The mayo is actually just emulsified egg yolk and oil. Easy to make and you can kick it up a notch by frying garlic and shallots into the oil before hand. Add a little Better than Boullion into the emulsification, and you got some crazy good flavor-town Vietnamese mayo.
I wonder if Vi's sandwiches still have similar prices. Some of the fancy 'hip' restaurants like Saigon Hustle charge $10-16 for a smallish sized banh mi. It's getting crazy out there. Thanks for the video!
Thien An downtown is the best all time in Houston. I started eating there in 1990 when they were in the mall. Thien An has moved locations a couple of times since then, but they're still the best imo. One of the ladies I first met in 1990 was still working there last time I went.
Don Cafe is the old school fave. It’s been around since the 90’s and I think what sets them apart is they use a sprinkle of Maggi sauce, and the bread is always toasted fresh for each sandwich (I don’t think they make their own bread tho. I think they use the Pan Francais or bolillos from Fiesta Mart bc I saw a Fiesta truck delivering them once when I went early in the morning to get one). Lee’s is a chain from Cali and honestly thought it was bland when it first came to Houston in the early 2000’s. Their cold cut banh mi’s are ok. The mayo is your basic homemade mayo, but it doesn’t use as much acid as American mayo uses. I asked my local ban mi shop owners why the mayo is sometimes really yellow bc his isn’t, and he said the mayo is traditionally made w just egg yolks, but some shops use the whites too to save $, and then add yellow food coloring to make it look like they only used yolks, and then they temper and thicken it with cornstarch.
@@gummydogs back in the early 2000’s I know Don’s bread was Fiesta’s bolillos from the Fiesta down the street, bc I remember we got there a little before 11am once and a Fiesta truck was delivering 8 huge glad trash bags full of fresh bread waiting for them to bring in 😂
@@gummydogs also, sorry for the history, there was a Les Givral on Bellaire but it closed bc shady biz dealings, BUT the longtime employees (the boss lady with the permed brown and blond hair) knew all the recipes and moved/opened the current Don Cafe. The only thing that’s diff is they do the egg rolls with wheat wrappers instead of rice paper, which I miss,but they’re all ab speed and rice pepper egg rolls can’t be made ahead bc they get soggy easily.
Omg, at Thim Hing you gotta get their xiu mai meatball banh mi, that's what they're famous for. Also, just from my own experience, Don's is awful and people have rose-tinted glasses or iron teeth, Nguyen Ngo is great but way too inconsistent, and Lee's is McDonalds.
don cafe hands down the best!!!! don cafe do got the best butter! who said lees?!?!? they got issues! lol! I have no idea why pp like lees sandwiches!!!! I agree thim hing got the best flavor! but yaaa so litle meat but the flavor make up for it!!!! i did a lot of videos of banh mi please if anyone feel like checking out my reviews! great video! cant wait to see more! you may want to check out alpha bakery in HK city mall too!
He’s actually correct it’s Bo (butter) NOT mayonnaise…mayo is egg yolk vinegar and mustard it’s more white in color, Bo is egg yolk and oil.. she’s confusing him, anyway Lee’s sandwich is awful would never recommend.
I took your advice and went to Vic's sandwiches. I have been to many banh mi sandwiches. She was rude and the meat has a lot of fat. No customers there should have given me some clues, I will never go here again.
Real Vietnamese sandwich doesn’t use butter they have a special spread they use called “pate” that’s what brings out the flavor. Best Vietnamese sandwich is in Fresno ca, called huong lan 10 check it out if your ever there or Saigon grocery and deli.
