Before I came for exchange, I was actually very apprehensive about living and studying abroad. Will I get home sick? Will it be too cold? Will I enjoy myself as much as what others claim? Ok, the list really goes on. Hahaha. But I knew this was a once in a lifetime opportunity I couldn't give up on. Once I enter the workforce, I will never have the chance to travel for so long and be this carefree again.
The first 2 weeks in Montreal was definitely not a breeze. Suffered from major jet-lag that resulted in me sleeping like only 2-3 hours a day? I can still remember forcing myself to go to bed by midnight but waking up at 2am because I simply cannot fall asleep anymore?! Those days felt terribly long... Living with Jem 24/7 also resulted in some inevitable conflicts that we were not used to. And yeah you know, the usual issues faced being in a new and unfamiliar environment.
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| Transit at Doha enroute to Montreal |
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| Our first meal in Montreal: Instant noodles and cereal! |
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Having lunch at Pizza Hut because we didn't know the good food places yet:/
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| QQ lobster meat |
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| Super delicious chilli crab. Now I'm craving for it again! |
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| Team SG (but not complete!) |
1) Tim Hortons
Tim Hortons is the largest quick service restaurant chain in Canada! You can easily find a Tim Hortons store at every other junction. I'm a fan of the coffee and donuts here. For just $1.50, I can get a hot chocolate or latte or a box of 10 mini donut balls! (: If Tim Horton were to open an outlet Singapore, it would easily compete with Starbucks imo.
2) Mont Royal
Been to Mont Royal for a few jogs and sightseeing. Also had a picnic and frisbee session there! The view from the top is breathtaking because you can overlook the entire city! My friend says it's even more beautiful at night.
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| Scenic view from the top of Mont Royal |
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| SMU Picnic! |
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| First time seeing a squirrel. Ain't it so adorable? |
3) Old Port
Another place great for sightseeing because of the beautiful architecture and port overlooking the sea. There are many souvenir shops and good restaurants there too. Vieux-Port steakhouse is one of the restaurants we would recommend. We visited during restaurant week and Jem was full of praises for the steak. I would suggest visiting old port in the late afternoon and ending the night with a lovely dinner at one of the fine restaurants or bars. (:
And oh, you can get to ice-skate at old port during winter! There will be music playing in the background and even a fireworks show! Going there this evening and I'm thissssss excited! (:
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| Vieux Port Steakhouse @ Old Montreal |
4) Vua
Gotta love the banh mi! For just $3.50, you can enjoy a 10inch vietnamese sub that is soooo savoury! Meat choices include char siew, teriyaki chicken, meat balls etc. It's like an asian version of a Subway sandwich, except that it's even better! There's gotta be some secret in their sauce for the banh mi too, cos it's just way too tasty. One of my favourite cheap eats in Montreal for sure!! (Y) Can't believe I didn't take any pictures of this place!
5) La Banquise
Poutine is a must-try in Quebec. It's like their signature dish! The gravy and cheese curds bring our regular fries to a new dimension. Esp when you add extra ingredients like hotdogs, bacons and mushrooms to the dish. The ingredients are actually really common and cheap, yet the concept is unique. I'm glad I tried the poutine at La Banquise, since this restaurant is the most famous one for the dish.
6) Dollarama
This is like the Daiso of Singapore, except that it's even cheaper. You can find everything VFM here! Bought my ski gloves here for only $3 and it's really good at keeping me warm. They also sell snacks, shampoos, christmas deco etc (basically almost anything) for between $1 to $3. Mega love for this store!
7) Tokyo Sushi
Sushi buffets here are so affordable compared to Singapore. Lunch buffets are around $16 approx and it includes free flow sashimi! The makis served here are much better too. They come in so many creative flavours and ingredients! Tokyo Sushi is probably my favourite because the service was unbelievably fast and variety was amazing. Other good sushi buffet places are Kanda Sushi and Komiko imo! We Singaporeans always order hundreds of slices of salmon sashimi ^^ Its probably a Singaporean thing because we notice that most customers prefer indulging on sushi instead of raw fish!
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| Sashimi @ Tokyo Sushi |
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| Sashimi @ Kanda |
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| Sashimi @ Komiko |
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| Maki! <3 |
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| Cheese mussels! |
Jem and I are huge fans of buffets, so if you notice, a lot of my favourite restaurants listed are buffet places hehehe. Seoul Chako is a Korean BBQ place that serves very well-marinated meat! Maybe it's the msg overload, but very tasty nonetheless. If you visit this place on your birthday, you get to enjoy a free meal! How cool is that?
