When banh mày emerged in the 20th century, the version in Hanoi tended to lớn be small, while the sandwiches in HCMC ballooned with cold cuts, cooked meats, pickles, & sauces


If you’ve eaten banh mi, Vietnam’s famous sandwich, outside of its homeland, it’s fair to say that you already have a rough idea of what lớn expect in Ho bỏ ra Minh City. Most of the world’s Vietnamese emigrants hail from the country’s south, including the city formerly known as Saigon, và they have carried their culinary traditions and sensibilities with them.

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Banh mày with chile sauce at bánh mỳ Bảy Hổ.
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bánh mì thịt nướng (grilled pork patties) at bánh mì Hồng Hoa.

What is a Ho chi Minh City-style banh mi?

Wheat-based, oven-baked bread was introduced by the French, who had been visiting Vietnam since the 17th century (long before they colonized the area in the 19th century). But according khổng lồ Andrea Nguyen, author of The Banh ngươi Handbook, the term “banh mi” didn’t appear until 1945.

The style of banh mày that emerged in Hanoi, in the country’s north, was a minimalist affair that had much more in common with its French roots: with bread, a bit of protein, & one or two seasonings. But when the sandwich arrived in HCMC around 60 years ago, the city made banh mày its own. “People in HCMC lượt thích to live large, so the sandwiches tend to be bigger & more loaded up than elsewhere,” says Nguyen. Today, banh mi is arguably more beloved and ubiquitous there than it is elsewhere in Vietnam.


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A row of plastic tables và chairs at bánh mì Hòa Mã.
HCMC-style banh mi are typically immense, combining as many as eight types of meat và a smear of pate, a generous helping of crunchy pickled vegetables, a tangle of fresh herbs, and lashings of mayonnaise, soy sauce, black pepper, và perhaps even chile sauce, all in a crispy, shell-like roll (baguette isn’t really an accurate descriptor anymore) bulging lượt thích Popeye’s arms. In addition to lớn girth, a particularly good HCMC-style banh ngươi should have equal parts crunch (from both the bread and pickled vegetables) và meat, with the condiments and seasonings providing a pleasant but not overwhelming counter to the proteins.

The bread

“The classic Hanoi-style banh mày bread is chewy, heavy, closer khổng lồ a French baguette,” says Peter Cuong Franklin, the Vietnamese American chef-owner of Anan and Nhau Nhau in HCMC. But this loaf underwent some significant changes in Ho đưa ra Minh City. “​​In Saigon, it’s all about speed, time, & money,” says Cuong Franklin. “ need to lớn get out as soon as possible.” This means loaves that are baked with lots of water, leavening agents, & stabilizers at a very high temperature, with little variation among vendors or bakers.

The result is the standard HCMC-style banh mi roll, a downright blimp-like loaf with three slits that allow maximum expansion while baking, a thin crust that shatters when you bite into it, and a light, airy crumb.

And although baking snobs may scoff at banh ngươi bread, former Pok Pok chef-owner Andy Ricker, who has been obsessed with baking the perfect roll for years now, says, “The ethereal loaf does exactly what it is made for: delivering the stuffing without interfering in the flavors, offering little more resistance lớn your bite than a slightly crunchy cloud.”


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A vendor at work on the streets of HCMC.

The fillings

According lớn Cuong Franklin, in the north, banh mày was often served at charcuterie shops, which focused on very choice, select meats, leading to relatively minimalist sandwiches. “, it’s the other way around,” he says. Instead of charcuterie sellers bringing in bread for sandwiches, “ bakeries buy their charcuterie from outside.”

In place of a small thực đơn of French-style meats, HCMC’s vendors serve a massive spread of long-lasting, quick-serve thịt nguội, Vietnamese cold cuts. A single bánh mì thịt nguội, sometimes shortened to bánh mỳ thịt, can include pork liver pate, chả lụa/giò lụa (steamed sausage, made with or without pepper), giò thủ (headcheese), và an array of other meats.

“It takes a lot of work to prepare chất lượng Viet charcuterie, from pate to headcheese,” says Nguyen, who adds that her ideal banh mi order must include these items. “I want to lớn see how good the banh ngươi maker is.”

Other popular meats are xíu mại (pork meatballs, served plain in a tomatoey sauce or in a broth with bread on the side), giết mổ nướng (grilled pork patties or skewers), & gà xé (chicken floss). You may also see xá xíu (Chinese-style roasted pork), chà bông (pork floss), cá mòi (sardines), chả cá (deep-fried fish cake), và bì (strands of pork skin). If you’re overwhelmed by the choices, opt for quánh biệt, the “special,” which typically means more meat. “I’m often ordering bánh mì đặc biệt quan trọng in Ho chi Minh city to get a fully loaded banh mi,” says Nguyen. “It’s the works, and that’s what I’m in town for!”

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Ren and I are planning on going back soon và staying longer-term in Vietnam. Though we vị feel that Hanoi is the more liveable city, there’s no question in our minds that the best food in Vietnam is in Saigon. Hanoi has my beloved bun phụ thân and ca phe trung but overall, we prefer the food in Saigon.

We published the first edition of this Saigon food guide in 2017 và it listed ten eateries. Ten wasn’t nearly enough to do this delicious city justice, so we recently went back khổng lồ Vietnam to finish what we started.

I spent a month in Vietnam & almost a week in Ho chi Minh city looking for the tastiest restaurants, street food stalls, và cafes this đô thị had lớn offer. The result is this new and improved guide featuring 25 of the best restaurants in Saigon.

If you’re visiting Ho bỏ ra Minh City & enjoy traditional Vietnamese food as much as we do, then this Saigon restaurant guide will be very useful khổng lồ you.


SAIGON RESTAURANTS QUICK LINKS

To help plan your trip lớn Ho chi Minh City, I’ve compiled links to hotels, tours, và other services here.

HOTELS

Top-rated hotels in Dictrict 1, the most convenient area lớn stay for people on their first trip lớn Ho đưa ra Minh City.

Xem thêm: Những Stt Dành Cho Người Yêu Cũ Hay Nhất, Những Câu Nói, Stt Về Người Yêu Cũ Hay Nhất

TOURS

OTHER SERVICES

SAIGON TRAVEL GUIDE

Before you visit Ho đưa ra Minh City, be sure to check out our detailed Saigon travel guide. It’ll have all the information you need – lượt thích where to stay, how to get around, which cafes to lớn visit, etc. – khổng lồ help you plan your trip.


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Ca Phe vì Phu

Address: 72 Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, Phường 5, Quận 3, Hồ Chí Minh, VietnamOperating Hours: 7AM-10PM, dailyWhat to Order: Com tam suon nuongWhat We Paid: VND 30,000-45,000 for com tam suon nuong