There are a few places in Westmead to get a banh mi these days, and this recently opened place at the bottom of the UWS building is my least favourite one.
I had the crispy pork roll ($12.50 with a can of drink) on my one and only visit to Viet House Rolls, and it was not worth it. First, credit where credit is due: the bread was nice and crusty on the outside, whilst remaining soft on the inside, allowing me to avoid oral mucosal injury. Outside of this, injurious factors included a truly depressing few strands of carrot, pork crackling that came out of a plastic take-away container (if I wanted this I would’ve gone to the grocery store?), and just like. Normal mayo, without a hint of Vietnameseness.
What added insult to injury is that they won’t sell you this roll without a can of soft drink, making it the most expensive roll in the area, and not even good.
There’s a reason that palliative care, the trauma surgeons, my former consultant, and basically any other banh mi aficionado in and around the Westmead area goes to Thuy Hot Bread across from the train station, an absolute local institution that’s been around since at least when I was primary school.
(Full disclosure, I was once salty that I tried to get banh mi from here with a friend after work, within their posted opening hours online, only to find them closed. I am no longer salty about this, extrapolating what I know about the quality and price from this roll, and considering what we ate instead that night.)
Viet House Rolls
T11/160 Hawkesbury Rd, Westmead NSW 2145