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| TP's look of ultimate satisfaction! |
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| Grilled meat dayum! |
This is my favourite micro-brewery in Montreal. I like how the drinks come in small glasses (so you get to taste a variety of different beers), and the nachos I tried were the best I've ever eaten. They were so generous with the cheese and sauces! Those who love to drink and chill must come to this micro-brewery!
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| Best nachos I talked about! |
10) Chinatown
Can't imagine life without Chinatown in Montreal! Never understood why people were so happy to find a Chinatown overseas until I embarked on exchange. It's the best place to come to satisfy your Asian food cravings. The HK bakeries here sell very fresh pastries (better than Breadtalk etc.) that I can't resist. My most frequented restaurant here will be the Chinese Buffet place. For $10, the variety is amazing! Prawns, mussels, roasted meat, soups, asian styled noodles/rice/beehoon, chee cheong fan etc. - you name it, they have it. Quality isn't the best, but if you're looking for quantity and variety, this is definitely the place to come to. (: Jem are I have been visiting this restaurant at least once in 2 weeks since we discovered it.
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| The amount we fill our plates each time at the Chinese buffet :p |
The Vietnamese restaurants here also serve fabulous food. Was never a fan of Vietnamese cuisine till I came here! Jem loves the beef noodle soups!
11) Pizza Shop along Cote de Neiges
Haha don't know the name of this place, but we've visited a few times to have burger/fries/pizza/spicy wings. Price friendly place that serves food in generous portions!
12) Avenue Papineau
This is the stretch of road where we've been living for the past 4 months! Even though we used to complain that our apartment is the furthest from school compared to our friends, I'm really gonna miss this place I called home during exchange. We have 2 buses that will get us to the nearest metros (Fabre/Beaubien) which actually makes travelling around Montreal very convenient! Our lovely home has been very cosy and warm (super impt during winter!) as well, making our stay here so wonderful and homely!
13) Asian mart at Plaza Cote de Neiges & Kim Phat
Best places to get our Asian groceries! We also seem to find the lowest prices here. Gonna miss our weekly grocery shopping so much. This is the place to get our Khong Guan biscuits, fu zhou fish balls, frozen shrimps, Asian sauces etc. (basically our budget and weekly necessities!) And oh, the live lobsters and crabs are affordable and fresh at Kim Phat. So gonna buy lobsters to cook again before I leave Montreal.
14) Cinema at Plaza Cote de Neiges
$5 movie tickets, what more can I ask for? Caught Thor and The Hunger Games here!
15) McGill, Peel, Guy Concordia
These places are the best to shop! Kinda like the Orchard Road of Singapore. You can find almost all of your favourite brands at these places. The stretch along Guy Concordia has some really good restaurants too!
16) Berri Uqam, Mont Royal, St Hubert Street
We usually come to these places to chill and hangout. St Dennis Street (closest to Berri Uqam metro) has a stretch of nice bars and restaurants to chill at night. Vua is along St Dennish Street! Micro breweries can also be found here.
Mont Royal is popular for cafes! We visited one of the recommended cafes called Expressions Cafe, and the experience was delightful. For around $10, I got to enjoy a hot cup of chocolate latte and a very generous portion of pecan pie. Jem said the apple crumble he ordered left him very satisfied haha.
There are just so many things I am going to miss about Montreal. Whenever friends who came back from exchange told me how much they miss their exchange experience, I would half suspect that they are exaggerating. Now that I've lived and travelled overseas for around 4 months, I realise there's so much wonder, excitement and fulfilment in travelling. As the saying goes, "The world is a book, and to not travel is to only read one page." So true! This experience has really broadened my horizons, in terms of understanding and appreciating cultures, learning more about myself (my quirks, my goals, my attitudes) and the ones around me, embracing uncertainty and unfamiliarity, and just living life to the fullest. Ok this sounds so much like a reflection report, but I just wanna pen down all these thoughts so that I will always remember this once-in-a-lifetime exchange experience. Thank you mummy (& to my late daddy) for giving me this opportunity. <3
Next post will be on winter in Montreal! So happy to see and play with snow for the first time in my life!
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