Hà a Huge Hit With Another Montreal Restaurant Critic

Hà, the Southeast Asian restaurant auspiciously located across from Parc Jeanne-Mance, wins over another critic this week, which pretty much makes it unanimous. Everybody loves this place. "L'accueil est chaleureux, l'ambiance festive," writes Marie-Claude Lortie in La Presse. The restaurant's namesake, Hong Hà Nguyen, may have recently passed but the kitchen is in the capable hands of chef Ross Louangsignotha now. Hà is loud, Lortie warns, but the atmosphere on the restaurant's Mont-Royal terrasse is superb.

Winners food-wise are a beef tataki with Thai basil, onglet with watercress, Chinese broccoli salad, and salmon in coconut milk. The best of the lot? Hà's take on the ultimate crowd-pleaser, pork buns: "Les sandwichs de flanc de porc aux pains de riz à la vapeur, avec sauce hoisin. Depuis leur mise à l'avant-plan par Momofuku à New York, on en voit partout mais tous ne sont pas aussi réussis. Ceux de Hà se laissent fondre en bouche, moelleux, légèrement rebondissants, adorables." Go to Hà, urges Lortie, who avows to return soon.