Cuisine AuntDai
Chinese restaurant · Montagne ·
Owner's candid menu commentary, YouTube channel, extensive seating
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Owner's candid menu commentary, YouTube channel, extensive seating
"Owner Feigang Fei’s peppery online commentary about Aunt Dai’s menu items went viral early in 2021, but the downtown restaurant had a loyal following for its Sichuan spice well before then. If you need help ordering, check out their online tutorial and Fei’s new YouTube channel where he offers his take on pretty much every dish." - Ivy Lerner-Frank
"I ordered a lot of takeout from here this year and it became one of my frequent go-to takeout spots." - Eater Staff
"Owner Feigang Fei had his 15 minutes of worldwide fame during the lockdown, when his exceedingly frank commentaries on the menu went viral. Since that time he’s been recounting how the dishes fare after delivery and set up his own YouTube channel: the popularity of his lamb hot pot and three-cup chicken live on, however. By his own admission, some dishes are more wonderful than others. Check out his recommendations on the website and decide for yourself." - Ivy Lerner-Frank
"After a viral tweet gave it a boost, Downtown Montreal’s Aunt Dai (a Sichuan restaurant owned by Feigang Fei) continues to serve its long menu without special additions for the holiday, offering jiaozi (traditional northern boiled dumplings) every day while Fei reflects that New Year foods that were once rare treats are now available year-round." - Ivy Lerner-Frank
"I discovered a Chinese restaurant in Downtown Montreal whose owner, who asked to be referred to by his last name Fei, writes unvarnished menu blurbs that temper expectations — for example, he notes of the orange beef, "Comparing to our General Tao Chicken, this one is not THAT good," warns that the cumin beef used to have beef pieces on small sticks that caused customers to cut their lips, and candidly admits of the sweet and spicy pork strips, "Since I have so high exceptions on this dish, I am not a huge fan for our version to be honest." His 66 menu notes, started about four years ago and completed last year, also caution when dishes don't conform to his standard of "real authentic Chinese food" and flag small portions (he explains the spicy and salt-and-pepper shrimp come with 13 pieces because shrimp are expensive). The blunt menu copy went viral — drawing tens of thousands of likes on a tweet — and Fei says business was busier the following Monday; he previously filmed low-quality YouTube videos six years ago at the Côte-des-Neiges location (before it was ravaged by fire) to help diners order, and during the pandemic steady takeout and delivery — despite thin profits after UberEats and DoorDash commissions — have kept Aunt Dai afloat. I appreciate that he doesn't want the publicity to oversell the food and risk disappointing people." - Valerie Silva