Aunt Dai has been serving a mix of traditional Chinese and North American dishes for the past seven years.
Owner Feigang Fei says he thinks his food is pretty good, but not perfect. And his goal is to be transparent and honest about this with his customers, through his menu.
“If I don’t like it, I tell people that I don’t like it very much,” Fei said. “Some articles, I brag a bit, but for me it’s just natural. ”
Describing his beef in satay sauce, he says it’s new to the menu, and “I haven’t had a chance to try it yet.”
He also tells customers he’s not a big fan of his restaurant’s version of the sweet and spicy pork strips, saying “it’s very tasty, but not the same as the ones he had in China. . ”
“I just feel like I was looking forward to it (the sweet and spicy pork strips), but I was disappointed with our version for sure,” Fei said. “But you can’t ask for too much change from the chef. They have their own version.
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Food writer and host Heidi Small says it’s nice to see a restaurateur being so humble.
“It opens the dialogue in a very personalized way, and I think if more chefs, restaurants answer the call for this personal approach, maybe it will change the dining experience and make people behind the doors of the kitchen. more accessible, ”she said.
Fei says he’s been writing blurbs for his menu for years, but went viral a few days ago.
Montrealer Kim Belair tweeted that Aunt Dai is her favorite Chinese restaurant in the city, both for its food and extremely honest menu.
Aunt Dai is my favourite Chinese restaurant in Montreal, but the REAL treat is the menu, featuring extremely honest commentary from the owner. pic.twitter.com/FpA1xt0GrF
— Kim Belair (@BagelofDeath) January 10, 2021
Within days, the tweet garnered tens of thousands of likes and retweets.
“It’s refreshing, I think, to see the honesty of someone like that – of someone who makes some of my favorite dishes, to say – that food that you love?” It could be better,” Belair said.
Since the tweet, Fei says the restaurant has seen an increase in orders.
And while he’s grateful for the support and welcomes new customers, he doesn’t want them to have high expectations.
“As I always say, we try to be better but we are not very good,” he said. “We’re a little above average – 70, 75, something like that.”
