Ca Phe VN

The Banh Mi seems to be the popular topic here, but I’m really just here to weigh in on the coffee:
it’s good, and sweet, and strong, and hot.
I like the standard (ERM, long white?) which features black coffee ladled out of a pot on a burner in the back and then infused with some condensed milk. Totally indulgent, and sweet, and delicious.
In, out, 2 pounds, done.
Sit in the lawn chairs out front and watch Broadway Market unfold on a Saturday AM. Pretty hard to beat, y’all.
Unilocal note: iced coffee also totally recommended.

i’ve had the iced coffee before, and i really liked it. my friend and i had been craving banh mi, so we tried these today. i had the vegan one w/​tofu, b/​c i’m trying not to eat meat. wow, they really skimp on the fillings. my sandwich was more bread than anything else, albeit the french bread was good. there was a lot of carrot but not much else. the sandwich could have used more jalapeño and cilantro, and i had to ask for the siracha to flavor it up a bit. i’m kind of disappointed, b/​c i had been looking forward to this sandwich, but instead i should have eaten the seared ahi sandwich at the next stall over.

Pics@Chopstix2Steaknives
Imagine holding a Banh Mi from BanhMi11 in hand while walking through Broadway Market and suddenly I stopped in my tracks as I come across another stall that sells Banh Mi. My mind was racing as I was trying to find traces of anything that my friend told me as to which stall it was that she and her hubby recommended. I couldn’t find anything and was standing there, confused and not sure what to do. Thankfully, my friend who was with me came to my rescue and said, ‘we can’t have you not trying both in case you might have bought from the wrong place’.
So we walked to Ca Phe and ordered a banh mi from here too. As I mentioned earlier in the post, I prefer the filling here as there was a better balance and contrast of the meat to vegetables filling, though I prefer the baguette from BanhMi11.

Imagine holding a Banh Mi from BanhMi11 in hand while walking through Broadway Market and suddenly I stopped in my tracks as I come across another stall that sells Banh Mi. My mind was racing as I was trying to find traces of anything that my friend told me as to which stall it was that she and her hubby recommended. I couldn’t find anything and was standing there, confused and not sure what to do. Thankfully, my friend who was with me came to my rescue and said, ‘we can’t have you not trying both in case you might have bought from the wrong place’.
So we walked to Ca Phe and ordered a banh mi from here too. As I mentioned earlier in the post, I prefer the filling here as there was a better balance and contrast of the meat to vegetables filling, though I prefer the baguette from BanhMi11.

I give this place 2 stars because I think it could’ve been better, and if I’m in jonesing and its the only Banh Mi place around, I’ll go. But I’ve had better.
I ordered the pork Banh mi and it took a bit of time, there were people who had ordered after me getting their food. So thats 1 star. It just annoys the crap out of me. The meat wasn’t shredded but in big chunks so I found the ratio of meat to bun to pickled veggies off the mark. So thats another star taken away. the last star was taken away because there was no spice. I know this is brit-​ville and spice is generally a no-​no. This is a Banh freaking mi, it needs to sing with zing. And i had none. So there ya go.

In my quest to find Vietnamese baguettes in London, I stumbled upon this food stall at Broadway Market. Banh Mi Saigon comes to Broadway Market once a week but they have a small storefront on Upper St.
The banh mi was nice — crusty on the outside, soft on the inside, freshly baked. The filling was good even thought it was missing the mayonnaise that usually goes with it. They put in coriander and pickled carrots & daikon. All-​in-​all, pretty decent banh mi.

I love this discovery so much that I travel quite a way to get my fix of their strong, sweet coffee.
Situated in the wonderfully vibey Broadway Market (E8), this little stall sells refreshments. My favourite is the short Vietnamese coffee sweetened with Condensed milk which is served with a complimentary taster of tea. Think strong double espresso that is creamy and sweet (plus drink the tea for it’s health benefits!)
Really quick service from friendly staff and seating which allows you to people-​watch makes this a winner. You can also try some Banh mi from the stall next door. (I’m a bit veggie so have not done so, but hubby says it’s good food).
Watch out for them at other London festivals and food shows.