Indochine

Rebecca: Last Sunday we attended the NDP Leaders Debate and decided to get a quick lunch beforehand. We chose Indochine, a small Vietnamese soup and sandwich bar that also has great flavours of bubble tea. Indochine is on South Park Street (close to where the debate was being held), it's something different that we don't normally go for, it's healthy, and bubble tea is awesome.
(For those not in the know: bubble tea is a thick fruity smoothie with little gummy balls of tapioca sitting at the bottom. You drink it through a fat straw and chew on the flavourless tapioca pearls as you suck 'em up one at a time. It's so weird, but so awesome.) 

We did.

I got the Buddha sandwich ($5.95) on white baguette. The Buddha contains grilled tofu, pickled daikon, cucumber, shredded carrots and a really spicy cream sauce. The tofu was flavourful and grilled to perfection. It was a big, bright and colourful sandwich that was so spicy I had to take breaks in between bites. (I don't do too well with spicy foods).
However, the Buddha was delicious and I'm looking forward to trying some different items from the lunch menu. 

Delicious, but...

Yeah, that spicy

I went with a Strawberry Banana bubble tea. I was confused at first because I kept getting a strong taste of pineapple with every sip. The girl at the counter, who was very sweet and friendly, told me they had run out of banana milk that day and had substituted it with pineapple juice. That sounded alright to me (there were still banana pieces in it), although I was a little disappointed that the strawberry and banana tastes weren't as prominent as I would have liked. Next time I think I'll try out a mango and coconut combination!

Ben: I got the Lemongrass pork sandwich, or Banh Mi as the Vietnamese call them. I don’t really have much to add to what Rebecca wrote – the ingredients on my sandwich were exactly the same as those on hers, only with Lemongrass pork instead of grilled tofu. It was a really hearty and flavourful sandwich, which made me want to chow down as fast as I could. However, it was also rather spicy, which meant I couldn’t. I think spice is the chef’s way of defending their work against people like me who can’t resist eating really fast.

Normally this wouldn't last 45 seconds

I ordered mango bubble tea, because mango is always a pretty safe bet. Bubble tea really weirds me out; I’m not sure why I like it, but I do. The tapioca globs on their own are disgusting (I tried eating a stray one after the liquid was gone – do not do this), but for some reason they’re very pleasing in context. I don’t know why this strange drink exists, but it does, and for that I am grateful.

Not the manliest of drinks

We do recommend Indochine, but come prepared; it’s spicy, and bubble tea might not be what you’re used to. However, if you want to be both healthy and a little adventurous, this is an excellent choice. We will certainly be returning!