Mutek was the musical highlight of my three-month stay in Montreal. This five-day celebration of electronic music and visual media showcased great local talents and some of the best underground DJs, such as the boys from Kompakt: Brazilian Gui Boratto, who was sporting either a Merc or Ben Sherman T-shirt, and the label’s co-founder Michael Mayer who played that bad-ass, eery sound that I love.

My good friend brought me yesterday to Mortimer Snodgrass in Old Montreal, where he showed me a T-shirt company that takes packaging to another level.

T-box from Istanbul compresses T-shirts and other apparel into tiny boxes the size of a palm. The only hitch is that you don’t know how the tee fits and can’t return it if it turns out to be the wrong size. But it’s a cool concept nonetheless.

Labelled as Montreal’s urban operator, MadeinMtl culls the best places for fashion, booze and poutine, one of Quebec’s “delicacy”.

The site also features vignettes, narrated mostly in French, on themes germane to the city’s character like the Underground City, the Montreal stairways, multiculturalism and Cinema L’Amour. I strongly recommend a visit (the MadeinMtl site of course).

Montreal has become a hotbed for electronic music in North America. Two major events are taking place later this month - Mutek and Piknic Eletronik.

A smaller version of Sonar, Mutek is a week long feast of electronic music and digital imagery. The big draw in this year’s lineup has to be Gui Boratto and Michael Mayer, who sometimes spins for free at T Bar, from Cologne-based label Kompakt.

Piknic Electronik is quite an interesting concept. It’s an all day music fest opened to families and children, at Parc Jean-Drapeau, the former site of Expo 67, whose goal is to democratise electronic music. Glad someone out there cares about our future. Maybe we should start working on our kids line.

I’m a happy camper. I got a tiny dose of Berlin action last week in Montreal. It kicked off on Tuesday for some tech house at Le Salon Daomé, a discreet, easy-to-miss bar on the second floor overlooking trendy avenue Mont-Royal, where hardcore music fans swarmed the dance floor at 1am on a weeknight until the 3am curfew.

On Saturday, I checked out a party held in an empty building 5 km north of the city centre. Booze was cheap, the people were friendly, and the DJ spinned some pretty groovy electro tunes, although I would’ve preferred if he switched halfway to a darker, meaner sound. But I guess that’ll have to wait when I return to Europe in just a few weeks.

So many choices in Montreal last week. Belgians Soulwax who released the hit track NY Lipps, a remix of Funkytown, headlined the I Love Neon party at la SAT. Bristol-based Nick Warren was in town for a smashing gig at Tribe Hyperclub. Finally, the theatre l’Olympia welcomed Paris fashion party extravaganza Don’t Tell My Booker showcasing the latest collection of Hugo Boss’s Red Label and Boy George at the decks.

So which parties did I wreck? None. I pretty much retired at home all week getting the next version of our store and our marketing plan ready. Fun times will have to wait for a few more days.

On Saturday night, I checked out the I Love Neon party, mainly to see Tiga, at la Société des arts technologiques (SAT), a digital arts centre-cum-party venue.

The night was promising. The venue had an underground vibe, while Tommie Sunshine and Tiga cranked out industrial sounds and electro beats to a crowd that seemed to enjoy every bit of it.

But I had a major fuss. This friggin’ huge strobe light smack in the middle of the room was giving me a fit with its flickering, blinding lights. I called it quits 30 minutes into Tiga’s set. Guess I’ll have to catch him at his next gig in London.

Photo credit: I Love Neon

Over 15,000 revellers came out last night to the Bal en Blanc, Montreal’s epic all-night dance party. The two gigantic rooms, one for trance and the other for house, in the Palais des Congrès (trade centre) were thronged with sexy, beefy and curvy bodies clad in white, thumping to up-tempo beats.

I did the Spanish thing going in at around 2.30am. Not the best decision as I forgot they stopped serving booze at 3am when bars and clubs in Montreal usually shut down. But that didn’t seem to deter the majority of the party people who danced hard all night. Some even had wicked moves, until I realised they were in fact mimicking Dance Dance Revolution moves. I guess you gotta learn how to dance one way or the other.

