Enter the big shiny machine known as Lee’s Sandwiches. Started out of a food truck in San Jose by a Mr. Chieu Le in 1980, Lee’s Sandwiches has morphed into a global franchise with 100’s of locations. Lee’s makes their own baguette and has an extensive menu of sandwiches both Vietnamese style and European. Lee’s also sells packaged frozen egg rolls and Ice coffee concentrate. Some Lee’s even offer drive-thru service just like the big boys.

So was I wrong to prejudge Lee’s? Is it possible that quality is not lost in a mass produced homogeneous environment? What do you think? NOT! I see no reason to come back to Lee’s when less then a mile down the street you can get your bahn mi made with real mom and pop love at Saigon’s Sandwiches and Bakery.

Let’s start with the baguette; the crust is not roof of your mouth friendly. Too crunchy on the outside with little depth of flavor or texture from the inside. The filling, eh OK, the pork while pretty good was meager. The iced coffee and Thai ice tea were all ice; three sips and they’re gone. The egg rolls however were pretty good. I guess I would consider buying a box if I was entertaining….maybe.

Big Shiny Machine

Nice Branding

Eh, not all that

Too much Ice

Share on Facebook

First thing you notice when you walk into Golden Deli Vietnamese Restaurant is how comfortable, inviting and warm the wood panel and mirrored interior is. We likes, this is definitely part of it’s charm and I’m sure one reason there’s always a line during peak hours. Sis and I however are super stealth detectives and always make it a habit to arrive fashionably early (11:40). Who needs the lines?

The Pho? Perfection, that’s all I can say about it. Perfectly aromatic broth with tender rare beef, chewy noodles and all the fixings!! This is now my favorite spot for Pho. They have got it down. The service was also quite good and bilingual. Next time we go I’m going to try the Bun and they even have Bahn Mi. Oh Heaven…..

Fresh Lime Soda – tasty but beware lot’s of sugar

Egg Rolls with Vegetables – use the lettuce like a tortilla, sprinkle with herbs then dip in sauce MMMMM!

Most Magical Rare Beef Pho

Aromatic Herbs and Sprouts to add to your Pho

Share on Facebook

First up Nem Nuong Khanh Hoa in Alhambra.  Located in a nondescript SGV mini-mall, this small formica tabled fluorescently lit dive is typical of the area.  Sis and I walk in and immediately feel conspicuously non-asian; a good sign.  Another good sign was the heavenly aroma of Vietnamese broth coming out of the kitchen.  Both of us being purists we order the Rare Beef Pho and add a side of Pork and Shrimp spring rolls.  How was it?  The broth was beautifully fragrant with plenty of Star Anise which I happen to love.  With great chewy rice noodles and lovely fresh rare beef this added up to a praise worthy bowl.  The surprise of the meal was the pork and shrimp spring rolls.  The rolls were made with fried shrimp which was a new yummy twist for me and the sauce was surprisingly delicate; not too sweet.  We’ll be back.

More info- What makes a good Pho?

Beautiful Rare Beef Pho

Pork and Shrimp Spring Roll

Inside Pork and Shrimp Spring Roll

Share on Facebook

The Heavenly Xiao Long Bao

How to Eat XLB’s part 1

Create your dipping sauce with fresh ginger, soy, vinegar and chili sauce as  you like.

Dip dumpling in sauce transfer to soup spoon top with ginger.

How to Eat XLB’s part 2

While dumpling is on spoon carefully bite a hole in the top to let hot soup out.

Wait a second to cool and pop that beauty into your mouth.

Excellent Hot and Sour Soup not too starchy with good sour balance

Fresh Crunchy Garlic Green Beans

Chicken Fried Noodles  – a little light on seasoning but nothing a bit of soy can’t fix

Share on Facebook

Saigon’s bakes their own bread and if you buy 3 sandwiches you get to take home a free baguette.  They also gives you the option of having your sandwich on either traditional baguette or a torpedo style roll.  Sis and I both opted for #16 Grilled Pork with paté on traditional baguette and Daughter got the shredded chicken on baguette with an avocado boba smoothie.

So what makes Saigon’s Sandwich & Bakery the best in our judgement?  First off, there’s nothing like fresh baked bread  and this one is perfect; crusty on the outside without being hard enough to scratch the roof of your mouth, soft, sweet, chewy and moist on the inside.  Second, the proportions and fillings were just right; the pork succulent and sweet, light and creamy paté, hint of mayo, the pickles crisp not too vinegary, fresh jalapeños and a nice sprig of cilantro.  A beautiful balance of good clean flavors.  For my $2.25 Saigon’s Sandwich and Bakery reigns supreme.  Oh, I almost forgot to mention their crispy egg rolls are also noteworthy.

