Cheap Authentic Vietnamese Food for the Hungry: Nha Trang One
Nha Trang One
87 Baxter St (near Canal St)
New York, NY
(212) 233-5948
Of the three Vietnamese restaurants on this block, I think this by far is the better tasting one.
When I came here with my boyfriend and his friends, we were really reluctant to come here, but his friends reassured us that this is the place to be. And inside, the decor of the restaurant looked pretty plain, plus there were a lot of tourists in there which pretty much is a turn off for me. I usually avoid this restaurant because of the tourists the reason being that I think touristy food = junk/fast food. Plus the decor in the other two restaurants looks better than this one, but I’ll soon learn that image isn’t always everything.
Beef cube with Rice
$5.75
This beef cube is the very tender and oh so juicy, unlike the other Vietnamese restaurants in Chinatown. Usually the beef would be rolled up and then grilled ’til charred. I really hate that. But the way they make it here is right on the money and it’s cut into small piece, which I really enjoy.
My rating: 4.5/5
Highly Recommended!
Next came the Grilled pork chop w/tomatoes and cucumbers over rice.
$5.75
Pretty soon, you’ll see the same consistency with the way their meats are cooked. This lovely young pork chop is tender, juicy, and oh so succulent, and not at all dried as you will see in the other vietnamese restaurants due to over grilling. It would be nice if there’s a little more sauce with this dish, but it’s still pretty good. For the price, you really can’t go wrong.
Recommended!
My Rating: 4/5
Steak w/Fried Rice
$6.50
I really can’t give much credit to this dish, I can’t. The downfall of this dish is the fried rice. It is probably the blandest fried rice I have ever have, and it does not look fried at all. Not to say that it is a failure, but I’m saying that it’s pretty much some soy sauce and probably subtle hints of oyster sauce. Honestly, I think they would make it with and least some green peas and carrots and maybe, just maybe some pineapple. But hey, at least the steak was not disappointing. It wasn’t the greatest, but it was tender and juicy. I did needed more salt for this.
Not recommended
Rating: 2/5
House Special Rice Noodles in soup with beef brisket, tendon, eye round and omoza
$5.50
Having a good soup really sets the mood for this bowl. When you have a really pretty brown color that’s not too light and not too dark, you have yourself a delicious bowl of noodles. The reason why this dish is so popular is because the rice noodles complements the soup so well. All the rich flavor from the soup is absorbed in the noodles as well as the raw beef brisket, which you’ll have to dip in your soup. Usually when I have this signature dish at other Vietnamese restaurants, the beef is usually flavorless due to a bland soup. But here, they do it very well.
Highly recommended!
Rating: 4/5
Of course there are so many dishes here to try since the menu seems to be absolutely endless, but definitely try their house special rice noodle soup, spring rolls, rice vermicelli
NHA TRANG REST.
87 BAXTER STREET, MANHATTAN 10013
212-233-5948
Current violation points: 7
Inspection Date: 03/05/2007
Violations were cited in the following area(s) and those requiring immediate action were addressed.
1.) Cold food held above 41°F (smoked fish above 38°F) except during necessary preparation.
Momofuku Ssam Bar – Takeout
Momofuku Ssam Bar
207 2nd Ave
(at 13th St)
New York, NY
(212) 254-3500
This restaurant has received a lot of rave reviews saying that it’s a delicious joint at a very low price. The only reason that I came here is because I wanted to try their Bahn Mi, viet sandwich. Even though the prices were not listed on its website or on menupages, I thought that it should be cheap because nymag featured them on their cheap eat section.
As I walked into the restaurant, I noticed how incredibly packed the restaurant was. 
This restaurant is a lot bigger than their noodle bar, which is located on 1st ave, but it’s still very small. A female waiter came to me and I told her that I wanted to do take-out. She went to get some menus and then she asked if I knew what I wanted, which I told her yes. I told her I wanted 2 Bahn Mi’s and she took my order. When she came back to give me my receipt, it came out to be $19.50 @ $9 each and then including tax!!! I figure, holy sheit, $9 for a sandwich, it better be damn long, stuffed, and damn good.
