok station. 

I spoke to a very nice and helpful waiter that actually had the kitchen cook come out and verify everything. The first thing to note is anything that has been deep fried is not done in conventional oil, it is fried with animal lard. I was thankful for the upfront and honest responses I got to my many questions. A plus for having amazing staff. Another great thing about this place is that everything has a label to tell you what the dish is. 

I went to the Tachereau street Greenfield park location. It is located in a small strip mall near maxi and guzzo. 

Here is what I grabbed, now they have more then just that but hey I can not eat everything.   :) 

First up was a vegetable noodle mix, macaroni noodle mix, an amazing garlic broccoli vegetable mix, plus another broccoli vegetable mix and a green bean with black bean mix. I say mix because they all had other vegetables in the dish as well. All this food was nice and hot, I was very surprised to see so many hot vegetable dishes that are plant based. Plus each dish is flavoured so well with many different sauces and spices. Down side is some of it has oil but really not much at all. 

They have a large sushi station at the buffet, everything is kept in trays covered in plastic and in a cabinet to keep it fresh. They do have a vegetable sushi. It was not to bad but not my favourite sushi.

Next up I went to the make your own wok station, You take a dinner plate and pick anything you want from the wok station. I took every vegetable I could find. Then you hand over your plate and the cook asks you want number sauce you want and if you want meat. The #2 fu lam sauce is a good choice, a little sweet but more importantly no fish sauce. He then adds garlic to the dish while cooking as well as water NOT oil. Everything gets served in a cute little metal bowl with handles.

Cost: 19.49 a person 

Would I go to this restaurant again? Sure It is really nice to go somewhere with so many hot vegetable choices.  :) 

Ah yes the buffet, how could I forget.
Buffet Vichy


Going somewhere with a group of people and everyone wants something different? No problem, head to the nearest buffet. 

Buffet Vichy 
http://www.buffetvichy.com/


This restaurant is known for the wide array of foods it serves during brunch, lunch and dinner. You can find anything from pizza, turkey, beef, pasta dishes, fish to cakes and pies. The restaurant also has a full bar and lots of seating for groups. 

I have spoken to the manager and his response to most of my questions when asked if they contained any animal products was that "they should not contain any".  

I went to the 2901 boul Tachereau  ST-Hubert  location. 
This place has been there for a very long time and it shows it. Most of the furniture is damaged and the place in general is old looking with lots of signs of wear. They really need to update it. The staff is generally nice and helpful with a few exceptions to rude waitresses. This restaurant also has a problem with keeping the food warm, if you take the food on the bottom of the metal container it is nice and hot but the food near the top is not. Other times the food is just cold. I brought this up to the waitress and I was told "it is normal and kind of like a microwave when it sits in the metal containers". ???   yeah really ..... whatever.. bottom line is food at a restaurant should be hot....

I choose the following, First up was the steamed broccoli, chop suey vegetable mix, brown soya sauce rice and soya sauce noodles. As far as I could tell there was no oil in it. If there was I could not taste it at all. 

Next up I found a Greek salad, I removed the cheese but it did have some oil on it, couscous salad, red cabbage but it was to oily for me, sliced cucumbers, radishes and a large white bean salad but again it had oil on it. 

They do have other options then just this in the salad section but I just never tried them. Also every time you go they have different dishes. For example they serve a really good potato, onion and mixed zucchini baked dish in tomato sauce and it is so good.  It just was not there when I went.

As for deserts I did not see anything I could eat. They have a ton of cakes, pies, tarts, jello, pudding and ice cream. 

Cost: 53.91 with the tax for 2 adults and a 7 year old kid. 

Would I go to this restaurant again? If I have to with a group of people sure but all in all I would not choose to go myself. 

I ate a brown submarine ! What?
Dagwoods

I love the fact that I can find a sandwich shop pretty much anywhere. Plus they are stock full of veggie options. 

Dagwoods
http://www.dagwoods.ca/home/

This restaurant is known for the sandwich's, wraps,soups and salads. They also have cookies, muffins, chips and kids meals. They also offer catering with delivery of large buffet orders. 

