Vietnamese Sandwiches (banh Mi)

[Gluestick]

They have arrived at Foodland on Srinakarin. The sandwiches are decent and go for 49 baht. The jalepeno peppers have been replaced with bellpeppers and they don't have the pickled vegetables that normally come in the sandwich. The size is a bit small but the taste is half way decent. If you can pickle your own veggies and add the real peppers, it would be pretty good. Maybe add some maggie sauce and some Vietnamese Sriracha sauce if you have some.

[Jingthing]

The jalepeno peppers have been replaced with bellpeppers and they don't have the pickled vegetables that normally come in the sandwich.

That's good news but in my view without the pickled vegetables it isn't close enough ...

I do like the jalapenos also but I suppose any hot pepper would be OK. Do they have cilantro? I used to do something real non-traditional with these sandwiches. Tell them no strange Viet mayo and no butter and take them home and put on Dijon mustard and a smear of soft avocado. I am sure unheard of in Hanoi, but really tasted good (to me).

Edited July 30, 2009 by Jingthing

[Macx]

Sounds good.

BTW, pardon my ignorance, but where's Srinakarin?

Is it really that crusty VN-French baguette?

IMO, it's best with pate and a pat of butter. But, that Dijon mustard and avocado idea sounds excellent. I read somewhere that NYC has a dozen of these nouvelle VN sandwich shops, with plenty of innovative interpretations. Can't wait to try them out

The pickled veggies are pretty simple to make: daikon and carrot in a salt-vinegar mix.

Thanks for the tip!

[LancasterBFC]

Also is this retail or at Took Lae Dae? Sounds good either way!

[jfchandler]

There's an everyday Vietnamese restaurant in the basement of the Silom Complex shopping center, right near the Saladaeng BTS station. They have a nice broad menu, and the food is OK... But I can't remember if they have the sandwiches being referred to here... More a variety of noodle dishes, meat and fish ball things, and salads, as best as I recall.

[tb86]

Yeah its strange how many bahn mi places there are in nyc,, had one right on my block traditional style though. Then i moved here.... and almost no one had ever heard of such a thing. only place i have found them in bkk is at the lounge at the sukhothai hotel..

[Macx]

Sorry, JFC, I think that place is long closed. Some shabu-shabu or something like that has taken over.

tb86, are they really popular? Popular as in something new or as alternative to the subs and so on?

In Southern Cal, they used to sell them for $1 each. Now, I think it's $2.50 or $3.

[jfchandler]

Thanks for that Mac.... I saw it last time...probably a few months ago... But I haven't been there lately... I'll drop by and look around. If that place is gone, there are others to be found.

[tb86]

Sorry, JFC, I think that place is long closed. Some shabu-shabu or something like that has taken over.

tb86, are they really popular? Popular as in something new or as alternative to the subs and so on?

In Southern Cal, they used to sell them for $1 each. Now, I think it's $2.50 or $3.

yeah its crazy there must be 15 or 20 of them in manhattan alone.... theres even a cambodian sandwich shop ,,, asian sandwich movement pork buns ect ect its just people getting bored of the same old same old

[Ulysses G.]

The real ones in Vietnam were not up to much - at least they were not 10 years ago. Do they change them a lot in the US?

[Macx]

Yeah, there was a big write up in the NY Times food section. Apparently, it's kinda like when the burritos went into "wraps". They put all sorts of stuff into it, some not even recognizable as VN sandwiches, but the critics seem to love them. Looking forward to trying them in a few months when I go stateside

Wonder why I gain weight every trip back...

Edited August 4, 2009 by Macx

[Jingthing]

Yep, we 'Murcans improve everything we get our hands on ...

BTW, I have never seen a Viet sandwich shop in the US run by anyone but Vietnamese immigrants, so whatever it is, it comes from somewhere, let me guess VIETNAM.

[junki3korean]

are we talking about these??

In Thailand?? really??

Edited August 19, 2009 by junki3korean

[zaphodbeeblebrox]

Bahn Mi are fantastic and cheap. The perfect lunch food. But, without the pickled vegetables, it's just a plain sub. There's a large chain of Vietnamese French sandwich shops in Honolulu called Bale. The owner is Vietnamese, but first immigrated to San Jose. I like his Bahn Mi better than any I have tasted in California.

http://onokinegrindz.typepad.com/ono_kine_...sandwiches.html

[ricklev]

Gosh I miss the lemon grass tofu Bahn Mi at the Bale in Kailua.....

[bonobo]

I mentioned at a trade show in San Fran that I was going to get one for lunch, and even people from the bay area were amazed that such a thing existed.  Some of them started laughing at me until a model for one of the other booths went to great lengths as to how popular they were and how you had to line up for 30 minutes at a couple of them during the lunch hour.

I would love to find a decent shop in Thailand.  But the streets in Phnom Pehn are clogged with stands which sell them.