Arsenal was already among the city’s biggest non-museum art spaces, but as of last week they’ve broken their own records. With a brand new show dramatically titled Like Thunder Out of China, uniting nearly 50 works by contemporary Chinese artists, they revealed a massive (think 22,000 square feet) section of the building that was as of yet unused. Part cavernous exhibition hall, part loading dock, the possibilities for parties (Grand Prix and Fashion Week are already regular clients) are endlessly exciting.

The art on view also does the space justice: The showstopper is the famous Miss Mao 3 by the Gao brothers, an 8-foot-tall stainless steel bust of Mao sporting huge inflated breasts, a creepy doll smile and a Pinocchio nose. (Is it any surprise the work is banned from exhibition in China?) The father of Chinese pop art, Qui Jie, contributes a series of drawings replacing politicians’ heads with those of cats – another sort of derision, only cuter. In fact, all the art was chosen for its cheeky spunk, its dissidence, its ability to comment on the state of China today from within. All the artists included still call China home.

When you hear Chinese art you may automatically think Ai Weiwei – he’s not included in this show, which focuses on the younger generation, but Like Thunder Out of China does mark the Canadian launch of the book Weiwei-isms and MAO, the complete book of his Mao iconography. Check it out in person, in the beautiful Arsenal space.

THE DETAILS

Like Thunder Out of China, Until July 27, 2013

Arsenal, 2020 William, (514) 931-9978

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Make your way to Chinatown and hit up Mon Nan on Rue de la Gauchetière. They do an awesome traditional three-course roasted Peking duck. Starting with a soup made with the duck bones, it’s aromatic and warm. With pillows of tofu and silky strands of noodles, this dish is preceded with a duck meat stir-fry with bean sprouts and scallions.

This ritualistic “dish” is concluded with a plate of teeth-shattering roasted duck skin, served with piping hot and freshly made Chinese pancakes, a side of pickled carrots and daikon, and shredded scallions and cucumber. This is wrapped up and eaten with like a taco with a schmear of hoisin… a “Chaco”. Open on Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Looking for a hot bowl of something to warm your bones and sooth the soul? Head up to Restaurant Phouc Ky in Villeray for their specialty Phouc Ky noodle. A mix of yellow wheat udon noodles and rice vermicelli noodles in a rich pork bone broth is armed and ready to curse the weather away. Topped with ground pork, slices of fish cake and fried shallots, the pièce de résistance is a fried shrimp chip. Open on Christmas and New Year’s Day.

La Maison Foo Lam on L’acadie is the place you want to go for fresh seafood. This spot features live tanks of sea creatures that you can name before you watch the chef catch them and throw them in a screaming hot wok.

Two must-orders are the ginger and scallion fried lobster and salt and spicy pepper fried shrimp. The smokey kiss of the wok is distinct in every piece of crustacean on either dish. The savory lobster that’s spiced with ginger and aromatic with green onion and the spicy shrimp is fried to a crusty perfection – the shell is edible for the adventurous. Either dish are ones that deserve to be washed down with an icy bottle of Tsingtao. Open Christmas and New Year’s Day.

If dumplings is what you’re after, Qing Hua Dumplings has you covered. Offering awesome little bundles of soup dumplings of a variety of fillings made fresh to order, Qing Hua has two locations to help you get your fix. The lamb and coriander dumplings are a personal favourite; fill your bowl partway with vinegar and place the dumpling in and let it cool. Resist the urge to bite into it right away, as the dumpling will challenge you by squirting its contents all over you. Nibble a little hole and suck the soup out, and let nature lead you the rest of the way. Open New Year’s Day at both locations.

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THE DETAILS

Restaurant Mon Nan, 43 Rue de la Gauchetière East, (514) 866-7123

Restaurant Phouc Ky, 7495 St-Denis, (514) 278-8288

Restaurant Maison Foo Lam, 9394 Boulevard de l’Acadie, (514) 383-7878

Qing Hua, 1676 Avenue Lincoln (438) 288-5366 &  1019 St-Laurent Boulevard & (514) 903-9887

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Or at least into the Japanese Garden. For the first year ever, the serene space designed for reflection is joining the Jardins de Lumière theme and turning on the lights. You can’t miss the Japanese Garden: the exhibition house is lit up in a changing rainbow of colours. Step in and through into the back garden, and that’s when the show really begins: the tall pine patch has been set alight with dramatic spots that shift in time with a contemporary music piece. Take a spot on a bench, and soak in the beauty. (And don’t miss a feast on September 16: starting at 2, there will be complimentary tastings of traditional home cooking in the garden itself.)

Down the garden path – literally – at the Chinese Garden, they’ve become absolute experts and lively lantern decoration over the last 20 years. The amazing thing is that every year is different, with whole new lanterns built around a new theme. This year is spectacular: there are over 1,000 lanterns, all designed here in Montreal and then built in China, illustrating the goddess Xi Wang Mu, the Goddess of Immortality, and her Feast of Peaches. The peaches of immortality only ripen once every 3,000 years, so there’s cause for celebration! That’s why from Wednesday to Sunday starting at 6, visitors can partake of Chinese sweets.

With a cup of jasmin tea and a sweet bean cake in hand, wander the meandering footpath around the pond, set ablaze in a million colours. The delicate silk lanterns feature panda bears, horses, tigers, the magical peach trees and the queen and her consorts: the central tableau, set in the middle of the beautiful pond, is the moment when Xi Wang Mu stole a rare pearl. Legend has it that a dragon and a phoenix once found a sparkling pearl. Xi Wand Mu became so obsessed with the gem, she ordered her subjects to steal it. On the day of the feast, the goddess revealed her new acquisition – a terrible mistake! The pearl’s blinding light alerted the phoenix and dragon, who decided to regain their treasure. In the ensuing battle, the pearl fell to the ground and turned into a magnificent lake: West Lake in Hangzhou, today a Chinese national treasure. Every evening at 6, visitors can take a guided tour of the garden to hear this story and more.

And on special nights, the visual enchantment is enhanced with live music: Chinese percussion animates most Tuesdays evenings starting at 6 p.m., and erhu – or Chinese violin – performances take place on September 15, 22 and 29 and on weekends throughout October, at 6:30 and 9. Let music light up your nights!

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THE DETAILS
Jardins de Lumière, September 7 to November 4, 2012
At the Botanical Gardens (4101 Sherbrooke E., 514-872-1400)

Photos: Susan Moss

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