The reigning champ! #16 Grilled Pork Banh Mi

Daughters choice Chicken Banh Mi (she still prefers the Beef @ Tapioca and Pho)

Don’t leave without some most excellent egg rolls

Share on Facebook

Share on Facebook

After we order and get a number we notice that they do have table service and that everyone seems to be ordering the Pho.  Will have to try that on the next visit.  Banh Mi Che Cali also has a crazy Boba selection with a toppings bar you can add to it.  We just got the plain Green Tea with no milk, I know boring.

The sandwiches arrive and behold, this is different.  The pickles and jalapenos are served on the side and there is NO CILANTRO.  Hmmm, at this point I did not have high hopes.  We assemble our sandwiches and take a bite.  The bread was good, soft chewy on the sweet side. The pickles were perfectly marinated not too vinegary.  The mayo was just enough not too much and the fillings were solid.  I liked the BBQ Pork the best.

Who wins?  I really can’t call it.  I think I preferred the meat fillings of Banh Mi My Tho but I didn’t like the lack of mayo, over vinegary pickles and the added peanuts were just too much.  On the otherhand, I preferred the bread, pickles and mayo at Banh Mi Che Cali but no cilantro was a total buzz kill.  If we had to pick I think Sis and I both lean towards  Banh Mi Che Cali , maybe bring some cilantro, but I think I need to continue this battle.  Keep you posted!

Bahn Mi Che Cali Counter

Bag of Jalapenos and Pickled Veggies

BBQ Pork

BBQ Pork assembled and enjoyed!

Beef- sort of like a hamburger but spiced with typical Vietnamese spices

Shredded Pork Skin-actually leaner that we thought it would be.  I couldn’t get past the massive amounts of raw green and white onion but Sis liked it.

Share on Facebook

I recruit my ever willing and curious Sis and we load up the kids to grab some sandwiches and have a nice picnic.  Finding Banh Mi My Tho was simple enough for us, thanks to our dumpling tour we now know this area pretty well.  Banh Mi My Tho is a tiny little place with just a counter and some refrigerator cases.  We get there early about 12:00 on a Tuesday and the place is humming but not too busy.  I’ve read it can get so busy that it’s confusing to determine who’s in line to order and who’s waiting.  I ordered the #8 Grilled Pork, Daughter ordered the #9 Grilled Beef and Sis ordered the #8 Grilled pork with added paté.  We also tried the eggrolls and one skewer of pork meatballs.  Egg Rolls were good while we waited for sandwiches; crispy, a little oily and perfectly meaty. Meatballs equally delicious.

So how were the Banh Mi’s?  I’m starting to understand the many debates on this subject.  This sandwich is all about balance of texture and flavors and that is quite subjective.  You may like your bread softer or less pickled veggies or more mayo etc etc.  Overall I liked this one, it had an added bonus sprinkling of chopped peanuts although I think I prefer mine without it.  I wish it had more mayo (they may have used butter instead I’m not sure) and  the meat had good flavor but not as flavorful as the filling at Tapioca & Pho.  The Pork with Paté was OK.  It was kind of light on the paté and the paté itself didn’t have a whole lot of flavor.  I think I still like Tapioca & Pho best so far.

Banh Mi #8 Grilled Pork – I give it a 4 out of 5

Banh Mi #9 Grilled Beef – just as good as #8 a 4

Share on Facebook

My Usual- Wok Tossed Chicken Lunch Special with Iced Green Tea

Daughter and the Mr.’s Usual- Gingergrass Tofu Lunch Special with Vietnamese Iced Coffee (decaf for the young one)

Share on Facebook

This being my first Banh Mi I had nothing to  compare it to but I LOVED this sandwich.  I got the grilled pork and my daughter got the grilled beef.  On both sandwiches the meat filling was wonderfully marinated and had a sweet glaze to it countered with the crunchy garnishes on a soft baguette and the perfect amount of mayo. It was truly an amazing balance of flavors.  Mmmmm… move over dumplings I’ve got a new obsession.

Exterior

Anyone who knows me knows that 11 is my lucky number, most auspicious

Pork Bahn Mi sweet savory sour crunchy soft creamy goodness

The equally delectable Grilled Beef Bahn Mi

Daughters Milk Tea Boba (she enjoyed it)

Share on Facebook