Since I had a bit of a cold, and chicken broth is supposed to make you feel better, I ordered a large bowl of chicken pho.

There was a massive pile of noodles in the bowl. The noodles were pretty stuck together when they first arrived at my table, which was annoying because they were hard to eat, but after a few minutes they began to soften up and pull apart easier.

There were tons of pieces of shredded chicken in the bowl. It seemed like a larger portion of meat than most pho places give you.

The broth was the best part of the soup. It had a pure, rich, chicken flavour with no signs of MSG.

This pho was pretty standard, but I was okay with that. When you are sick you don’t necessarily want mind-blowing food. It satisfied my craving and filled me up. I also saw banh mi sandwiches on the menu, which I want to come back and try sometime.

Recommendation:

Yes, for decent pho in Poco.

This past time I went I was using a Vaneats dining pass that I had purchased (I reviewed the package and loved it so much I bought a second pass).

They have great smoothies at DD Mau to wash down your banh mi. I chose the honeydew smoothie for my drink. This smoothie is light, subtly sweet, and refreshing.

The dining pass comes with half of a roasted pork sub. This sub is my favourite one at DD Mau. The sandwich is topped with a house made aioli, which adds some moisture to the sandwich.

The sub is filled with all of your typical banh mi veggie fillings, but the pork is something special. It has a wonderful flavour from being roasted and the sandwich is topped with cracklin (fried pig skin). The cracklin gives it a perfect crunchy texture and a salty meaty flavour.

The other half of the sub is lemongrass chicken. This has the same fillings as above except it is topped with sweet chili aioli and it has lemongrass chicken thighs inside. If you aren’t into fried pig skin, this is a lighter sandwich option.

The lemongrass chicken is incredibly moist and it has a strong fragrant lemongrass flavour. This chicken is the best chicken I’ve ever had in a Vietnamese sub. This sandwich proves that when done right, chicken is anything but boring.

People complain that the prices here are more than other banh mi places, but the sandwiches are much bigger and filled with more meat than any other banh mi place I’ve been to. Also it is located in Yaletown, so you can’t expect the same prices as hole in the wall places in East Van. If you are a stickler for tradition, you will probably hate this place because they do a modern take on banh mi, but sometimes it is good to break free and try new things.

DD Mau continues to be one of my favourite places to get an amazing flavourful sandwich. The sandwiches are all large and filling and priced between $7-$10, which is a great cheap option considering it is downtown.

Recommendation:

Yes, for great banh mi in Yaletown.

The shrimp salad rolls here are fresh and filled with lots of large shrimp. They are also a pretty decent size and two of them would be a nice light lunch.

Melissa ordered the rare beef pho. This is what I normally get when I come here. Some restaurants throw the beef in too early, so it is tough by the time you get it, but here it is always pink and rare when it comes out. Melissa enjoyed it and said it was as good as usual.

Even though I love their pho, I wanted to try something new so I ordered the steamed rice with grilled chicken, bbq pork chop, and shredded pork with a fried egg on top.

The grilled chicken was my favourite item. It was moist and had a fragrant lemongrass flavour. The bbq pork chop was also good. The meat was tender and it had a light, savoury, soy type sauce on it.

The shredded pork wasn’t what I expected it to be. I’ve never had Vietnamese shredded pork before and I was imagining it would be like pulled pork or a stewed mexican pork, but this was different. It was served cold and I don’t particularly like cold meat dishes. Next time I would skip the shredded pork.

The fried egg on top of the rice is definitely worth adding. The runny yolk burst all over the rice and added lots of flavour to it.

The rare beef pho is still my favourite item here, but the rice plates are a good filling option if you aren’t feeling soup. Bao Chau is a great place to come for a no frills, affordable Vietnamese meal.

Recommendation:

Yes, for great Vietnamese food in East Van.

On my latest visit, I ordered the large rare steak and beef ball pho ($7.50).

The beef wasn’t actually rare, since it came out already sitting in the broth, but despite this, the slices were still tender and not chewy. Compared to some of the other beef balls I’ve had, I didn’t care for these ones. They had a bit of a gritty texture that I found unpleasant.

I like the broth here because it isn’t loaded up with MSG and it has a delicate beef flavour. They put plenty of white and green onions and cilantro in the broth as well.

While I wasn’t impressed with the beef balls and I would skip them next time, I still enjoyed my bowl of pho. Pho 101 continues to be the place I go if I’m craving pho and looking for a cheap meal in the North Burnaby area.

Recommendation:

Yes, for good pho in Burnaby.

I ordered the regular size rare beef and beef ball pho ($7.50). I normally just get rare beef, but I’m trying to branch out a bit.

The broth had a rich flavour and there were tons of onions, green onions, and cilantro floating on top. They also had lemongrass on the plate of additional toppings, which was a nice surprise since most places don’t give you that.

Unfortunately, the broth was the only good thing about the pho. The noodles were very overcooked and they all stuck together in a big mucky ball. The portion of them was also skimpy for the price.

