OWNER IS JUST BEING HONEST
Menu comments a worldwide hit
It's a pity Cuisine Aunt Dai doesn't deliver to New York City, London or Berlin, because it could clean up. Perhaps not as much for its Chinese-food creations as for the refreshingly honest, with gusts to brutal, menu comments by the restaurant's boss that have caught the imagination of CBS, the Times of London, the Guardian and several German newspapers, among many other global media outlets.
Cuisine Aunt Dai is an unassuming spot on St-mathieu St., which since its founding seven years ago has attracted its share of contented customers. But all it took was a tweet from superfan Kim Belair (@Bagelofdeath) to bring the place — and its website-menu liner notes — into the sort of international spotlight enjoyed by the Joe Beefs and
Toqués of the Montreal culinary scene.
What's particularly fascinating is that at a time when the pandemic is crippling the restaurant trade everywhere, Aunt Dai owner Feigang Fei still feels compelled to bring candour to the forefront and call into question some items he sells.
To wit, Fei's take on his Orange Beef: “compared to our General Tao Chicken, this one is not THAT good.” Ouch.
Or his Braised Pork Belly: “This is a very popular dish among the customers who don't care (about) its greasiness.”
Or his Black Pepper dish: “Don't let the name fool you, this one is NOT authentic Chinese food.”
In fact, although Fei, 42, was born in China and moved to Montreal only 14 years ago, he sometimes doubts his roots. In describing his house salad, he notes: “The Chinese name of this dish is called `tiger's vegetable.' I don't know why it's called that name. A lot of Chinese people know this dish, but I don't. Maybe I am not so Chinese.”
In fairness, Fei does profess an affinity for such dishes as his Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs, Lamb Hot Pot and Salt and Pepper Shrimps.
And he even gives a qualified two chopsticks up for his Stirfried Pork Intestine: “Personally, I don't like plates with intestines and I tried not to eat them (before). As a business owner, sometimes you have to do something you may not like to do, kidding … It's one of my new favourites now.”
Fei began writing menu comments on his restaurant's website five years ago, after some customers complained about dishes being too spicy or greasy or containing bones.
“It was risky, but I felt it was the right thing to do,” he says. “I like our food, but I don't want to oversell it. It's always been my nature to speak the truth.”
It should be pointed out Fei is not the Aunt Dai chef. Nor by his own admission is he much of a gastronome. But he may be one of the most unpretentious resto owners around.
“My favourite food is Subway,”
Fei says unapologetically.
Curiously, Fei reports business was down almost 60 per cent at Aunt Dai last February, before the pandemic.
“But, somehow, when the pandemic began here in March, our home takeout delivery orders really picked up and we slowly recovered a lot of our business. Of course, the recent media publicity is helping us now, too.”
Prior to the pandemic, Fei, who mentions he grew up “very poor” in a rural, remote Chinese region, had toiled full-time as an IT network engineer here.
He was furloughed in April, and isn't sure if he'll return to the job.
“It's funny,” Fei says. “I used to travel around the U.S. a lot for my IT job, and my bosses were always amazed how I kept my meal expenses so low by eating only at Subway.
“But to be honest, I really don't like eating that much. I like to play soccer and am always trying to keep my weight down.” So who's Aunt Dai?
Turns out Dai is the mother of a friend who visited Montreal from China 10 years ago and taught Fei to make the layered bread specialty Bo Bing.
“I promised her if I were to open a restaurant here, I would name it for her and put her face on the menu,” he says.
Naturally, Fei kept his word.