Unassuming, inexpensive and unbelievable is the best way to describe the restaurant Nouille Express and their General Tao chicken. How good is it? Well, let’s put it this way, I was in Montreal and this was THE restaurant I had to get to without fail!
General Tao Chicken
For those who haven’t had it before, General Tao chicken is a deep fried chicken dish that is tossed in a sweet and spicy sauce. I stumbled upon Nouille Expres back in 2001 after moving to Montreal to begin my Master’s degree. It is conveniently located right beside Concordia University and it was all too tempting to “forget” my lunch at home and have some General Tao chicken instead.
Aside from the General Tao chicken ($8.50), there are probably close to 100 other options and while I haven’t had them all (yet), I have had quite a few and have yet to be disappointed, but i’m at my happiest with the General Tao chicken. The portions are huge and can easily be split between two people or leftovers brought home for a great dinner. It is typically served with rice, but they have these crispy noodles (for an additional $2.00) that soak up all the sauce and well let’s just say, i’m getting hungry as i’m writing this!
Nouille Express
For those needing a little bit of variety, the General Tao sauce can also be used on tofu or shrimp and the comments from my vegetarian friends have all been equally positive. Unfortunately, I haven’t come across General Tao since being in Vancouver and i’m not sure if it’s maybe known under a different name or if it’s simply an Eastern Canada phenomenon. Needless to say, the search continues and in the meantime, I’m going to be searching for a recipe that comes close to that at Nouille Express and will share it as soon as I find it.
In the meantine, go have some General Tao and think of me…
Nouille Express
514-939-0115
1510, boulevard de Maisonneuve Ouest
General Tao Chicken - Enough for lunch, dinner and bed-time snack
Oh and if you need any more convincing about how great it is, I used to be greeted with a handshake by the manager when I walked in. I’m pretty sure that was a sign that he started to recognize me!
Tastes better with friends 
General Tao Chicken – Not fair. You really know how to hurt a guy who is feeling GTC withdrawal. You know that we can’t find it in London but it will be on my stop in Montreal at the end of the month
MMMMMmmmm!
Had the GT Tofu last night. Holy darn was it good – not to mention 3 meals in one serving for $8.50.
For those that follow this, I was in Montreal this past weekend and stopped in for some General Tao. I had the orange beef and Mina had the GT Tofu and I convinced one of our guests to have the GTC. I was like a kid in a candy shop. If you go to Mtl, put it on your places to stop.