Banh Mi Quest: Au Petit Cafe

What's a Banh Mi Quest without a visit to Au Petit Cafe?

Au Petit was where I had my first Banh Mi. Every person I've ever talked to loves Au Petit's sandwiches. They were B's favourite when I first brought him there.

Unfortunately, when we visited this past Sunday, Au Petit's Banh Mi did not live up to expectations.

Cost per Sandwich: $5.75
Bread: 2/5 - I remember when I used to go to Au Petit and they'd be sold out of bread on a weekday. Perhaps they're making more bread these days and not selling out, because this bread was tough and tasted stale.
Sauce: 4/5 - The one thing that kept up its standard. The sauce was creamy, flavourful, and there were lots of it.
Filling: 3/5 - The filling has a good crunch to it, but there was not enough and it need more pickling.
Meat: 3/5 - There was plenty of chicken and it was very flavourful, but it could be more moist.
Value: 2/5 - The price has gone up but the quality has gone down. I don't think it's B's favourite Banh Mi anymore.

Banh Mi Quest: Kim Châu Deli

When we were on our way to Pho Thai Hoa last time, we passed by Kim Châu Deli.

There was a picture of a sandwich etched on their window, so we thought their sandwiches must be good. Unfortunately, we were wrong, and though their sandwiches are averagely priced, we won't be returning.

Cost per Sandwich: $4.25
Bread: 2/5 - The bread was dry and tasted stale, but at least it doesn't scratch or hurt our mouths when we eat it.
Sauce: 2/5 - We can see the sauce and taste the moisture, but there was absolutely no flavour to it.
Filling: 2/5 - The vegetables had good texture and amount, but needed more pickling.
Meat: 1/5 - They didn't have shredded chicken, so it was hard to compare. We ordered both roasted pork and shredded pork because we didn't know which one would be the most similar. The roasted pork was very heavily salted and the shredded pork was mixed with something that gave it a strange flavour. There was also not enough meat in both sandwiches.
Value: 2/5 - The sandwiches were cheap comparatively, but not very good.

On a side note, they have a major packaging operation running and we might return to try something else.

Banh Mi Quest: Pho Quynh Express

Apparently Pho Quynh Express open just over a month ago and we had never seen it until this weekend. Only a block or so away, our friends told us the Pho is good, all signs point to this as THE restaurant, THE replacement we've been looking for.

Cost per Sandwich: $5.75
Bread: 3/5 - The bread isn't super dry and hard like it's stale, but it's not fresh and soft either.
Sauce: 0/5 - We couldn't be sure if there was any sauce. It looked like they may have just spread butter on it, because we couldn't taste any sauce and it was very dry. In a way, it was good, because the chicken flavour really stood out.
Filling: 2/5 - There was a good amount of filling, but it also included lettuce, which is not very traditional, and the vegetables weren't pickled enough.
Meat: 4/5 - The chicken was tender and you could taste the flavour, but lacking moisture - probably because there was no sauce. There was a decent amount of chicken though.
Value: 3/5 - A little on the pricier end but it's within walking distance for us. It's not the greatest but the chicken was really quite good.

Banh Mi Quest: Pho Holiday

This Saturday we were in Coquitlam running some errands when we walked past Pho Holiday, a Vietnamese restaurant that also served Banh Mi. Though it'll never make it into our go to, we thought we'd give it a try anyway.

Cost per Sandwich: $5.70 + tax (note there is a $5 minimum order per person at the restaurant)
Bread: 4/5 - The bread was surprisingly good and probably what saved the entire sandwich. It was soft, but still toasted.
Sauce:1/5 - There was barely any sauce so we couldn't even taste it.
Filling: 2/5 - There's a good amount of filling, but not enough pickling.
Meat: 3/5 - It had good barbecue flavour, but a bit dry. It might have helped it there was more sauce.
Value: 2/5 - A little on the pricey side and not exactly a good banh mi, which is too bad because the bread was really, really good.

Banh Mi Quest: Banh Mi Saigon

Even though it is quite out of the way, we decided to visit Banh Mi Saigon because it was recommended by family, friends, and other food critics.

It's a very well-run establishment. From order to pick-up, it only took 2 minutes. Though the Banh Mi here is very good, there were a few flaws that prevent us from choosing it as our replacement Banh Mi go to spot.

Cost per Sandwich: $5
Bread: 3/5 - Though the restaurant smelled like bread, indicating they must bake their bread fresh, we found the crust very hard. The inside of the bread was soft though.
Sauce: 4/5 - Good balance of flavour and has the creamy texture we like, but there wasn't enough.
Filling: 4/5 - Good amount of filling, crunchy and has the pickling taste we were looking for.
Meat: 3/5 - Tender and moist, but startlingly cold.
Value: 4/5 - It's a solid Banh Mi and if we were in the neighbourhood during lunch, we'd definitely go back. Average in price. It's only held back by the hard bread exterior and cold meat.

Banh Mi Quest: Pho Tai Hoa

Today we decided to go try Pho Tai Hoa. I wanted to check it out, as I have seen it many times while driving on Kingsway, and they prominently call themselves a 'Kitchen & Banh Mi Bar'. It also tops this list of top 10 Banh Mi places in Vancouver: https://vancouver.eater.com/maps/vancouvers-top-10-try-before-you-die-banh-mi/pho-thai-hoa.

