Banh Mi Hunting

Banh mi’s of high quality are becoming harder and harder to find it seems. I’m probably not looking as hard as I use to but come on people, its not that hard (trust me I know, I totally make a killer banh mi at home). Anyway, I had been for dinner with a friend the previous night at Aunty Oh’s and I noticed they had banh mi’s for lunch. The spark was reignited and I suddenly had a hankering for the world’s greatest sandwich and some judgement. And judge I did! Now since my last hunt, I had decided to give up meat which severely impacts the all round effect of the banh mi. That being said, it still shouldn't be too hard to make it at least semi delicious. I went back to Aunty Oh’s, which also happened to coincide with introducing a banh mi virgin (who will henceforth be referred to as BMV) to his very first banh mi. This was not the greatest intro... The venue was great. 10/10 for location and overall vibe, very cool place. It’s even cooler at night with the fairy lights and lanterns! But thats where the praise ends. Banh mi arrived in a decent time frame. It looked like a banh mi. We were off to a good start. First bite of banh mi... where was that mouth watering mind blowing flavour that I had become accustomed to?! It looked like a banh mi but I can’t say it really tasted like one. I checked the ingredients and they were all there but the flavour just wasn’t. Devastation. Now I can handle a disappointing banh mi but not when introducing a BMV to its greatness. It is possible that due to lack of meat/pate the flavour could have been diminished but I feel like the other sauces/marinated veggies should have been able to make up for it. The bread was crunchy, the veggies were present and my satisfaction was not. Price was to be expected for location ($8) and the venue was seriously cool so the whole experience was ok. But I am saddened that the art of banh mi making appears to be dying. RIP Banh Mi

Overall rating: 5/10

Type of Banh mi consumed: Vegetarian 

So this actually happened a few weeks ago but I forgot to write about it! Silly girl. Anyway, so I was at work near Fortitude Valley and it dawned on me that I hadn't had the pleasure of devouring a delicious banh mi in ages. And we all know that once you get struck with the urge, nothing else will never satisfy. A friend at work suggested I check out Little Vietnam Bakery next to Fortitude Valley train station. It was quite a walk but I figured I could use the exercise... First mistake right there. It was hot out and walking in heels is actually torture. By the time I got to the bakery I was sweating and contemplating the amputation of my feet. I ordered my banh mi (chicken, I believe) and was secretly hoping they would take their time so I could rest before my epic mission back to work. Nope, they were speedy, which is normally a quality I admire in a banh mi vendor but not on this day. I began the arduous journey back, praying that my banh mi wouldn't be soggy by the time I could eat it. When I arrived back to my office I practically collapsed on the floor. I didn't even bother to get up. I just removed my shoes and thought about how lovely it is that I can have a floor picnic at work. The banh mi judgement began... It wasn't too soggy from the walk! A good sign indeed. From the first bite I knew I was experiencing a first rate banh mi. Everything was awesome, perfect amount of chilli and the other various necessities. YAY!!! Its always satisfying to not be disappointed by a bad banh mi. Now I can’t remember the exact details but I do recall they it was reasonably priced and delicious, possibly around $6. The location is handy although next time I will probably get the bus just so I still have toes after the journey. A solid 8 out of 10 experience. Definitely a must visit for the banh mi enthusiast.

