Woodlands is that sort of space where F&B choices can be said to be a little limited — no doubt there are quite a good number of basic options that involve local or more commercialised fare, but there aren’t many options when it comes to anything past that. Was pretty excited to hear about the existence of Miss Banh Mi at Woodlands North Plaza (or 883, as most in the neighbourhood would call it) — the establishment being just a takeaway stand located just beside New Odense Bakery within the neighbourhood mall. Being more of a simple kiosk, Miss Banh Mi does offer a few variations of the Vietnamese baguette, as well as some Vietnamese Bee Hoon dishes alongside spring rolls as well.
It wasn’t difficult to make a choice from the various Banh Mi that they offer here — settling with the BBQ Pork Banh Mi, the ladies behind the counter toasts the baguette and assembles the Banh Mi upon order. Thought the baguette itself is fairly decent here — there isn’t much to shout about but we did like the crispness to it, though it doesn’t have that underlying bite that gives a little more dimension texturally like those that I have tried from joints that actually do make their own Banh Mi baguettes. For our order, the baguette comes lined with chunks of BBQ Pork within, whilst also coming with pickled vegetables and coriander; the baguette is also spread with a mix of meat pâté and butter for a savoury note. Always enjoyed that combination of the meat pâté with crunchy pickled vegetables that is tangy and refreshing as it cuts across that sweet-ish BBQ Pork here — while the chunks of BBQ Pork can be said as fibrous, we found it interesting how the flavours here seemingly resembled that of Taiwan mini sausages; not what we have initially expected but also a flavour profile which we didn’t quite mind.
To be fair, Miss Banh Mi isn’t the spot that warrants the rush to go down for some spectacular tasting Banh Mi — it doesn’t offer an experience that is out of the world (at least the item we tried didn’t), but it does resolve cravings at the very least; and that is perhaps what it is all about.