I contacted this restaurant through email and they got back to me very fast.They were very friendly and answered any questions I had. They do have nutritional information on the website but I could not find anything to show a detailed ingredient list. I was informed that the brown bread does not contain any dairy or eggs.

I ordered the 12 inch veggie on brown with no cheese. I got it toasted in the oven and with almost every vegetable available. Such as: lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, green peppers, onions and hot peppers. I declined the black olives (not my thing) 
9 out of 10 times when you get it with no cheese the servers will pile on the vegetables automatically or you could just ask for more. I have never been charged extra for asking for more veggies. 

top view

inside view 

I went to the Greenfield park, Tachereau street location facing the Charles Lemoyne hospital. This Dagwoods is nice and clean with great friendly staff. Plus they know how to make a great sandwich. I order the large buffet at least once a year. 

I must say not all Dagwoods locations are equal. For example, the Brossard location next to toys r us is well below par for staff, cleanliness and knowing how to make a good sandwich. 

Cost: 7.89 before tax or 9.07 with tax for only the sandwich.

Would I order it again? Yes and I always do   :) 

The quick bite :) 
Tim Hortons


How many times have you found yourself in a rush? More times then you can count I bet. The good thing is even if you are in a hurry there is still something plant based you can grab.

Tim Hortons
http://www.timhortons.com/ca/en/index.php

This restaurant is know for the coffee but they sell all kinds of bagels, cookies, sandwich's, muffins, doughnuts, tim bits, tea, smoothies and more. 

You can find all the nutritional information you need on there website. It is very easy to use and navigate. The staff at the restaurants will always refer you to the website if you have questions about what is in the food. The good thing about Tim Hortons is that they are everywhere ! 

I ordered the everything bagel with lettuce, tomato and onions. I asked for no butter and no mayo. It is important to request no butter because they will add it for you if you do not specify. 

Cost: Oddly I have been charged 2 different prices on 3 separate occasions from 2 different locations. That is when I actually kept my receipts. 

The 1st location charged me the bagel, lettuce, tomato and onions for 2.79 before tax. 

The 2nd location that I went to twice charged me differently both times. The first time I was charged for the bagel, lettuce and tomato for 2.29 before tax. The second time I went I was only charged for the bagel at 1.29 before tax.

All in all even at the highest price of 2.79 it seems like a good deal to me for a quick bite. 

Would I order it again? Yes I would and will keep you in the loop for the prices. 

Sushi !!!
Roll it up, dip it and then eat it....
Sushi Shop

Sushi is one of those things that you ether hate it or love it. Personally I have never tried sushi with fish, I have had vegetarian sushi before but most of the time that has mayonnaise in it. 

Sushi shop
http://www.sushishop.com/en/

This restaurant is known for well.... sushi. They offer so many different types of sushi it is pretty amazing. They even offer a ton of salads, soups, platters, kids combos and more. 

I have contacted this restaurant by email, phone and have spoken to the staff. They are amazing and very friendly. I asked a ton of questions about what could be made plant based and they were so helpful.  The only thing they asked of me was to place a special order in the morning and tell them the pick up time. I phone from work in the morning and tell them I will be picking up my order around 4.30 the  same day.  

I ordered the vegetarian roll with no mayonnaise spice mixture. You get 5 large pcs. I also ordered there oshiko 6 pc sushi. It also comes with soy sauce, ginger, wasabi and chop sticks. 

Cost: 10.05 with taxes

Would I order it again? Yes I would. 

Tofu fajitas !!!!!  

well say no more.....

Jack Astor's

I absolutely love fajitas, even when I used to eat animals I loved them. Now that I am plant based I managed to find an amazing alternative. Tofu fajitas!!! They are so good. 

Jack Astor's

http://jackastors.com/

This restaurant is known for it's fun and quirky decorations, friendly staff, great cooks and lets face it the food. I went to the greenfield park location next to the maxi grocery store on Tachereau street. I have been going there for many years and everything I ever had there was amazing. They serve lunch, supper and have a bar. They also recently gave the menu a make over. 

