I kept hearing about the Satay Brothers from several people, so I decided to hit them up during the lunch rush on a monday afternoon (they are closed on tuesday and wednesdays). In the area, the closest thing to Asian is probably Thai express (meh), so these guys are making a killing!
Overall, there are many things I really liked, and others that I wish were better.
My first impression
I instantly spotted the Asian lady behind all the hard working boys up front, and turns out she is from Singapore, with her 2 son's working up front (the satay brothers!). This explained their mixed Asian menu of around 10 items. They have Indonesian satay and gado gado (salad with peanut dressing). Southeast Asian som tam green papaya salad, pork in Chinese style steamed buns, baguette style sandwiches, and some Asian desserts and drinks. A big seller for me was how friendly the staff was by taking down your name for your order to be called, making it very welcoming and homey.
My order for 2 of us
Chicken satay (3 skewers for 7$)
Steamed buns with pork (2 for 7$)
som tam papaya salad (6$)
and too bad they were out of gado gado...
Som Tam green papaya salad
Chicken satay
Pork steamed buns
Overall the food was good, small enough portions so you can taste a bit of everything on the menu, but if you have a large appetite, this would have been a meal for 1 person.
Best dish: Steamed pork buns
Could have been better: Chicken satay
Pork buns
The idea of making a fold over steamed pork bun is absolutely brilliant! I have never seen it, but these white fluffy pillows of love made it seem like you ate no carbs at all, and just nice and light. You were able to focus on the nice sweet sauce and the pork. My only complaint is I wish there was more filling inside!
Satay
Since they are called the 'Satay brothers' I would hope the satay is the best thing on the menu and that this skewer would burst with flavour to invade my dreams at night. But sadly it was just a moist, but regular tasting chicken skewer. It needed something.. something more. And the sauce could use a little kick as well. So.. maybe I will try it again on another day.
Papaya Salad
Lastly the som tam. As I looked around the room figuring out my order, I could see that everyone had one. On a hot summer day, its such a refreshing salad, I had to get it too.
The only times I experienced som tam was Thailand and Laos. The main things that hits your mouth right away is insane amounts of chilli, lime juice and hints of garlic. In Laos they also add shrimp paste, making it incredibly salty, so I opt for the Thai style.
I thought it was good, but sadly not the best. I know I am being picky here, but it lacked that big punch of any of those seasonings I was longing for. And because not everyone loves crazy spice, they did not make it spicy, but dressed it with some sliced thai red chili, which I dislike because that slice is so much hotter then if it were dispersed.
But overall, it was still refreshing and I loved the generous amounts of peanuts.
Will I be back? Yes! I want to try that Gado Gado!
Satay Brothers
Atwater Market Montreal