Notes: Bal en Blanc was by far the biggest party I’ve been to but to put things into perspective, it’s pretty tiny (then again everything else is) compared to the 45,000 pleasure seekers at Sensation White in Amsterdam… My favourite performance was by Israeli DJ Offer Nissim, not because he dropped his killer remix of Vanessa Paradis’s Joe Le Taxi, but because of his amusing symphony-conductor-like antics in the DJ booth.

Photo credit: Bal en Blanc

Teeming with hipsters, fans of electronica and the occasional models, Club Opera still churns out top Sunday billings from its previous incarnation as Central Station.

Last night was no different. The superclub, which reminds me of Nachtresidenz in Düsseldorf, welcomed a very special guest, Stockholm native Axwell.

The Swedish House Mafioso played a lively 3-hour set including his remixes of Bronski Beat’s Smalltown Boy, Nelly Furtado’s Promiscuous, and, one of my favourites, Sunfreakz’s Riding The Wave (old title) Counting Down The Days. But despite his massive performance, the best part of last night was going home and not reeking of smoke.

Image courtesy of Club Opera.

Like London, Montreal is also acclaimed for its culinary diversity (minus the pricey eats) reflecting the city’s various ethnic groups. If you want proof, take a look at the Montreal Mirror’s annual Best of Montreal poll, which has 50 categories in the chow section.

Here are my additions to and comments on the results.

Some readers, most likely students, seem to really like McDonald’s and Harvey’s vaulting them to the top 5 in the best burger category. Instead, go to La Paryse or l’Anecdote if you’re not fond of fast food chains.

I’m surprised the Mirror didn’t have a people / celebrity watch category. If you’re into the glitterati scene, try Buonanotte, Cavalli, Globe, Med or Sofia. These supper clubs attract the same types who frequent Costes, Cab or Kong in Paris.

A friend took me last week to a very popular café in Old-Montreal called Olive et Gourmando. It reminded me of Baker and Spice in London. Prices are a bit steep, $9 for a sandwich compared with $3 to $5 anywhere else; fortunately the quality of the food makes up for it.

I didn’t have a chance to sample their pain au chocolat, which is apparently delicious. The way I like it: pure beurre, a bit flaky and with double chocolate sticks. I could’ve asked how they make it but it just sounds too snobby.

Continuing on with viennoiseries, the places I like are Première Moisson for its pain au chocolat amande and Kouign Amman for the pastry of the same name (very popular in France). The one in Montreal is a bit harder and stickier but tastes about the same.

Montreal is actually home to one of the best patisseries in the world (IMHO), Le Paltoquet. Their cakes, ganache or mousse based, are heavenly and light. My favourite one is le Praliné, a creamy mix of caramelised sugar, almond and hazelnuts.

Only three other places I know make a praliné that rivals it: Pierre Hermé with the 2000 millefeuilles, Ladurée with the macaron au praliné (but oddly enough the millefeuille au praliné’s a letdown), and Berthillon with the glace praliné aux pignons.

Know any other good places? Let me know so I can try them on my next trip to Mtl.

Addresses
L’Anecdote: 801 Rachel, M Sherbrooke
Buonanotte: 3518 Saint-Laurent, M St-Laurent, Web
Cavalli: 2040 rue Peel, M Peel, Web
Globe: 3455 Saint-Laurent, M St-Laurent, Web
Kouign Amman: 322 Mont-Royal Est, M Mont-royal
Med: 3500 Saint-Laurent, M St-Laurent, Web
Olive + Gourmando: 351 Saint-Paul Ouest, M Sq. Victoria, Web
Le Paltoquet: 1464 ave Van Horne, M Outremont
Première Moisson: 1490 Sherbrooke Ouest, M Guy-Concordia, Web
Sofia: 3600 Saint-Laurent, M St-Laurent, Web

Other Guides
Montreal Food: www.montrealfood.com
Le Voir: Ze Best of Montreal (catchier than le meilleur de Montréal)