>> People Sumptuous and slaughter-free >> Meat replacement vendor keeps animals alive despite meagre profits

by CHRIS BARRY Name: Winnie Ng Age: 50 Occupation: Proprietor of Tiende Santé & Végétarien (279 Duluth E.) Bio: This gentle and tenacious Côte St-Luc babe was raised in Hong Kong, first arriving on Canadian shores with her family way back in 1979. A housewife and mother for many years, as her children grew older and more capable of looking after themselves, Winnie began hunting around for something else to occupy her time, finally opting to open Tiende Santé & Végétarien, a tiny little store in Chinatown devoted to selling vegetarian meat-replacement products. The exceptional thing, however, is that the fake meat Winnie imports actually looks, feels and tastes pretty much like the real thing, and unlike many similar domestic products, can’t even be described as gross. If you’ve ever eaten at the Chu Chai restaurant on St-Denis and wondered how they could possibly produce a fake sesame chicken tasting as good or better than actual bird corpse, just dreaming of the day when you might be able to cook the same kind of crap up at home for a lot less money, well, Tiende, now newly located on Duluth in the Plateau, is the answer to your prayers. “There really isn’t much profit to be made in this but I like encouraging people to eat vegetarian so I try to keep the store open. The less people eating meat, the less killing that is done. That’s basically why I still have my store. Truth is, I’ve been in business seven years now and haven’t made any money at all. Sometimes I lose money. I guess that’s the reality of business, but yes, it’s been very tough for me.” If business is so goddamned tough, why’d she move to a new, more expensive location on Duluth? Because her Chinatown landlord wanted her space for himself again and told her to get the hell out. “When I found out I had to leave I started asking my customers where I should move and many said I might do better if I were on the Plateau. So here I am.” What “Tiende” means: Virtue of heaven.  What her fake meat is made from: “Most of the frozen, prepared foods are made from soya, wheat or yam flour.” Go to the simple Web site address, www.geocities.com/tiende_sante for more details on the products she sells and their contents, or call her up at 876-4481. Her biggest selling items: “Fake” ginger chicken, citrus spare ribs, stewed beef, BBQ shrimp, chicken wings and tuna. Two other things you can buy at Tiende: Original art from China and flower tea. “You know, you steep it in a clear teapot and a flower blooms. It’s very pretty. You can drink it here if you like. We’ve got a salon de thé here on Duluth. Please tell people they should come.” How much of the original Chinese art she displays was produced in slave labour camps? None, apparently. Musical preferences: Shania Twain. Literary preferences: Macleans magazine. Words of wisdom: “The Creator created everything in this universe and is just  and righteous. The sun shines on everyone, good and bad.” Comments? dimwit@hdot.net