My Montreal Bucket List: Lunch at Satay Brothers

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Dining at Satay Brothers should be on everyones bucket list! An awesome food stall at the Atwater Markets, Satay Brothers specialises in South-East Asian cuisine with a strong Singaporean connection and influence.

After having heard so much about the market stall and after reading a raging review in the newspaper a couple of weeks ago, I decided the time had come to check this place out! I arrived for an early afternoon lunch on Monday and the line was at least 20 people long! Stretched from the front counter and around the bend, I knew instantly this place was worth waiting for.

Located at the northern end of the Atwater Market, the Satay Brothers is along side various other food places circling a central seating area. So not willing to waste any time, I jumped in line and waited in anticipation. As we began to shuffled forward I read the menu and made the nearly impossible decision of what to order. Although the menu was not extensive with eight or nine options plus a dessert of the day, everything sounded incredible. As I looked into the tables to see what others had ordered, that caused a whole different kind of confusion in my mind.

In the end, I decided on the green papaya salad, a pork steamed bun and the dessert of the day. All washed down but the most gingery ginger beer I have ever tasted. It was delicious, but intense.

So the food? Incredible. I really enjoy south-east asian cuisine and it is quite often my food of choice so I guess in some ways this makes me an ever tougher critic. But this was just like I was back in Asia.

The papaya salad was fresh. The sauce was almost indescribable. Sweet with a tinge of citrus sourness and a small kick of chill made the plate wonderfully addictive. And the steamed pork bun!? The white fluffy “bun” was airy and fresh. Inside, fresh and crunchy cucumber, a hoisin sauce and slow cooked pork that was tender and juicy. The dish was simple, but very well done.

And for sweets, I tried the special of the day which was a pandan leaf custard slice. Dense coconut rice on the bottom, pandan leaf custard on the top. Each bite left me wanting just a little bit more.

Owned and operated by brothers, Mat and Alex Winnicki, the Satay Brothers food stall has been built and created with the assistance and inspiration from their mother Kim. And I can feel this family oriented vibe as I sit on the benches and eat amongst the crowd. Well done, homemade food cooked with nothing less than a lot of TLC. It really doesn’t get too much better than this.

Satay Brothers is located in the Atwater Market and is open Wednesday – Friday 10.30 – 7pm, Saturday – Sunday 10.30 – 5pm and Monday 10.30 – 6pm.