Boulangerie Cho Pain
1165 Davie Street
Vancouver, BC
Days after my dinner with Mijune, I was on my usual search of places I have not been in Vancouver’s West End area. Despite I have been food blogging for over a year already, I am amazed that there are still a lot of places in this area I haven’t been yet. But, then again, I don’t blog every day on places in this area. That day was particularly “bad” weather-wise, which, in Vancouver, translates to a “rain” (which really means a drizzle…) and wanted something different. Poncho’s? Nope. Knight and Day? Nope. (But, despite Sherman’s thoughts about this place, I might as well do it soon “just because”). That reminded me of a bakery that Mijune said was in Davie Street which I had to go: Boulangerie Cho Pain. After that lengthy conversation I had that night, I was sure I wasn’t going to be disappointed…
I am not a fan of dogs (or pets in general); in this case I couldn’t help it. It was darn difficult to get a “clear” shot of the store…
First and up most, this is a bakery. As a result, you will see cookies, pastry, breads, etc. However, in addition to these, they have a small selection of sandwiches and soups. On that day, there was a bit of chaos in the back. While human is curious by nature, in this case, no matter how curious I could have been, I wouldn’t have found out what was going on on the back: They were speaking French! (Or another romance language I couldn’t even get a gist of!). Before I made my order, I took a quick look of their offerings, like:
Some breads
Pastries
Cakes/Petits Fours
From 12 o’clock, clockwise, chocolate dipped macaroon, pistachio macaroon and madeleine
While I could have easily had any of these with a cup of Earl Grey and call it lunch, I wanted something more substantial, i.e., sandwich and soup. And this is what I got:
Salmon sandwich
Carrot soup
In addition to the salmon/lox sandwich (which was listed as “Sockeye salmon”), they also had Chicken, Black Forrest (sic) ham & Swiss cheese, Prosciutto & Swiss cheese, Salami and Swiss cheese and Veggie – this last one being seasonal based on the vegetables used. Now, these sandwiches are not made to order, instead, they are sitting in one of the fridges, wrapped in plastic. When you ask for it, the plastic will be removed and placed in a plate. I don’t think I saw a panini grill so grilling them wasn’t necessarily an option. As for the bread, think banh mi (or it should be the other way around, considering banh mi uses French bread?); however, it was a lot denser. The mix of salmon, veggies and other ingredients (like cream cheese) had well thought, i.e., there was no fight between each element trying to overpower each other. Instead, there was harmony: the soft taste of the salmon, plus neutral balance of the cream cheese, some tartness of the capers and lemon. It was a bit heavy, due to the bread but, again, it is not something I will complain, specially if you compare it to, say, Subway…
The carrot soup (there was also squash soup) was a bit below par but that was mainly due to one factor: it wasn’t piping hot. I am those who prefer their soups that way, almost to the point it can scorch your tongue. However, past that one small detail, I will have to say it was quite good. While it is not really noticeable in the picture above, it wasn’t completely smooth, instead, there some “pieces” of carrots that makes them almost a puree. While I am sure some form of dairy was added, the consistency was more on the lines of a broth type soup. And, most importantly, it had a fresh carrot taste.
After this satisfactory lunch, I brought some baked goods to take back to work, as shown above, two types of macaroon and madeline. For the most part, everybody said it was good (but, again, it is possible this is an instinctive reaction so I bring other goodies in the future…). As for myself, I had the pistachio macaroon but I found it to be too sweet for my liking. I guess different tastes…
Overall, I really liked this place. I did not have the feeling they were over-promising, instead, they just states it is a small bakery with some lunch options. And, by limiting themselves on what they produce, the end result is way better than a lot of places I can think of. And, to me, that is a winner. Again, Mijune, thanks for the recommendation!
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
The bakery items look pretty solid. I’m with you about soups, they should be piping hot, not lukewarm. Also, that’s not really food safe either if they kept the soup at a lukewarm temperature, unless they warmed it up for you from a cold state. Yah, when you bring stuff back for people, they’re generally pretty happy…
The sandwich looks good Kim. How does the price of this soup-n-sandwich compare with say Timmy Ho’s?
Raidar, sub and sandwich was just under $9. True, while you can get it cheaper at Timmy’s, then again, you won’t get this type of sandwiches, either!
Yeah, exactly what I was thinking Kim. I was just curious if it was like $15 plus or something, that would make the combo a little harder to swallow when comparing to something like Tim’s. $9 seems well worth it.
Hey thanks for the shout out Kim! I’m so glad you got to check it out
I haven’t tried their cookies, but I’ve tried their pastries. Those are perhaps better because they weren’t as sweet as they look. They were very authentic as well. I haven’t tried their soup and sandwich, but your pictures look great as always.
I love how they speak French! Great review.
what a disappointment! i went their over the weekend to have lunch. The food was so so and overall I would not recommend it. I was looking forward to the authentic French experience and ambiance and found neither.
Lulu, welcome! I am sorry your experience was subpar. For comparison purposes, can you tell us what you had?
Having lived in France for 5 years I was excited to see a real “French” bakery in the neighbourhood but, sadly, I was dissapointed with this place; we found it overpriced and the baguette wasn’t what we were so hoping for(it’s hard to find a “real” baguette here!–is it the flour?). We love Maple Leaf bakery just a block down on Davie– they make *fantastic* breads, pastries etc. and are a lot cheaper than Cho’Pain to boot…to each their own!
Asa, welcome! Sorry about your subpar experience at this place. I myself wasn’t expecting a French bakery; I was only there for lunch and it delivered. I think I know which bakery you referring there so it is possible I might give it a try. Thanks!
The soup and sandwiches look good. I’m curious to check this place out now. When I get back in town I’ll give it a try. Always looking for something quick.
MF, welcome! If you do go, please, let us know our thought!
I would vote that you DONT eat here! I witnessed the managers being horribly racist to a customer due to the fact she was asian – they waited until she left of course, so she didnt know, but i was SO disgusted and upset I will not give them my business. Also, they lack basic essentials like cleaning products which concerns me!
Westie, welcome! Can you, please, elaborate what was said/what happened that lead to that comment. A lot of times, things might be taken out of context or there was something that triggered that reaction. As a reminder, I myself am Asian.
Hi KimHo, sure let me elaborate!
They customer walked in (actually to drop off her resume), she handed it to the lady behind the counter and the manager walked up and asked her if she spoke french – the young lady said that she didnt. The manager handed her resume back and said “take it, we wont hire you”. The Asian lady leaves and the lady who had originally took the resume said “what was that all about? I was hired two days ago and I dont speak french?!” the manager replies “well, she’s asian but we cant very well tell her THATS why we’re not going to hire her” I was so sad. In that instant my heart sank. I cannot support a business like that. I had no idea racism such as this still existed! It made me ashamed to be ‘white’.
Westie, thanks for letting us know what happened. As for the case itself, that is really a tough call. Being an immigrant myself, I had some hard time before I was able to find a job and I have the odd feeling there were several instances I was not even given a chance because I was not “local” – ever heard of the infamous “Canadian Experience” question? While I do not condone what happened (whether I would go back to try their goods, that would be a different question), you must also notice that other restaurants have some sort of racism, as well, despite it might not be that evident. For example, in some Asian restaurants, all the staff is Asian. What are the chances? Likewise, in places like Joey’s/Cactus/Moxie’s were some (if not all) of the wait staff seems to have been hire by their looks.
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