Overall rating: 8/10

Type of banh mi consumed: Chicken

Everyone loves a happy ending right? and I mean the emotional kind... Anyway after a particularly brilliant counselling session I found myself thinking ‘you know what would make me even happier than I am right now? A banh mi, thats what’ and so I did. I was about to start googling banh mi places around Chermside when I remembered my sister telling me that a vietnamese place had opened up in the shopping centre and that they sold banh mi’s. SOLD! After a few minutes fighting with an unusually difficult ATM I found myself staring lovingly into the eyes of a slightly terrified employee at Lucky Rolls. I ordered my banh mi then paced in front of the shop like a slightly deranged caged animal. Good god I needed a banh mi and I was conscious of the time (I had to get to work before my first client arrived). I watched in disbelief as she proceed to put tomato on my roll. What was this blasphemy?! I was too shocked to say anything, but i mean who the hell puts tomato on a banh mi for gods sake. Anyway I recovered from my shock enough to race to the car once my roll was ready. I couldn't wait till I got to work so I had a bite. I nearly fainted I was so happy. Although the tomato threw me a bit I was in heaven devouring that classic banh mi flavour. They had the right amount of chilli and everything. Now I should acknowledge that I was 1) starving after all the emotional outpouring and 2) I was having a brilliant day and I think anything would have tasted amazing at that point. Banh mi was only $6.80 and the service was speedy so overall I was satisfied. Obviously they lost marks for the bizarre tomato incident but I’d definitely recommend Lucky Rolls for anyone in the area. 

Location: Lucky Rolls, Chermside Shopping Centre

Type of Banh Mi consumed: Classic BBQ Pork

Another successful banh mi hunt completed! I was worried I was running out of banh mi venues to visit but I keep finding/hearing about new places to try. I was a little hesitant about My Street Food in Woolloongabba, I must admit, as it is pretty much located in a semi-industrial area. Parking sucked big time as well. I had to park in a street behind the venue then walk through what seemed like a scrap metal junk yard. But the adventure/fearing for my life was well worth it!  I was super early as usual so I sat like a loser waiting for my banh mi date to arrive. The lovely people were obviously concerned about my lonerness as they kept asking if I had ordered and was i waiting for my food? Nope, just waiting to not look dorky and actually sit with a real person. Once my friend arrived we ordered straight away! I was meant to get a tofu banh mi in honour of my friends vegetarianism but I just couldn’t do it. In the words of the little asian lady owner “I like meat, honey”. The banh mi was amazing! I think I may have ordered spicy chicken and while it wasn't super spicy it was delicious. Excellent bread and fillings (with maybe a little too much carrot) but overall it was delicious. I was semi starving when we ordered so I’m sure that attributed to the amazingness of the banh mi. That plus the amazing company equalled an 9/10 experience (it lost marks for location and parking)! It also helped that the owners were adorable and came and chatted with us once the place got a little quieter. Oh and I think they were only $7 each! Bargain!

Location: My Street Food, Woolloongabba

Type of Banh Mi consumed: Spicy Chicken

The adventure continues. I was informed that the city held a plethora of banh mi venues so I decided to see how the city compared to the suburbs. The answer is ‘not great’. I am starting to find a pattern to the providers of banh mi’s. The fancier the shop, the more the banh mi sucks. The Roll shop provided a mid range banh mi with no outstanding qualities. It wasn't terrible but it didn't blow my mind either. They were maybe a little light on the chilli as well. It was quite a novelty meeting my friend for lunch after work so that made up for the average banh mi. 

Location: The Roll Shop, Brisbane CBD

Type of banh mi consumed: Lemongrass chicken

Aaahhhh the good old bus stop banh mi. and by that I mean I actually sat at a bus stop eating a banh mi. The story begins on a sunny Friday afternoon…. I was travelling down to Mullumbimby but due to my crappy car I was taking the bus. All packed and excited for my adventure I got the train to Roma St where my bus was due to pick me up. As I happen to be pathologically early to almost everything and this being no exception, I was 30 minutes ahead of schedule. Luckily I remembered a banh mi place my friend had attempted to take me to once so I jumped at the chance to check out another banh mi vendor (by attempted I mean we went there but they were out of banh mi’s so I don’t really count it). They were super speedy making the banh mi and I was surprised how cheap it was considering the location, only $6.50, but that is where the praise ends. I took my purchase to my bus stop to wait for my ride. The judgement begins. Even though I asked for it to be toasted, when I took a bite it was practically cold. And thats a little disturbing when you are eating pork… There wasn’t enough chilli either which is always a negative when rating banh mi’s. The bread was a little soggy at one end as well. I will say that they got the general flavour right which was a plus. Thankfully I was in a pretty amazing mood as I was adventuring to one of my favourite places so the less than awesome banh mi didn’t lessen my positive juju vibes. 

