Bánh Mì Huỳnh Hoa

Ordered in the GOAT again. Pretty much the must-eat when we return. I was quite full so couldn't finish.

Recommended by the hotel receptionist. It became the greatest banh mi I've ever eaten. I thought banh mis were nice but had a ceiling due to the combination of ingredients. This sandwich broke that ceiling. It contained the usual suspects, but there were also extremely umami mystery things. The pate, which is always a key ingredient, was very generous and pronounced. Maybe because it's local, the filling was also overflowing, unlike in Singapore. Finally, the baguette was crunchy and fragrant.

Evidently the most popular banh mi(even amongst locals) judging by the queue here that’s lacking at other well-known banh mi joints we visited. What you get is a straight up classic filled with layers of cold cuts, pate and lots of tangy pickled vegetables and cilantro in a crunchy, fluffy baguette, with the faintly pungent whiff of fish sauce. They also include some cut chilli in it, so if you don’t want a spicy surprise, request that they leave that out. I’ve seen some reviews criticising the fatty, cheap cuts of processed meat, but I enjoy that sort of thing in a banh mi anyway.

Taste: 3.5/5

With a seeming cult following of its own, Huynh Hoa masses a sizable queue the moment it rolls out for the day; which also means the staff aren’t all that friendly and you’ve gotta deal with their “ugh tourists” expressions. Their bahn mi is significantly larger than Hong Hoa’s (longer baguette and stuffed to the brim with cold-cut meats), and there’s only one option on the menu so you really don’t have much to think about. Crusty baguette: tick, though I found it a tad harder than Hong Hoa’s. Crunchy veggies and chilli: tick, and note the kick from the chilli’s a lot more aggressive. Meats: tick, a mountain of mixed cold cuts that classic bahn mi enthusiasts would enjoy. At almost double the price of Hong Hoa’s, I gotta say it’s definitely well worth your buck for the generous layers of meats piled on. My only reserve is I’m not the biggest fan of that gelatinous sliced cold-cut, and that they’re moving at such an automated pace you can’t really ask them to kindly remove “neh that one I don’t like”.

Don’t get me wrong, this is a very good banh mi but it’s just that the other two places that I’ve been to are so much tastier even though they do not have a reputation as big as Bánh Mì Huỳnh Hoa. With a legendary standing and mass following, Bánh Mì Huỳnh Hoa is so popular that there will queues of people in line waiting throughout their operating hours. It can even afford to open only from 3:30pm onwards daily but yet sales have definitely not been affected a single bit. Only having a single item in the menu and easily one of the more expensive sandwiches around at 36.000 VND each, you will be rewarded with slices of meat, pate, pork floss and pickled vegetables inside the baguette. However, there is just something that I cannot put my head and palate to that is lacking which makes this ranked 3rd in my list.
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Bánh Mì Huỳnh Hoa
Address: 26, Lê Thị Riêng, Bến Thành, 1, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam

I am not kidding when I say this is the tastiest "Banh Mi" I've ever eaten! 😋😋😋
Which explains the non-stop flow of locals at this takeaway-only shop. It seems to me like they sell one standard version of it but I am not complaining. Their "Banh Mi" involves a crisp and light baguette packed with creamy pate, a few types of mixed cold cuts, boiled pork belly, loads of crunchy pickled vegetables, some mayo and a smear of margarine. The staff will check if you want chilli or not and I recommend you go for it if you can handle the heat. Theirs is not a sauce but pieces of very spicy chilli. Super "shiok"!