In the fierce restaurant industry, most business owners boast that their dishes are the best in town.
Feigang Fei, who runs the Chinese restaurant Tia Dai in Montreal, took a different approach, with a menu offering honest descriptions of the dishes on offer.
“Compared to our chicken so general, this one is not SO good”, says the entry about the meat with orange. “Anyway, I’m not a big fan of American Chinese food and you decide.”
Another entry warns: “Don’t be fooled by the name, this is NOT authentic Chinese food.” Elsewhere, Fei openly admits that he is “not a big fan” of the restaurant’s version of sweet and sour pork strips.
The restaurant is now seeing an increase in the number of customers after a tweet about the menu went viral.
“It has been a very exciting and busy period,” said Fei. “But I love it.”
Fei explained that after opening his restaurant seven years ago, he was disappointed when customers returned intact food. “Some customers who have not tried certain dishes were surprised by the level of seasoning or texture,” he said.
Then he started writing descriptions a little more directly.
“The intestines are fried, it’s a little too dry. Compared to the fried pork intestine, I recommend the previous one ”, says the entry on dry wok pork intestines.
In the item “mouth-watering chicken”, Fei writes: “We are not 100% satisfied with the taste now and it will improve very soon. PS: I am surprised that some customers still order this dish. “
A former IT engineer, Fei immigrated to Canada 14 years ago and remains keenly aware of the challenges newcomers face.
After a fire destroyed Aunt Dai’s first location, he found that the new location had more space than necessary. He transformed the restaurant’s second floor into an area where new immigrants can take classes in French and English, as well as meetings to share skills.
“Many immigrants come to this country overqualified,” he said. “I saw firsthand how many opportunities were missed because someone is very shy. I wanted to change that. “
Although the pandemic has forced Aunt Dai into “survival mode”, Fei hopes that the business will soon be able to return to its roots as a meeting place for friends and family.
“We don’t have a very large piece, something that is complex and shows the genius of the kitchen. Our food will always be good, but we are simply not the best, ”he said. “Well, maybe a little above average.”