Office Guardian walked over to Dimples and asked her where she wanted to go for lunch. Dimples pointed to Office Guardian’s belly and suggested wherever the baby wanted. They turned to me and asked for a recommendation. Let’s listen to “Possession” by Sarah McLachlan for this post.
I suggested they head to Van Express for the pho or various soups as it was raining, and they wouldn’t have to walk outside. Office Guardian ran to get M to join and asked if I wanted to come along. I told them I would go for a walk, as it is tricky to navigate in the +15, but I would drop them off and continue on to Wise & Wright. Please note that all the pictures below were taken by Dimples.
When we arrived, the food smelled so good and the company so fun I decided to forgo my walk and join them. Eating here would also mean getting closer to my goal of 19 banh mi dates, even though it wasn’t L taking me.
Office Guardian ordered Tom Yum ($11.90), Dimples ordered wonton noodle soup with vegetables and noodles ($11.50), and M and I both ordered a beef sate sub ($8.81). I was impressed that Tom Yum was packed with seafood, such as shrimp, fish balls, imitation crab, and fresh basil leaves. Office Guardian said the soup was nice and flavourful and not overly spicy.
Dimples wonton soup looked good, too. The pork wontons were big and round, packed with meat. I told Dimples it was a pet peeve of mine when the wonton is more noodles than filling. The egg noodles looked properly cooked, thin and al dente. I could smell the cilantro in both their soups. She could only eat half, as she found the portion so filling.
Our banh mi was the size of a foot-long sub. M mentioned that the bread, melted white cheese and meat tasted similar to Thi Thi. The carrots were cold and pickled, just the way I like them. The addition of onions and jalapeno gave it a nice bite. Price-wise, this is one of the cheapest and largest in the downtown core, aside from Thi Thien, who still only charges $4.99 for an assorted banh mi. I like this beef sate sub more than To Me, Secret Vietnamese Cafe and Thi Thien, but less than Pho 99, Pho Soc Trang or Banh Mi Nu Y.
Banh mi date 14 out of 19. Only five more to go to accomplish my goal of going out on 19 banh mi dates. It’s important to have serious life goals.
Hitting the Sauce 