DD Mau - Vancouver, BC

Ms. Porker and I have gone too far.  We decided to walk from Granville Island to Science World and now we're in Yaletown - might as well get something to eat while we're here!  I don't know how Ms. Porker knows this but she recently found out about a new Vietnamese sandwich shop that's been getting a bit of buzz in this area.  DD Mau is a banh mi sandwich shop that also serves vermicelli bowls (for your gluten free peeps out there) as well as spring rolls and salad rolls but these little Piglets are here for their speciality - the beloved banh mi.

Cute interior!  Simple and small but it's got that inviting ambiance that makes you wanna sit and enjoy your sandwich by the window.  But we're not here for the interior - we're here for some serious sandwich action!

BBQ Roasted Duck - $10.80

Juicy roasted duck, scallions, pickled veggies, cilantro, hoisin sauce and jalapenos

The description was so promising but when I ate this sandwich, I felt a bit underwhelmed.  The problem with this sandwich is that it contains BBQ duck and that's all it really has going for it.  There's nothing special about it - just a sandwich that contains regular BBQ duck that you can find at any Asian BBQ place and the bread is just a bun.  It lacks that crispiness and the aromatics of a traditional Vietnamese banh mi bun.  When I bit into a piece of scallion and hoisin sauce, it totally reminded me of duck wraps you can get a Chinese restaurants but those moments were few and far in between.  The pickled veggies were refreshingly crunchy but needed more vinegar and seemed to have not been pickled long enough.  This sandwich just needed more - more pickling flavors, more hoisin sauce, more scallions and more jalapenos.  For that price, it needs to knock my %^& on the ground.

 

Grilled Lemongrass Chicken - $7

Grilled chicken thighs, pickled veggies, cilantro, sweet-chili aioli and jalapenos

Good call on the chicken thighs guys!  I believe this one had the best flavor in terms of the protein - the chicken was perfectly seasoned with lots of lemongrass flavor and still very moist.  There was a lot of aioli as well but because the chicken was so well-seasoned, the aioli was a nice balance to it.  I can't say whether the aioli was sweet-chili because I honestly thought it was just mayonnaise.  The veggies were of course crispy and the bread was the bread - still meh.  The honestly think the bread is dragging the flavors of these sandwiches down.  

Crispy Roasted Pork - $8.80

Crispy roasted pork, sauteed scallions, pickled veggies, cilantro, garlic aioli and jalapenos

LOVE the crispy pork skin in this sandwich - it totally reminds of those awesome porchetta sandwiches from Meat and Bread but the pork in this sandwich is not flavorful enough.  BBQ pork meat is a white mass of meat that needs to be dressed up to go to the sandwich party.  It needs all sorts of condiments and flavors to make it special but the dressings here just can't do it.  I know there were sauteed scallions but I couldn't taste it, the pickled veggies were too light and I honestly didn't know that it was a garlic aioli - I just thought it was mayonnaise again.  The only kick this sandwich got was from the few jalapenos in it.  More people, MORE!  I don't wanna eat something I could make at home - I wanna have something that's so completely decadent and bonkers that I wanna come back for it!  Unfortunately, this sandwich falls flat on the decadence.  Great idea, not a great execution.  And they need a sharper knife here or something because although the sandwiches were cut, a lot of the toppings weren't cut though so there was a lot of tearing sandwiches apart to split them.

The Classic - $7

Assorted Vietnamese cold cuts and deli meat, house made pate, pickled veggies, cilantro, house aioli and jalapenos

Due to technical difficulties, I was unable to take a picture of this sandwich - perhaps I might go back for one and update later because this one was also one of the better sandwiches.  The various meats were quite flavorful and their house made pate is lighter than most other ones I've tasted but has a great smooth texture and still has some great flavors.  Again, the veggies need more, the house aioli tastes like mayonnaise and the bread...  I think they should consider ordering the bread from elsewhere because it just drags these sandwiches down.

DDMau Iced Coffee - $3.50

Espresso & sweetened condensed milk over ice

What to wash these down with???  They're currently sold out of the avocado shakes (dammit!) so Ms. Porker quickly calls dibs on the iced coffee.  Damn my slow reading skills!  She's super excited as it's been a warm day, we've walked really far and she's super thirsty.  Anticipation!  And when they finally call her, she jumps up and....  

Disappointment.  Ok, this thing is in a cup smaller than a tall from Starbucks but it's not filled all of the way and most of the cup is ice.  We theorize that there's maybe, MAYBE, half a cup of liquid inside.  After waiting patiently for some of the ice to melt, she dives in - 4 gulps and finito.  Ms. Porker is still thirsty.  We might as well head over to the Bucks across the street and get a proper drink. 


Oh, and we decided to take the kitschy, corny but super cute Aquabus back.  People on the bus thought we were tourists since we were taking pictures of the scenery.  Lame. 

Here's a view of the water whilst on the Aquabus back to the car...  :)


Ms. Porker and I are not not opposed to these sandwiches but unlike other special banh mi places, we also wouldn't go out of our way to go to Yaletown for them either.  They were average for us, even with the different types of fillings.  They needed more of everything - flavor, texture and better buns!  For the banh mi afficionados/traditionalists, I'm quite certain these sandwiches will not be up to your standards in terms of both taste and price.  DD Mau is worth the try but I suggest you don't go in expecting to be dazzled to pieces.  It's an average sandwich place that may be great one day but for right now, let's hope it's still evolving.


Pros:

• Great location - close to the water and everything downtown has to offer
• Sandwiches made to order
• Complimentary water with lemon
• Cute interior
• Ample street parking (pay parking though!)

Cons:

• Pricey for what you get
• Sandwiches were only ok
• Tiny ice coffee