After waiting for a good 5-10 minutes at the restaurant, I grabbed my food and leave for him. The people here looks really trendy, but this place is very expensive. Cheap eats my ass.
That’s it. This is the sandwich, and it costs $9. Okay, so it’s a little small but maybe it’ll taste good.
Honestly, I didn’t feel for this sandwich. I really think Momofuku Ssam is really overrated. No sandwich should cost this much and it doesn’t even taste that great. The meat tastes really greasy and it wasn’t even a viet salami, it’s like a light/fluffy ground beef and the bread wasn’t even toasted!! I’m sorry, this is by far one of the worst Bahn Mi sandwich I have ever eaten. This place needs a lesson from one of the better Bahn Mi places.
Finechina’s Rating: 2.2/5
Quality – 2/5
Taste – 2.5/5
Ease of eating – 4/5 (because of me picking out all the jalapeños and gnawing on pork)
Presentation – 3/5
I will never come back here to eat a sandwich. Why on earth do they price it at $9?? That’s ridiculous. My bf tells me that it’s a trendy restaurant in a trendy neighborhood. But what’s the point if their sandwich isn’t even of par?
Alright, health inspection report:
MOMOFUKU SSAM BAR
207 2 AVENUE, MANHATTAN 10003
Current violation points: 6 – Passed
Inspection Date: 08/02/2006
No violations that present a threat to the public health or relate directly to factors which lead to food borne illness were recorded at the time of this inspection.
1.) “Choking first aid” poster not posted.”Alcohol and Pregnancy” Warning sign not posted. “Wash hands” sign not posted at hand wash facility. Resuscitation equipment: exhaled air resuscitation masks(adult & pediatric), latex gloves, sign not posted. Inspection report sign not posted.
2.) Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained.
3.) Toilet facility not maintained and provided with toilet paper, waste receptacle and self-closing door.
Paris Sandwich
Paris Sandwich
113 Mott St
near Canal St
(212) 226-7221
Paris is a fairly new deli/bakery located in the heart of Chinatown. The name of the restaurant couldn’t be more memorable because in Chinese it’s called French sandwich, which is what I usually say to get my Viet sandwich (yeah, strange but true), but Paris sounds dam sexy too. I honestly didn’t know if Paris could compete with Banh Mi which is a block away and Viet-Banh-Mi on Broome St because they are excellent. The only way to find out is to go in and see.
When I first walked into Paris at 7pm, I noticed how spacious and empty it was. Usually this place is packed from early in the morning to late in the afternoon. I guess no one come here for dinner. Anyways, this joint looked more like a fast food restaurant than a deli. You have 3 girls working by the cash register, and then two more ladies in the back assembling the sandwiches. When I asked for a french sandwich, the girl at the cashier stared at me and thought I wanted a french bread — the actual bread! I was like, er…no, duh the actual sandwich. I guess they were used to the numbers, which you will see on their menu that is above the cashier just like at mcdonalds.
After getting a receipt for my pork viet sandwich, which was $3.75, I walk towards the back of the joint and received my sandwich at that second. Gee, I didn’t know they worked this fast. I’m sure they skimped a lot of ingredients or probably just reheated the sandwich. I doubt they reheat it, but who knows.
Verdict: The sandwich does taste fresh, but they did skimp on the ingredients. I wished I had a better picture, but at the time I was busy chowing this down since I was really hungry. The only thing I liked about the sandwich was that the meat was tender and somewhat juicy and all the flavors of the sandwich came pretty well together. I wished this sandwich had more, but overall it tasted good.
Finechina’s Rating: 2.8/5
Quality – 3/5
Taste – 3/5
Ease of eating – 5/5
Presentation – 3/5
Of course the viet pork sandwich is one of the many sandwiches there, but with my first experience here, I think this place is pretty ok. This is better than Sau Voi Corp because 
they’re losing their edge on what a viet sandwich should really taste like. I used to love this place but they’re lacking taste, especially with their meat. But at least this place is better than most of the sandwiches created in viet restaurants.
