There are countless banh mi vendors in Saigon selling sardine sandwiches, but the absolute best version is made at a hip deli named Ta Banh Mi Thit.
Ta Banh Mi Thit falls under the genre of Vietnamese-owned eateries that are designed with western aesthetics in mind. They have a professional-looking logo, matching uniforms, a menu with pictures and the staff even wears gloves! Even though I usually try to avoid pretty places like these, their bánh mì cá sardine keeps me coming back.
Priced at 13,000 VND, the bánh mì cá sardine is more than twice the cost of the ones sold street side, but the quality and flavors cannot be matched. The baguette is made in-house and toasted to a crisp. The canned sardines, which come packed in a tomato sauce, are gently heated and kept whole. The best part of the sandwich are the sauteed onions, which are scattered on top. Throw in some fresh cucumber spears, cilantro and pickled carrots and daikon, and you’ve got a killer sandwich.
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259 Le Thanh Ton Street
District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Phone: 8229703
369 Nguyễn Thượng Hiền Street
District 10, Ho Chi Minh City
Phone: 2406007
There are now hip banh mi restaurants?! That’s cool. I remember Graham at Noodlepie remarking that the banh mi restaruant niche had yet to be exploited.
Still though, it’s hard to beat the atmosphere of sitting down on a little plastic stool along the side of the road for a banh mi. And the freshness too.
There seems to be hip renditions of everything these days. It’s a little bananas. If the street vendors sauteed their onions and warmed up their sardines, I’d be all over em 😉