I was on a banh mi kick recently, and Banh Mi Bay Ngo, very close to Nam Fong Hot Bread, was a natural option for a pre-work meal.
Like its nearby competitor, Banh Mi Bay Ngo’s traditional pork roll ($6.50) was packed with cold sliced meats at a very competitive price. I’d say that in comparison with Nam Fong, this particular roll had a greater and attractive crispiness to its pickled vegetables, which provide for nice intra-bite textural variation. Please note that the roll did not come wiht the grill marks – the bread was heated up in a sandwich press prior to consumption – a technique I learned from the SRMO who keeps making me feel jealous every time he has a banh mi at work.
The nem chua pork roll ($6.50) was less attractive to me, owing to the physically smaller quantity of meat, without much extra in terms of flavour. Still a good roll, but doesn’t beat the classic in my opinion.
Overall, both were good, and I can’t recommend either Banh Mi Bay Ngo or Nam Fong over the other.
Bánh Mì Bảy Ngộ
49 Bankstown City Plaza, Bankstown NSW 2200
(02) 9709 8106