Juniper
Although I love Vietnamese food, I don’t get to eat it as often as I like due to the scarcity of Vietnamese restaurants and the fact that those that are accessible are quite pricey. At Banh Mi Bandar Puteri Puchong, you might have to go out of your way a bit but the trip is well worth the time and effort as I’ve never been to a Vietnamese restaurant this authentic and affordable in Malaysia.
Banh Mi is a small, compact restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. The chairs and tables are wooden creating a rustic, village ambiance and as you browse through the menu, you will find it holds a lot of choices. But first, what is Banh Mi? Banh Mi (pronounced Bun-Mee) is Vietnamese for bread and the fusion of French baguette and Vietnamese tastes. The baguette should be crackling-crusty slathered with homemade “mayonnaise” and stuffed with a varying assortment of prepared meats, sweet pickled carrots, fresh cucumber, coriander, some bird’s eye chillis for those who like it hot and a special light soy dressing. You get a whole gamut of flavours in this baguette ranging from salty, sweet, spicy and sour.
Thanks to Nava K, I joined her for lunch at Banh Mi yesterday. The restaurant is easy to locate even if you don’t have GPS/Waze or a map as it’s so near Columbia Asia Hospital. It’s a little tucked away but if you take the left turn before you get to the hospital, you will find Banh Mi within 5 minutes. There’s ample parking nearby if you are there before the lunch crowd arrives.
I couldn’t believe the Banh Mi Grill Pork is just RM7. It’s big and stuffed with pork and so many types of vegetables. This alone would have made for a satisfying and fulfilling lunch. You can also have Banh Mi with stewed beef, sardines, fish fillet, grilled chicken and bacon. The baguette is crunchy without being dry and the sauces in the baguette complement the pork and vegetables delightfully. For RM7, it is also nicely presented on a wooden tray, amazing.
It’s obvious that Banh Mi serves generous portions of food. 2 fat spring rolls with a delicious sauce for RM4.50? Can someone please tell me if there’s another Vietnamese restaurant offering this kind of portion at such reasonable prices? Nowadays even non-Vietnamese spring rolls sell at RM3 per roll and they taste average compared to Vietnamese spring rolls. I know this because I frequent food courts.
This platter of mini pan cakes was more than I expected. You can see there are more than 7 mini pan cakes here and by the way, they are not that mini. There’s minced pork on top and you eat them with the lettuce leaves. All this for RM7? It’s true! They are so crispy and not at all oily.
A generous plate of rice with stir fried long beans, a bowl of vegetable soup and a steaming hot pot containing 3 big pieces of lemongrass chicken for RM8. That screams value for money. I found the chicken a bit dry and it could have been slightly more tender but the sauce is great with rice.
Order this and I believe you will fall in love with the thick and savoury sauce. This is not our typical Chinese style sweet and sour pork ribs. It’s more delicious than that. The sauce may be a bit salty on its own but mixed with white rice, it’s just right and the ribs are super tender. I’d order this again when I return to Banh Mi.
One of my favourite hot beverages is Vietnamese black coffee and Banh Mi’s is just RM3.80. I’d go to Banh Mi every day if I could. The prices are truly affordable and even students won’t be complaining that it’s out of their budget.
Banh Mi is located at 21, Jalan Puteri 7/9, Bandar Puteri Puchong 03-8060 0127. Business hours : 1030am – 9pm. Non-Halal.