Health Inspection Results
PARIS SANDWICH CORP
113 MOTT STREET, MANHATTAN 10013
212-226-7221
Current violation points: 7 – PASSED
Inspection Date: 12/22/2006
No violations that present a threat to the public health or relate directly to factors which lead to foodborne illness were recorded at the time of this inspection.
1.) “Choking first aid” poster not posted.”Alcohol and Pregnancy” Warning sign not posted. “Wash hands” sign not posted at hand wash facility. Resuscitation equipment: exhaled air resuscitation masks(adult & pediatric), latex gloves, sign not posted. Inspection report sign not posted.
2.) Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained.
3.) Toilet facility not maintained and provided with toilet paper, waste receptacle and self-closing door.
My next review will be of the viet sandwich made by Momofuku Ssam Bar. You’ll be in for a surprise.
Bahn Mi Saigon Bakery
Bahn Mi Saigon Bakery
138-01 Mott St (at Grand St)
(212) 941-1541
So the word on the street is that this place serves the best Viet sandwich in town. #1? I don’t know if that’s true, but, I’m here to investigate. I’ll rank the sandwich in terms of quality, taste, ease of eating, and the look of the sandwich.
This little shop is hidden in Chinatown but it’s past the marketplace, thank goodness. I always have a problem walking through there because it’s crowded, dirty, and chaotic. If you can avoid going down that section of Mott St, do so.
Upon arriving to this deli you’re going to see a jewelry shop in front. Don’t worry, you’re at the right place because the joint is just straight inside. Now there are a lot of hip, young, good looking people there. I’m sure they are loyal fans who can’t get enough of this deli, but just be forewarn about all the people in side.
My brother who was there ordered the chicken viet sandwich and the pork one. Pork is what I’ve been eating for years, but he wanted to change it up by having chicken. Of course they ask you if you want jalapenos in yours, and of course we didn’t. After waiting for like 10-15mins, and yes it really took that long and I literally have no patience especially at a deli, our sandwiches arrived. For $3.75, that price can’t be beat. We couldn’t wait to go back home in Brooklyn to give it a shot.
Pork Banh Mi Sandwich -
Alright, after taking this baby home, I realized that it was a little cold. Ok, not to worry, a little time with the microwave should help. One it came out, I quickly took a bite into it and first noticed how incredibly spicy it was. I could have sworn I asked for it not to be spicy. The reason why I didn’t want it to be spicy was because spiciness kills flavor and I didn’t want it like that for my first time. Some people like it, some people don’t, but I prefer it without. I took a look inside, and there is it, jalapeños. Lots of it. I’m like, what the f— is this? And you see the this deep dark red color? That’s right, that’s the pork. That is the hardest piece of meat that I have bitten on and it just made the whole experience unpleasant. Very unpleasant. I figured that I probably need to heat it up some more? Well, that didn’t help much either so the entire time it was like eating pork jerky. Yeah, it has like the same texture as jerky, but wrapped up in clumps.
With this and the jalapeño problem aside, I have to admit that the presentation was very good. I love all the nice vibrant colors and how pack the sandwich is. The bread was nice and toasted, the carrots and the salami tasted very fresh, but it was the pork that just threw it off.
Finechina’s Rating: 3.88/5
Quality – 4/5
Taste – 3.5/5
Ease of eating – 3.0/5 (because of me picking out all the jalapeños and gnawing on pork)
Presentation – 5/5
Chicken Banh Mi Sandwich –
Unfortunately, this one has jalapeños in it too, but I’ll overlook it. Look how beautiful this sandwich is. Hands down, I have to say Banh mi can really make their sandwich look drop dead hot and sexy. You see on the right picture that there’s garlic or egg smeared on the bread? That makes a WHOLE LOTTA difference. Most amateur viet sandwich joints don’t put that, but Banh Mi does. But because of my first bad experience with the pork sandwich, I didn’t know what to think about the chicken.
