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The rise of Montreal’s cool Asian bar and food scene

Big in Japan is one of the popular style of clubs offering cocktails and bites in Montreal. COURTESY OF BIG IN JAPAN

MONTREAL — It wasn’t exactly love at first sight. When I first heard about a new tiki bar called Le Mal Nécessaire in Chinatown, I had fanciful visions of light fixtures constructed of sea shells and groves of faux palm trees. What I got instead was a chic, minimal space offering a fresh take on the traditional Polynesian cocktails and bites. My disappointment ended when my drink arrived in a pineapple and I sampled the dumplings. This popular style boîte is flourishing throughout the city. Le Mal Nécessaire is part of Montreal’s growing hip Asian bar and restaurant scene.

Perhaps the best known of the batch (thanks to a visit from the ever-pesky Anthony Bourdain) is a restaurant called Big in Japan. But a quick walk up the street from the restaurant is the thrill of the Big in Japan bar: an impossibly elegant and impossible-to-find speakeasy. There is no signage of any kind, and the bar’s nondescript door looks like a million other metal doors in any city. But walk in and a tuxedo-clad host welcomes you into a dark space filled with sheer drapes and candles. Lots of candles.

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After the success of Big in Japan, owner Andre Nguyen decided to give the all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet a radical makeover at Maison June Rose, which opened last fall. There are no cafeteria trays here. It’s an all-you-can-eat small plates restaurant. Between 4 and 6 p.m. it’s $20; after 6, it’s $25. Either way, it’s a steal to come with a friend and pick and choose from the 14 tapas-sized dishes on the menu.

The space is as interesting as the food concept. More than 200 lanterns dangle overhead, lighting up the cherry-red walls.

In the Saint-Henri neighborhood, brothers Alex and Mat Winnicki have found success with their take on Singapore street food at Satay Brothers. After the popularity of their kiosk in the Atwater Market, they opened the year-round restaurant in January. Lines form for the laksa soup, steamed pork, and tofu buns. The restaurant doesn’t take reservations, but its cult-like following seems to have no problem waiting.

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Christopher Muther can be reached at muther@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @Chris_Muther.