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2015-12-23
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I was introduced to Cóm Bánh Mì in a manner by which many patrons have and will be introduced, in an exchange that goes something like: "lol I tried this new Vietnamese place in Wan Chai. Get this, the Chef's name is Phuc Dat Bich! Asians are so funny haha".But when you dig past the school yard jokes, any true connoisseur of the bánh mì will realize that the punch line is lame. A good bánh mì is a thing of beauty. It's complex. It's complicated (although the best bánh mì's I've procured have bee
But when you dig past the school yard jokes, any true connoisseur of the bánh mì will realize that the punch line is lame. A good bánh mì is a thing of beauty. It's complex. It's complicated (although the best bánh mì's I've procured have been from road side stalls in Hanoi for about a buck and change). It's the complex but happy handshake between Western (bread making, pate, etc) and Eastern (fish sauce, roasted proteins, etc) techniques.
This is not a complex bánh mì ($45 for the chicken and duck version), nor is it a good bánh mì. They should just call it a 'bland mi'. The pate was a shadow of what it should be, wan and insipid. The bread, which was squishy in the manner of a Portuguese pão (not that there is anything wrong with that, but not for this particular application) instead of the crackly exterior and dense crumb of a proper French demi-baguette. If the veg (cucumber, carrots, radish) had seen an ounce of pickling liquid, then I am the Queen of France. Somewhere along the way, the shredded chicken and duck get lost in the mix.
To be fair, I did love the abundance of fresh herbs - not a strict requirement for a proper bánh mì but a matter of personal preference. Plenty of sauces - hot sauce, fish sauce, etc - are on hand, and boy are they necessary. The service was polite and prompt.
It's easy to be seduced by the attractive store front and cheeky jokes. One might think the restaurant is laughing with us. Instead, the joke is on us.
chicken and duck banh mi
$45
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