We ordered two shredded chicken banh mi. One spicy, one not. After waiting more than 15 minutes (in an almost empty restaurant), we received our sandwiches, neither of which had any peppers. The sauce was not your normal banh mi mayo based sauce, but was instead some sort of teriyaki. It was not good. A bad sandwich, poor service, and a touch on the pricey side means we will not likely be coming back.

Cost per Sandwich: $6 + tax
Bread: 3/5 - Soft and toasted at first, but toughens up, like it was microwaved.
Sauce: 1/5 - Not normal cream sauce. Teriyaki-ish, sweet, soy sauce base. Leaves you wanting and overpowers the rest of the flavours in the sandwich.
Filling: 3/5 - Vegetables had a solid crunch, good vinegar taste, good amount, but overpowered by the sauce.
Meat: 2/5 - The meat was ok, nothing special. Not consistent, some pieces were dry, and a few bits of cartilage in the mix. Really suffers from the poor sauce.
Value: 2/5 - Overall not a great sandwich, a tad pricey, poor service.

Banh Mi Quest: Hai Phong

We didn't have access to a car yesterday, which is oftentimes true, so we had to find something that was within walking distance of the service centre (and we hadn't tried before). B found a couple that was close to Stadium Station and off we went. We spotted Hai Phong first, so we decided to try it and save Qieu Cafe for another time.

I almost never pay attention to the stores around T&T, so we wouldn't have found Hai Phong if we didn't specifically google search "Banh Mi". Hai Phong has a good, solid banh mi, but the unfortunate thing about it is that it's pricey and the price doesn't include tax. If the price were lower, we would definitely come back.

Cost per Sandwich: $7.50 + tax
Bread: 3/5 - Not fresh, but not bad either. It's still crispy. A bit dry, but not tough.
Sauce: 3/5 - Creamy, but could use more seasoning. The lemongrass chicken kind of overpowers the sauce.
Filling: 4/5 - Not enough, but has good texture and a crisp strong pickle taste.
Meat: 4/5 - Lemongrass flavour is strong, but it was juicy, tender, and had a good amount.
Value: 2/5 - It's a slightly above average banh mi, but at a significantly higher price.

Banh Mi Quest: Battle of the Ba-Les

Everyone says Ba-Le has great banh mi because they bake their own bread in-house. What's the difference between the two Ba-Les then? We went and tried them both. First up, Ba-Le Sandwich Shop (Chinatown).

We had high hopes. It was a small hole-in-the-wall mom-and-pops kind of place. Our old favourite (Golden Garden, who's stopped selling sandwiches now and sparked this quest) was just a block away. Everything pointed to this being our potential replacement. Unfortunately, it did not deliver.

Cost per Sandwich: $4.00

Bread: 1/5 - As soon as you touch it, you know it's stale. It was too dry and too flaky.

Sauce: 1/5 - The consistency is very thick, which may be why it didn't spread and ended up being so little of it we couldn't tell there was any sauce at all

Filling: 2/5 - Too much onion, not enough chicken or anything else. The onion is all you taste.

Meat: 1/5 - Barely there and too dry.

Value: 2/5 - Average price. We would eat it again if we had no other choice, but it's hardly worth it.

There's a reason the Ba-Le on Main Street is a "Sandwich shop" and the one on Kingsway is a "Deli and Bakery". The bread here is baked in-house and just about as fresh as you can get it. There's always a line, so it pays to call ahead to order - unlike the one on Main Street, where it's set up like a subway and made immediately. This is likely another hint at how everything at Main Street's just not as fresh as Kingsway.

Cost per Sandwich: $4.50
Bread: 5/5 - Even though it's toasted, it still feels soft, fresh, and moist.
Sauce: 4/5 - Good consistency and amount, but could do with more seasoning.
Filling: 3/5 - Good texture and flavour of vegetables, decent amount of chicken, but not enough vegetables.
Meat: 4/5 - Good amount of chicken and moist, but could do with more seasoning.
Value: 4/5 - Pricier than other places, but worth it. The bread is the freshest we've had.

Winner: Ba-Le Deli & Bakery (Kingsway)

Banh Mi Quest: Fami Pho

We found Fami Pho by searching for "Vietnamese food" on Google maps.

It fit the criteria of being within walking distance and having "Sandwich" advertised on their awning. Fami Pho makes a pretty good banh mi and would definitely be our "go to" place after the Banh Mi Quest.

Cost per sandwich: $4.75
Bread: 4/5 - Very good. Soft on the inside, crispy on the outside, but not too hard
Sauce: 4/5 - Creamy and has a good balance of flavour
Filling: 3/5 - Vegetables have a good crunch to it, but do with more filling and could be more pickled
Meat: 4/5 - Chicken is tender and flavourful
Value: 4/5 - Solid banh mi, but kind of small

Banh Mi Quest: Yen Linh

Today we went to Banh Mi Yen Linh. This restaurant was recommended by a fellow Banh Mi enthusiast.

With "Banh Mi" in its restaurant name, we thought, "Their banh mi has to be good." It was. The banh mi here sets a good baseline to build on. One downside is that they don't have regular chicken sandwiches, but they do have lemongrass chicken.

Cost per sandwich: $5
Bread: 3/5 - very toasted (hard), which is a hint that it's not freshly baked
Sauce: 3/5 - tastes fine, but not evenly spread and there wasn't enough of it
Filling: 3/5 - good amount, but not enough pickle flavour
Meat: 3/5 - has a very strong lemongrass flavour, but a bit dry
Value: 3/5 - more expensive, but we won't mind eating it again