The Viet Roti (Tai Seng)

The craze over Banh Mi seems to have died down a little of the late; that doesn’t quite mean that there aren’t Banh Mi-centric establishments which are opening their doors around the island. The opening of Grantral Mall / Complex @ MacPherson has seen quite a number of new F&B concepts moving into the mall; we had previously written about Jae's Kitchen 见兴 that had opened for quite some time in the mall. The Viet Roti is one of the latest F&B concepts to have moved into Grantral Mall / Complex @ MacPherson, taking up the shop unit that is located right beside the outlet of Kao Ge Yu 犒个鱼 there. With the shop space occupied by The Viet Roti being of the same size as the one that Jae’s Kitchen and Kao age Yu is located in, the folks at The Viet Roti had pretty much dedicated the area behind the metal shutters of the shop to be the ordering counter and food preparation area for the establishment. This leaves only the space allocated to the unit outside of the metal shutters as the only area with seatings dedicated for dine-in patrons. Considering how the space is, the decor for the space is more on the functional side; the space still being bright and modern with wooden furniture and fittings that also comes with rattan accents. We thought that the design of the printed menu does have a slight resemblance to that of a particular fast food chain serving up sandwiches — the colours and font type being oddly familiar. That being said, it is clear that The Viet Roti is an establishment that does not serve up pork; while the menu appears to be pretty Banh Mi-centric, there are also rather inventive versions of Banh Mi served up here like the Curry Sets — essentially a Plain Banh Mi served with curry / rendang on the side. Side dishes like Seaweed Fries with Shredded Parmesan Cheese and Fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls are also available, while beverages served up at The Viet Roti includes Vietnamese-style drip coffee, espresso-based specialty coffee, as well as a range of tea sourced from Twinnings and other drinks such as an Iced Strawberry Lemonade Soda and a Lemongrass Drink.

After having quite a number of iterations of the Special Banh Mi / Banh Mi Dac Biet from various establishments that tends to feature a number of cold cuts that are sandwiched in between the Vietnamese baguette, the thought that it would be a good if we switch things up a little at The Viet Roti; this is considering how The Viet Roti’s menu does not comprise of any dishes with the serving of pork — we had also noticed that the signature Banh Mi which The Viet Roti has to offer is their Lemongrass Beef Slice Banh Mi with Pineapple Chilli. Patrons do get a choice in deciding whether or not they would prefer for their order of the Lemongrass Beef Slice Banh Mi with Pineapple Chilli to be accompanied with chili — we went ahead with the addition of chilli for our order. At The Viet Roti, patrons will make their orders at the counter; the receipt issued upon payment will consist of the order number which would be called upon from the display at the back of the store once the order is prepared and ready for collection. On first sight, the Lemongrass Beef Slice Banh Mi with Pineapple Chilli has a pretty aesthetic that was colourful from the inclusion of pickled vegetables and bird’s eye chili. Taking a bite into the Lemongrass Beef Slice Banh Mi with Pineapple Chilli, we did feel that the Vietnamese baguette here is a little bit on the drier side; while it did carry a good crunch, it wasn’t particularly easy to chew through. We did find out that the liquid from the pickled vegetables, the pate and the margarine spread all seemed to have occupied different spots within the sandwich itself; this also meant that some flavours were missing from a particularly spot given where one decides to land a bite into the sandwich. While the pineapple chili provided a tangy spiciness that tingles the tastebuds almost in the same way as the chili from Hainanese-style chicken rice would, the beef slices were a little tough to chew — a bit of a shame since the marination of the meat with lemongrass was quite on point here, though not helped by the texture of the baguette itself at the same time.

The Viet Roti is a spot that seemed to be pretty promising with their corporate-style photographs which they have used when the space was still undergoing renovations and that they were also teasing on the offerings that they have on the menu before the establishment had opened its doors. Having visited The Viet Roti after seeing their marketing collateral prior to the opening of their space, we felt that The Viet Roti had fell a little bit short on expectations with what they have to offer. No doubt that The Viet Roti is a spot that serves up a new style of Banh Mi with a modern touch; that being said, we did find some of their offerings a little cheesy — items such as the Smoked Chicken Bockwurst Sausage Banh Mi, Truffle Tuna Mayonnaise Banh Mi and the Crispy Battered Fish Fillet Banh Mi do seem like items that are particularly difficult to relate to and feel less true to the Vietnamese baguette experience as compared to their other offerings such as the Lemongrass Beef Slice Banh Mi with Pineapple Chilli. With regard to the quality of the Banh Mi, they could perhaps look into the overall recipe — from how the beef slices are being prepared, to the texture of the baguettes that they use, as well as how the spreads and other elements are being applied to on the baguette itself; there does seem to be some potential with the flavour combination of the Lemongrass Beef Slice Banh Mi with Pineapple Chilli, but there is certainly a need to refine the offering further to give it that oomph that it should carry on its own. Apart from the Lemongrass Beef Slice Banh Mi with Pineapple Chilli, we also had the Hot Signature Viet Drip Coffee with Condensed Milk — this interestingly came with condensed milk served on the side rather than inside the coffee cup to allow patrons to customise their preferred level of sweetness for the coffee. Prices of the Banh Mi offerings ranges from $6.80 to $8.80; that being said, we would prefer the Banh Mi from Banh Mi Be Bi in Lian Bee Coffee Shop in the nearby Joo Seng estate instead. Still hoping the folks at The Viet Roti would be able to refine their offerings as time goes along and that operations smoothen out though!