I have also contacted this restaurant via email and still have not gotten a reply. It is better to just call them if you have any questions or ask the staff. The staff is always friendly and willing to help. 

I ordered the tofu fajitas, with no cheese, no sour cream, a side of guacamole and asked them to cook it with as little oil as possible. They give you 1/2 pound of tofu and that is allot. I have yet to finish it all. I have noticed depending on who is cooking you sometimes get more oil then needed. I'm guessing every cook is different right? 

The meal comes with 5 warm corn tortillas, salsa ( staff will bring you or offer you an extra one at no charge) and shredded lettuce. The tofu is cooked with onions and peppers, sometimes green, red or both. I love the spices they use on the tofu, it has a nice flavour but not enough spice to make you into a dragon :)

Plus there's more ! It is served with 3 different sauces, a hot sauce, a teriyaki sauce and the 3rd is an amazing smoked bbq sauce. 

Cost: 19.97 + 2.99 for the guacamole. 

Would I order it again?  100 % YES ! They are fantastic. I highly recommend everyone go and try these. 

RESTAURANT IS CLOSED !

Breakfast!!! 
Get cracking?... how about get stirring !!!
L'Eggs Oeufs 

One of my favourites meals of the day was breakfast. I remember going out to places and completely pigging out on well..lots of pig ! Where did this leave me? Overweight and unhealthy. So now I look for better options at breakfast themed restaurants. 

L'Eggs Oeufs
http://www.leggsoeufs.ca/en/index.html

This restaurant is known for serving breakfast on huge platters with everything you can imagine. Plus they also serve lunch. I went to the Greenfield park location on Tachereau and Charles street. Something to note for people with kids is that kids eat free on Saturdays.

I have contacted this restaurant through their email and facebook page and am still waiting for a reply. They have seen my facebook message but I guess are refusing to answer. The waitress could not answer many of my questions ether,  I had asked her if the chef could make a breakfast hash. As in taking potatoes and all vegetables and putting them on the grill. Apparently she never herd of this before.

I ordered the oatmeal, I asked for it to come with no milk. It also came with a side of brown sugar. The portion size is large as the bowl is very deep. It tasted good. I also ordered the freshly squeezed orange juice but forgot to take a picture of it. I also ordered there hash brown potatoes thinking they were baked or cooked on the grill like I had from a different restaurant. Unfortunately they came deep fried and full of oil so yeah.....

Cost, I "think" was close to 10 ? I can not remember exactly

Would I order this again? Only if the group of people I was with was going. However the other 7 people I was with that eat animal products said that a different breakfast restaurant was much better tasting. 

Finding food to eat in unlikely places. For example: St-Hubert !

Part of the challenge of being plant based is finding something healthy to eat when going out to restaurants. Normally I would just cook all my meals from home but sometimes I enjoy going out with family or friends. Other times I find myself ordering out with the girls from work.
If you find yourself stuck, remember you should be able to get a salad anywhere. I know it is not the most fun option but it is good to have something to fall back on.

First restaurant up to bat is St-Hubert.
http://www.st-hubert.com/index.fr.html

This restaurant is know for the bbq chicken they sell, however they do sell a few different kinds of salads that you have the option to buy with or without chicken. In this case I used there delivery service and the lady I spoke to on the phone was very nice and helpful.

I choose the garden salad with no chicken, no cheese and no dressing. So basically a dry salad but I will be honest I was surprised when I got it. The colours looked amazing and the smell of what I believe to be Italian seasoning was wonderful. The portion size is very large and was full of mixed lettuce, cabbage, corn, red peppers, carrots and beets.

Oddly when I ordered this salad it came with well... a free little salad  LOL

So I choose their regular coleslaw. The only down side is that it has a tiny coating of oil on it but thankfully not dripping.

Garden salad cost was 10.00 plus tax and 1 dollar tip = 12.50 Canadian.
Please note I do not tip this little but we were a group of girls and we all chipped in. Also note that I live in Quebec, Canada.

Would I order this again? Yes, I would.