Chien Fumant – Great food, great decor, great time.

The 411

Hidden in the plateau is an absolute gem of a spot that has only been open since December of 2009. I heard of it recently from a friend who told me that this place has been turning heads with its great décor, unbelievable food, and friendly service. Brunches are served on Sundays and it’s not an ordinary brunch. In fact, they tend to change up the menu so that each time you go it is a different culinary experience. I ended up going on two separate occasions to get a fair sample of their offering. Their brunches get various inspirations such as Brazilian themes, dim sum, Spanish themes and classic to name a few. You can find out what theme it will be by going on their Facebook page, (a website is up but it is still in development).

At 1st glance

When you walk up to Le Chien Fumant you notice a building on the corner of the street with a herb garden on the side as well as a bench and picnic table. While the garden is not large enough to be fully sustainable it is a wonderful thing to see considering you are in the plateau and green spaces are not very prevalent. Once inside, there is a wonderful distressed theme with lots of wood, a truly unique wallpaper with fire hydrants, a large bar in the end and tables spread out. The capacity is somewhere around 30-ish so it has a really cozy feel.

Food

The first time I went I had the dim sum and the more recent time I had their classic brunch. It is quite likely that when you go you may experience a different culinary influence on the brunch, but if these two meals are any example of the quality of the other meals, then you will be on an amazing adventure. Some of the previous brunch themes have been Dim sum, Spanish, Brazilian to name a few, and you can find the announcement of the current weeks brunch on their Facebook page.

For the Dim sum day we had a variety of options all on a chalkboard. The prices ranged from some items starting at $2 dollars and some going up to $15 for the more elaborate ones. There were different types of dumplings ($8), jellyfish salad, duck dishes, pot stickers, chicken, bok choy to name a few. Each dish had an amazing presentation and if you showed up too late you ran a risk of them being out of that dish and they would mark it off the menu.

We went nuts and ordered 6 dishes such as clams, steamed buns, duck pancakes and black bean chicken. We were 3 people and our bill came out to around $20 a head before coffee, taxes and tips. This is a pretty good deal considering that there were 6 dishes ordered and duck, as rule of thumb, is not cheap. The presentation was great and there is nothing more amazing than getting your dumplings and seeing the steam rising from them.

Each dish was unbelievable in taste and offered something truly unique to the experience. The steamed clams had chunks of meat in them along with an unbelievable broth that we kept using to dunk our dumplings in. We were actually very shocked by how tasty it was since clams don’t seem like a popular item. The dumplings were $8 each set and had 3 different styles each tastier than the previous, and quite filling. At one point, we even opened some of them up and poured some sauce into them from some other dishes we got. The duck pancake was lots of fun to build and we got a large serving of duck on our plate as well.

The “classic Brunch” that I had the second time is your run-of-the-mill brunch. The menu options are less but equally delicious. You can chose from the following:

My friend had the English breakfast ($16) with a twist; since she doesn’t eat pork they had to drop some of the pork items so I cannot give an exact review of it but I did try the other items. An English breakfast dish usually comes with sausage blood pudding, eggs, beans, and potatoes. I have had a couple in the past and the prices tend to be in the similar range. The potatoes were out of this world and bursting with flavour, the beans were to die for. They had mushrooms which were wonderfully seasoned and the tomatoes were large and not overcooked like other places tend to do.

My dish was the waffle with pulled pork and salad ($14). I was curious to see how pulled pork and waffles would mix together and boy, was I impressed. I think I even zoned out as a I ate this and was transported to the land of happy. Everything was perfect with this dish; t he waffles were the perfect mix of firm and fluffy; the eggs was perfectly cooked; the salad topping worked with the dish as opposed to filling up space; and the pulled pork which was topped by a type of BBQ sauce was unbelievable. The portion was large and the taste was outstanding. This dish really hit the spot.

Service

On both times the service was great. The waitstaff was friendly, punctual and always checked up on us. They helped a lot to explain the menu items since we were not familiar with some of the items. We chatted with the owners at the end to hear their story on how they began and their plans. I could tell they love what they do and take pride in it.

Vegetarian

Although the menu is quite meaty, there are vegetarian options and if you are Pescetarian then you have one or two more options. You will not find any vegan options unless they decide to do a vegan theme at some point.

Wrap up

I have not been so excited about a brunch place in a while. This place is amazing; the food is incredible; the portion sizes are generous; the presentation and décor are truly impressive and the service is awesome. This place is now up there in my list of favourite places and you really should consider checking it out. Eating here is an awesome adventure and add to that the constantly changing menu makes for a great spot that should not be missed.

View 4710 Rue de Lanaudière in a larger map

Price	$$-$$$	$10-$15
Overall		4.5/5
Wheelchair Access	NO	0/3
Parking	Parking Meter & Street	Easy
BUS	27,427,14,97,368,	Get Directions
Metro	Station Laurier	10 minute

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