Vua

I was talking to my friend Losalie about going to eat somewhere REALLY cheap and she suggested Vua on St-Denis. This is a relatively new resto since, you know, I haven't noticed it before. Hehe! It's right smack in the middle of quartier latin and all the action. It's a tiny place but packed with good flavours! There are about 10 seats inside and 14 outside. There's also a second floor I did not go and see.

You go in and it's full of people. FULL. But them vietnamese girls are quick! OK, I'm not saying us north americans are slow but come ooooon!!! It's like BAM here's a sandwich, BAM here's another one (yes, I'm aware I say 'Bam' a lot). You choose what kind of Banh Mi or sandwich and you can add extras like bacon or avocado for example. And it's so cheap. 7 inches=3,25$ and for 50 cents more, you get a 10 inch sandwich. Nice. That's my kind of lunch! Good and cheap ;) You don't like Banh Mi type sandwiches? That's ok! There's sushi, eggrolls, spring rolls and a bunch of other lovely asian dishes to choose from. I looooves me some asian food :)

I had the pulled chicken mix on a 7 inch Banh Mi. Th3 3,25$ includes onions, coriander, carrots, radishes, mayo and soya sauce. I thought the bread was a tad on the dry side but the whole thing was just so good and fresh tasting. It was like eating a salad in a sandwich :) As mentioned before, there are a lot of customers so everything is very fresh. They have a very high turnover so they don't really have a choice, which makes it all the more fresh!

I also had something that looked like a pogo. I hate pogos but this one seemed to be screaming out at me. Well, for one thing, it mentioned something about having shrimp in there. It was shrimp and chicken on a sugar cane. Meh. It was more dry than anything else and not super tasty. I tried taking a bite every 5 minutes or so to see if it'd get better, but sadly, no. I think once I started sucking on the sugar cane, I realized I should have just bought that; a sugar cane! 

We had a seat outside so it was really pleasant with the nice weather and the people passing by :) And it was also kind of weird that there's a Subway right beside it. It's like 'Asian Subway' and American Subway' :p

And now, the scores!

Food: 6,5 Damn, it's because of that darn asian pogo stick!

Service: 9 Quick and efficient, but we all know it's not a 'real' restaurant setting.

Go there for a quick bite and/or if you're poor ! Hahaha!

ps: I've decided that if I can't take pictures, I'm not posting any. I'm sick of taking someone else's pics or having to go on the restos' websites and 'stealing' theirs.

Mâche

I met ze wife and her bro there after school one day. It's a new resto located right at the corner of Emery on St-Denis. I thought Mâche was a weird name for a restaurant and I STILL think it's weird. Mâche. Why? There's a pig on their sign out front. Pig... mâche...? There's a kind of lettuce named mâche...

Anyhoot, shouldn't look too deeply into it I guess!They have a pig on their sign because they use pork a lot. Clever.

This restaurant has about 40 seats, kind of cafeteria like... I don't know why I got that feeling... maybe because of the cement floors and the rows of seats. Actually, they're stools, not seats. Maybe that's where I got the caf thing. I loved the music that was playing... some classics like Les Cowboys Fringuants were very welcomed! Loved it! We were seated at the extreme end of the resto, yet when someone would open the door, the cold would be, well, very noticeable. Quite unfortunate. I really HATE it when that happens. Quite unpleasant, really. There was a tv, just hanging out there, that no one was watching and so I didn't really see the point of purchasing a tv that no one would watch. On the walls, there were stripes of colored lights and I also didn't know what they were doing there. And by that, I mean that they did not match the restaurant or the vibe.

The waiters were cute in their little plaid shirts and jeans. Kinda hip and 'cabane à sucre' at the same time (or a hip cabane à sucre?).

The menu is very simple: about 20 choices in all, most being either sandwiches, poutines or shepherd's pies. The prices were very affordable too, which I obviously like! No wait... love! For me, the menu gave me comforting choices: comforting poutines with meat, comforting shepherd's pies. A play on the classique québécois: there were many kinds of 'pâté chinois'! I love that! They sold wine by the glass and it was either white or red... nothing complicated. 6$ per glass. Mmmmgood, very affordable. 

I had pâté chinois with leeks, corn, meat and sweet potatoes. A classic! Well, not a classic per se but one of ours anyway: we always make pâté chinois with sweet potatoes. But not with leeks. And I won't start. That was my least favorite part of my meal. In the leeks' defense, ze wife loved that. The potatoes were so good and silky, the meat was very tasty and well seasoned and the whole was an all-around great mix.     Two things though: the portion was way too big and it was way too hot.

Now, the scores!

Food: 7/10 Good enough food but nothing to write home about! Especially not to yo mama who makes pâté chinois twice a month.

Service: 7.5 It was good but not the best. First waiter we got was very nice but the second one... smiles could have been more present :) :) :) !

All in all, a good place to go hang out with your buddies, not very much of a date kinda place. You certainly don't want to spend hours there but it's enjoyable nevertheless.