Maddern Square. High noon. The battle of the banh mi is about to take place. In the red corner, we have Nhu Lan, the people's favourite. Look at him, resplendent in an orange and white cape and leotard! The crowd goes wild as he flexes his sticky chicken thighs. His buns are so crispy! A hush descends over the crowd - the challenger has arrived. Ba Le is a fearsome opponent, his chest emblazoned with a silver Eiffel Tower. Will Nhu Lan be pounded into pâté? Will barrel-chested Ba Le be brought down by Nhu Lan's bi? Or will this ...
Archives for “pork rolls”
Where do you go when you are starving and have only 15 minutes to eat and do a week's worth of shopping at the market? Answer: Truc Giang in Leeds St.If it weren't for the venetian blind in the top shot, you would see the veritable mountain of pickled vegies that is normally in the front window, ready for stuffing into your crunchy roll. I got a hot tip that these guys did a special pork roll with grilled pork, so that was my pick.I have eaten here before from the overflowing, colourful bain-marie, and it was good. Speaking of ...
I have been doing some reading on Vietnamese pork rolls or Banh Mi. During the French colonial period, fancy delis in Vietnam offered "French sandwiches" to the colonials. Over time, they were popularised throughout all levels of society, from the aforementioned fancy delis to mobile sandwich shops (a box on a tricycle), the peddlers (pedallers?) of which stuffed their rolls with plenty of cheaper and more Vietnamese ingredients such as herbs, pickled vegetables, cucumber and chilli. My source claims that the rolls were a status symbol, reminiscent as they were of the French. I wonder if ...
