Reviews Restaurant Ruby Rouge

Ruby Rouge is the largest restaurant I have visited so far in Chinatown. Shortly after I got there for dinner on Monday, a couple of tour groups showed up, each with about 50 people. They barely made a dent in the overall seating capacity.

This is yet another restaurant that does not provide much choice for the single diner. They do have some combo options for 2 or more people, but the single diner must pick from the a la carte menu, where most of the items are larger sharing plates.

I started off with a bowl of Hot and Sour Soup, which was hotter than most, and sour.

For my main dish I looked at the noodle and rice section of the menu, hoping to find something with chicken and noodles, but there wasn't anything. I asked my server, and she asked if I was ok with the Shanghai Noodles with Shrimp, and she would have some chicken added. Well, that's what showed up, but it was a huge bowl of noodles (again, intended for sharing).

I guess I find it a little bit ironic that a restaurant that features Dim Sum is not able to offer small plates for single diners.

I went there for dim sum which was pretty decent. They use the cart system which I find way nicer then the a la carte. I especially liked the beef and pork dumplings and the squid was quite nice too. Unfortunately we didn’t realize that the desserts were served separately and not circulating on the carts, and so missed out. The place is really cheap too; for about 10$ each person got a pretty filling meal.

Where else to go for dim sum on the weekend. Place is always packed so you might have to wait a bit but great if you are a group. Food is good and it's an overall experience.

Decent Dim Sum. One of two places to eat Dim Sum in Montreal (the other being Kam Fung), it is definitely the less visited one of the two. However, the quality of their Dim Sum is by no means inferior. In fact, after dining at both places, I would say that Ruby Rouge places higher on my radar than Kam Fung does.

Firstly, Ruby Rouge has heated trolleys for its hot dishes - a must in my books - which Kam Fung does not. Although I'll admit that the number of heated carts is limited and when the restaurant reaches its full capacity, it'll sometimes resort to non-heated trolleys in order to keep up with the service flow. Secondly, there are no massive lines outside of the restaurant, though the place was by no means empty. A glance around and you'll find that the standard patrons are mostly naturalized Chinese, rather than the tourist-heavy clientele of Kam Fung. I've always believed that when people are happily eating their own ethnic region food, it is an auspicious sign of quality and authenticity for the restaurant. The non-existent lineups are also a definite bonus in my books.

The service was quite attentive, better than the harried crew at Kam Fung and the atmosphere was cheerful. Decor unfortunately needs a more modern update in my books but it still fares better than the drab pink disaster at Kam Fung.

In terms of the actual Dim Sum, it is relatively standard fare. You'll find all your favorites quickly as the trolleys circulate the restaurant very efficiently and quickly. Beef Tripe, my favorite Dim Sum dish, was cooked to perfection. I'd say that in general, the food was given more care and attention than the food at Kam Fung, perhaps due to the fact that the restaurant didn't seem like it was bursting at the seams trying to accommodate its diners?