Local aficionados of fine Chinese food will be pleased to learn that the legendary Canadian-Chinese restaurant Le Piment Rouge will be re-opening its doors this spring; however, it will be relocating to another area of the city.
Le Piment Rouge has been a downtown fine dining fixture since it first opened in 1980. During its first decade of operations, the restaurant was located on Metcalfe Street, in the heart of the downtown core. Then 10 years later, it found a new home in the former historic Windsor Hotel (now called Le Windsor), and remained there until it closed in 2014. Two years later, a spin-off of the restaurant opened in Old Montreal. Called Piment 2, the eatery was not as successful as the original, and closed its doors shortly afterwards.
And as of this spring, Le Piment Rouge is heading north. Specifically, in the Park Ex district, where its new home will be at 495 Beaumont Avenue.
According to the buzz on the internet, Le Piment Rouge will be moving to a 2000-square-foot development called Le 295, where it will be located in the building’s ground floor. The building, owned by Groupe Montoni, is on the site where the former Homemade Kosher Bakery once stood. Hazel Mah, the restaurant’s founder, is also involved with the reboot project.
Virginia Casale, who is a spokesperson for the new Piment Rouge project, told a local website that the restaurant won’t have that same luxurious atmosphere that it possessed when it was housed at Le Windsor. “This is going to be a neighbourhood restaurant,” she said. “There won’t be any glamor here. It’s going to be honest food, done again with as much finesse, but in a simple setting.”
Ms. Casale added that Le Piment Rouge’s faithful customers can expect the same Sichuan dishes on the menu that made it famous, such as crispy spinach, sesame beef, shrimp on toast, and peanut butter (Hunan) dumplings. “These [dishes] were her (Hazel Mah’s) trademarks. People have tried to imitate her so many times, but it’s not the same; something is always missing … This is the return of a legend,” she said.
Other articles from mtltimes.ca – totimes.ca – otttimes.ca
West Island personal trainer Joy Levy and the joys of fitness training – EnJoy Fitness
Latest data sees rise in separation anxiety as Canadian pet owners start to return to office