The rare beef was not rare at all. The meat looked as if it had been sitting in the broth for a while before it got to my table, which resulted in chewy overcooked beef.

I wanted to like Pho Tau Bay, but I left feeling disappointed. It is pricier than most pho places and my soup wasn’t executed well. I have heard good things about their other locations, so maybe it was an off night for them, but I won’t be rushing to return.

Recommendation:

No, the pho isn’t good for the price.

Continuing with our routine of visiting Burnaby restaurants before class, my friend Melissa and I came here for dinner. The restaurant was a bit dingy and outdated, but what can you expect for a cheap pho place?

I ordered a small rare beef pho ($5) that came with all of the usual accompaniments. For a small size, it still had plenty of noodles and beef in it.

I was impressed with the broth, it was actually some of the best I’ve tasted. It had a great depth of flavour. The sliced rare beef was also tender and tasty. This was a great bowl of pho, especially for the price.

I also got a bbq pork banh mi ($3.75). While the pho was a knockout, the banh mi wasn’t as good. The bbq pork was tasty, but the fillings were sparse and the sandwich was a tad dry. For the price I was fine with it, but it was a mediocre sandwich.

A Taste of Asia is a good place to go if you want to get full for dirt cheap. Their pho was great and I would come back for it again. I would skip the banh mi next time as you can find better ones elsewhere.

Recommendation:

Yes, for flavourful pho.

DD Mau is a Vietnamese sub shop located in Yaletown on Pacific Boulevard. They sell many different types of Vietnamese subs that range from traditional, to unique fusion options. The restaurant has a few seats inside, but it’s more of a grab and go kind of place.

The dining pass comes with your choice of an avocado or honeydew smoothie. I’ve been to DD Mau once before and I tried the avocado smoothie (see my review) so I wanted to try the honeydew this time. The smoothies are made with fresh fruit, almond milk, and they are topped with a bit of condensed milk.

The honeydew was subtle and mildly sweet. The condensed milk made the smoothie rich and creamy. The texture of the smoothie was just right, not too thick and not too runny. I rarely see honeydew flavoured items anywhere, and I enjoyed this take on an underutilized fruit. When compared to the avocado smoothie, this one is lighter and more refreshing, but not as rich in flavour.

The dining pass comes with half of a grilled lemongrass chicken sub. This is made with grilled chicken thighs, pickled carrots and daikon, cucumber, cilantro, and sweet-chili aioli jalapenos.

Chicken Vietnamese subs are normally pretty basic, but this sandwich was anything but ordinary. The chicken thighs were super moist and oozing with delicious juices. The lemongrass was fragrant and prominent in every bite. This was some of the most tasty and flavourful chicken I’ve had in a sandwich and I can see why it is so popular.

The French bread was also nice. It was crusty and thick, while being soft on the inside. It also held up well to the saucy overflowing sandwich, and didn’t get soggy at all.

The other half of the sandwich was the Crispy Roasted Pork. This came filled with roasted pork, sautéed scallions, and the same veggies as the chicken one above.

I love anything with pork, and this was no exception. The roasted pork was tender and soaked full of rich meaty flavour. Little pieces of chopped up crispy pork skin are also sprinkled on the sandwich, which add a delightful, fatty, crunch when you get a bite of one. Everything about this sandwich was a win.

This was one of my favourite dining passes that I’ve reviewed from Vaneats (I liked it so much I bought another one). The smoothie and both of the sandwiches tasted amazing and they were a filling and satisfying meal. I liked how you are able to try two different sandwiches and you have a choice of what smoothie you want.

The dining pass is now on sale at Vaneats.ca for $9.50 (including tax), which is a great deal (smoothies are normally $4.50 on their own).

Disclosure: I did not pay for the dining pass.

Recommendation:

Yes, for a killer sandwich.

I went with a special of the day, which was pork belly banh mi ($9). The pork belly was caramelized in coconut water and it was ultra tender and melt in your mouth delicious. The sandwich was impressively large and substantially bigger than most Vietnamese subs I’ve had. The French bread was crusty and fresh tasting.

The sandwich was filled with the typical carrot, cilantro, daikon combination, but there were also bean sprouts inside. I’m not crazy about bean sprouts, but their crunchy texture worked with the rest of the sandwich. I’m not sure if they come on all of the sandwiches or just this special one.

I had heard good things about DD Mau’s avocado smoothie ($4) and I had to try it. Their smoothies are made with fresh fruit and almond milk, which I appreciated because they are an option for people with dietary restrictions.

An avocado smoothie may sound strange, but it totally worked. The smoothie was thick, rich and creamy, and it almost had a milkshake like consistency. The avocado flavour was subtle and it was enjoyable to drink.

DD Mau is a good option to pick up a tasty sandwich. It may be more expensive than a traditional Vietnamese restaurant, however, the sandwiches are large and it’s still affordable relative to other Yaletown restaurants. I like how they are doing something a bit different and I would definitely return to try more of their subs.

Recommendation:

Yes, for a great and unique Vietnamese sub in Yaletown.