Banh Mi's Back Story

Last week our investigation into the origins of perhaps Asia's favorite sandwich -- banh mi -- was published in Wall Street Journal Asia. Read the story here.

If you saw our May post on op la -- a delectable a.m. pan-fry of eggs, charcuterie, and sausage -- it will probably come as no surprise that our favorite banh mi in Saigon is served up at the same shop, Hoa Ma Quan. 

Unsurprisingly, it comes down to the quality of the ingredients.

 

This shop makes its own mayonnaise and pate, daily. They're both so good all they really need is a crusty loaf, but they really add something special to the house banh mi.

Also, that bread -- it's kept warm in an old-fashioned 'oven' of stacked metal trays suspended over a single charcoal-fired burner. When your banh mi arrives the bread is warmed through and through, and the crust is super crackly.

Hoa Ma Quan's pickle is also something special, wide strips of carrot and cucumber and a little daikon with just the perfect sugar-vinegar sweetish tang. Here, if you order your banh mi to go they pack the pickle separately so that its juices don't soggify the bread.

These folks take their banh mi pretty seriously. Which makes for some pretty happy customers.

Hoa Ma Quan, 53 Cao Thang, District 3; no phone; 6 a.m. to noon (often sold out by 11 a.m.)

To read our other contributions in this WSJA series on Asia's iconic dishes, click dish names from the list below:

Chengdu: Mapo Dofu

Chiang Mai: Khao Soi

Singapore (and Malaysia's) Chinese New Year Specialty: Yu Sheng/Yee Sang

Manila: Lechon

Melaka: Debal

Penang: Asam Laksa

Jogjakarta: Ayam Goreng Jogja

Jakarta: Gado-Gado

Saigon: Canh Chua

Hoi An: Cao Lau

Comments

[Katy]

Oye! Where is Taiwan - Oyster Omelet?! Have you forgotten something.

[Robyn]

Katy we weren't the only ones working on the series -- though we did do more than any other writers/photographers! Someone did Taipei beef noodles like 5 yrs ago, I think. There's still lots of Asia to cover but the series may be ending soon.

[Rob]

mmm, world sandwiches! this sounds really nice.

[chau]

As a Vietnamese who grew up in Vietnam but is currently living in the US, I find the preparation of the pate in US banh mi OK some of the time and VERY disappointing most of the time. The pate as made in Vietnam (or at least in the city of Da Nang where I lived) contains day old bread as a filler(perhaps out of necessity at first) and A LOT of both garlic and crushed black pepper as well as salt and sugar and a hint of Chinese 5-spice powder. This makes for an extremely tasty and fragrant pate. The addition of old bread not only gives the pate a drier and coarse texture as opposed to the wet texture that some people compare to sh#%, it also cuts down on the livery smell that many American customers find unappealing. Some banh mi shops in New York even got rid of the pate altogether and substitute ground pork instead. That, to me, is sacrilegious.

[the lacquer spoon]

Your post simply reminds me of the culinary impression in my trip to Vietnam of long ago. While the stuffing was good enough, I was more in love with the distinctive wheaty baguette of banh mi on its own! There’re some cafes and eateries to serve banh mi in Tokyo, but without reconstruct the baguette, it seems hard to make decent banh mi.

There is no man but loves banh mi :)

[Migrationology]

I'm on my way to Viet Nam in a couple of weeks and looking forward to eating my fill of banh mi. Can't wait, these pictures are getting me excited!

[Thefridaylunch.wordpress.com]

Thanks for a great post! I visited Saigon in September and made sure to stop by Hoa Ma Quan for Op La(twice), thanks to your blog. Luckily, it was only two blocks from my hotel! The bread was quite possibly the best I've tasted...slathered with mayo, pate and runny yolk...phenomenal stuff. My post on it is here: http://thefridaylunch.wordpress.com/2010/09/12/breakfast-in-saigon/

Keep up the great work...you are one of my favorite reads.