Travel: Ho Chi Minh: Banh Mi

The French’s colonization of Vietnam left a mark evidently seen in the country’s architecture and food.

One French influence in Vietnamese cuisine is the baguette. 

I don’t know how they do it, but the baguette in Vietnam has a different character from those I tried here back home. I told Lenz, “parang may drugs yata, I can’t stop myself from eating this”.  From the slices of baguette they served in the hotel during breakfast, to the slices of baguette that accompanied the Saigon beef stew we had for dinner over at Highlands Coffee…and not to forget the baguette sandwich peddled at every street corner in Saigon, called Banh Mi.  Saigon’s baguette is crusty and crackly on the outside and soft on the inside (it must be from the combination of wheat and rice flour). The way I like my French bread to be.  I could imagine myself eating this bread dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar and I would be in nirvana.

Like the famous pho, it is a crime to leave Vietnam without savoring this fusion of French & Asian sandwich.  It is made with baguette filled with various meat fillings – from sliced meats, liver pate, pork floss, cilantro, cucumber slices, tomatoes, pickled carrots and daikon, mayonnaise and smothered with a dark sauce.  You can also request to include fried egg as additional filling.

We had this twice, one as a snack and another during our second day as an early dinner meal before we left for the airport.  And much like our own adobo, it varies from vendor to vendor. One serving of Banh Mi costs around 15,000 dong or less than 50 pesos.