Vietnamese sandwich: Banh Mi My Tho

The French, Chinese, and Southeast Asian influences in Vietnam has brought together many different flavors in Vietnamese dishes. Although not necessarily a dish, the banh mi, or Vietnamese baguette is one example.

Banh mi starts off with a French baguette that is spread with mayonaise and pate. Inside can be either a combination "ham", bbq beef, meatball (nem nuong), or even vegetarian meats. Pickled carrots and jicama, cucumber, green peppers, and cilantro is typically added to add more flavor and freshness to the sandwich. When eaten together, you would expect a bite into a nice chewy bread followed by flavorful meats and tart and spicy vegetables.

I decided to pick up some banh mi at Banh Mi My Tho in Alhambra for a picnic with my cousins. This place is a small mom and pop shop and is meant for to-go orders only. The shop was cluttered with many Vietnamese packaged goodies such as soi (sweet rice), cha gio (eggrolls), and banh (desserts). Along with the clutter is a a crowd of 5-6 people waiting for their orders.

I decided to order 4 banh mi thit nuong (bbq beef sandwich #8) and 2 skewers of nem nuong (meatballs). Total came out to be $12 for everything.

We ate the food about 1 hour I bought it, yet the sandwich still retained its flavor. The bread was fresh and a little chewy as expected, with the crust crumbling down my shirt with every bite. The bbq meat was slightly sweet and has a nice charcoal bbq taste. It complemented the pickled vegetables, although I would have preferred a little bit more meat. Overall, this is a pretty decent sandwich...probably among my top three sandwich places (my #1 is Banh Mi Ba Le, the sandwich shop I grew up on in San Diego).

Nem nuong means "grilled ground pork" in Vietnamese and usually consists of ground pork with fish sauce, sugar, garlic and other ingredients to flavor. The one presented here is in a form of a meatball skewer. The nem nuong at Banh Mi My Tho can probably be eaten by itself, as none of the flavors are too overwhelming. It makes a great snack or appetizer, or would even go great with Bun (vermicelli).

The owners of this place have a few jokes up their sleeves too. I asked in Vietnamese "Can I have 2 meatball skewers" and they replied "You can't have it, but I can sell it to you". =)