Overall rating 6/10

Type of Banh mi consumed: Classic pork

While experiencing a particularly rough week I was reminded by a friend that I had agreed to check out this banh mi place he mentioned. As I attempted to cancel with threats of wearing my bathrobe in public and generally being terrible company I agreed to go. I even managed to look relatively like a normal human! Plus I realised I probably needed to wash my robe... I managed to make it to my friends place through shear will power and chain smoking. Step 1 completed. Next step, find banh mi. We drove to this ‘quaint little bakery on Kent St in Ascot’ (his description, not mine). Step 2 completed. Banh mi’s were purchased but that was enough for my outing abilities. Back to the car and to my friends so I could eat my banh mi in relative peace. I’m pretty sure I purchased a chicken banh mi of some kind. Lemongrass is appearing in my flashbacks. Seeing as I hadn't eaten breakfast I was starving so consumption of banh mi started right away. Sweet holy baby jesus... Banh mi jackpot! I’m not sure if it was because I was mildly hungover, starving or realising that I hadn’t eaten anything but crackers for 3 days but my god I felt like I had died and gone to banh mi heaven. Everything was awesome. Definitely on the spicier side but that’s always a winner in my books. I don’t actually remember having anything to complain about... 10/10 banh mi! Overall rating lost marks because location wasn’t amazing and my general mood sucked but my taste buds were in heaven (if not slightly scalded). Hunt for Distraction = SUCCESS! 

Overall rating: 7/10 (banh mi gets a 10/10)

Location: ‘Quaint little bakery in Ascot’

Into the depths of Southbank we ventured for an evening of wine and whatever deliciousness we could get our hands on. Seeing as this was my third time in a week that I’d explored the night noodle markets, I decided it was finally time to have a banh mi from the Mrs Luu’s stall. I also had the pleasure of introducing a friend to her first ever banh mi! Boy was she excited! We purchased our banh mi’s and headed out to the river. Eating banh mi looking out at the river having hilarious and highly inappropriate conversations was just about the perfect Friday night. The banh mi itself was also pretty amazing, my friend even commented on the bread, saying how it had the perfect combination of crustiness without being too dry (Yes we discussed the merits of bread crustiness... we really are getting old). As usual, Mrs Luu’s nailed the banh mi. Excellent amount of chilli and all the usual ingredients. I must admit it is getting harder and harder to judge banh mi’s as I am consuming more and more and they really don't vary that much (unless of course the completely mess it up). 

Overall rating: 9/10

Type of Banh mi consumed: Pork

Seriously, my whole weekend would have been ruined if it wasn't for Mum’s Kitchen! 

Banh mi’s were suggested as a afternoon activity so we thought we would head to cafe o’mai. This suggestion made me so excited I felt a little sick (it could have also been because I had consumed too much coffee and very little food so I was starving). Just as excitement was reaching its peak and I thought I could burst from happiness I was informed that cafe o’mai closed at 2pm and it was already 1:45pm! Happiness bubble burst... But I was determined to have banh mi. I remembered a friend had mentioned this bakery in Woolloongabba and she said they were pretty good so I jumped in the car and sped off. They were open and making banh mi! Crisis averted! Banh mi’s were purchased and taken down to my secret chill spot along the Brisbane river. I have to say that the banh mi’s were pretty damn good considering they were pretty basic. They were just a regular old banh mi but they nailed it. They probably could have put more chilli on them and heated the up but overall they rocked. Bread was crunchy and there was enough filling to balance out the bread. They were pretty cheap too, I think I only paid $6.50. I have no idea if they only sell the classic pork one or if they do others so I think I may have to go back (any excuse really for a banh mi). Successful hunt indeed!

Location: Mum’s Kitchen Bakery, Woolloongabba

Type of Banh mi consumed: Classic pork