To my surprise, this is an excellent sandwich! Hurrah!! I knew this place has to live up to its expectations. The chicken was moist, juicy and soft, which is how chicken is supposed to be. And its partnership with the other ingredients, salami, carrots, turnips, cucumber and cilantro, resulted in a very mouth-watering…er, droolage moment. The bread was of course nicely toasted, the taste was very sensational where the sauce did not overwhelmed the sandwich, which usually happens with some sandwiches, and it was very easy to eat.
Finechina’s Rating: 4.9
Quality – 5
Taste – 5
Ease of eating - 4.5
Presentation – 5
So to me, this place is definitely not my number one, because of the long wait, putting jalapeños when I specifically asked not to, and the pork jerky-ish pork. I figure the pork sandwich is the signature sandwich. How can they screw that up? But I will still recommend people to come here to try out their sandwiches, especially the chicken one!
Look forward to my next post on Paris Sandwich!
Now the NYC Health Inspection Results!
SAIGON BAKERY INC
138 MOTT STREET, MANHATTAN 10013
212-941-1541
Current violation points: 8 – PASSED
Inspection Date: 03/23/2007
No violations that present a threat to the public health or relate directly to factors which lead to foodborne illness were recorded at the time of this inspection.
1.) “Choking first aid” poster not posted.”Alcohol and Pregnancy” Warning sign not posted. “Wash hands” sign not posted at hand wash facility. Resuscitation equipment: exhaled air resuscitation masks(adult & pediatric), latex gloves, sign not posted. Inspection report sign not posted.
2.) Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained.
3.) Pesticide use not in accordance with label or applicable laws. Prohibited chemical used/stored. Open bait station used.
Viet-Nam Bahn Mi So
A Vietnamese sandwich is just a a Vietnamese sandwich? Wrong. With so many shops that devote themselves to the art of making this unique sandwich, each and every shop varies with their style and technique. But what makes them so special? Their style, technique, and love for this piece of bread. Haha.
Try the Viet sandwich at a Chinese bakery, like Century Cafe, and you’ll see how different tastes compared to your more authentic Viet sandwiches. When you get an authentic Viet sandwich from a Viet deli, you can’t imagine how rich some of their flavors are. I can’t even describe. Of course I can’t cover all of the shops, but I have a few that I like to start off first.
My battlefield is Chinatown, Manhattan. The so-called renowned ones are, Banh Mi Saigon Bakery and Viet-Nam Banh Mi So. Of course there are others, but I’ll just concentrate on these two first. I’m also going to visit Paris Sandwich and see how they go neck to neck with these two.
First stop:
Viet-Nam Bahn Mi So Corp (Vietnamese Deli)
369 Broome St
(at Mott St)
New York, NY
(212) 219-8341
I grew up eating the sandwiches here and it never disappoints. The only thing I regret is ordering the same sandwich, #1 [on menu], the pork Viet sandwich for over 5 years. My friends tell me that they make this kick ass meatball sandwich, which I swear I will try. I never had the courage to try other things on the menu, but I will soon. The people in there are nice and friendly who can speak in Cantonese, Vietnamese, and English. The place is a little small, but who cares right? It’s the food that counts? Of course that means it’s a take-out place, so don’t expect to be sitting around.
The woman who works there is still the same woman that I knew as a child and she’s always nice to give me some extra meat, which I can’t get enough of! Of course she’ll ask if you want it hot or not, and I prefer mines not because I think hotness kills the flavor, which isn’t what I’m looking for.
What’s different about their sandwiches is that there are more flavor and color in their sandwiches. I believe there’s a taste of garlic and butter in it, but I can’t be sure.
After bringing this baby back home in Brooklyn, the sandwich still remains warm and the aroma is strong. Yumm. Inside of course you see Viet salami, Viet turkey (I don’t know, I think so?), thinly sliced carrots, turnips, and cucumbers, and a leaf of cilantro. Yum yum. Don’t worry, it’s already toasted and it’s the only way you can eat it. The meat is so succulent and moist and the deli’s secret yellow sauce makes it that much more delicious. It’s not too salty, but it’s definitely a satisfying sandwich. I would give this sandwich a 5/5!
Rating: 5/5
NYC Dept Of Health Inspection Results:
VIETNAMESE DELI
369 BROOME STREET, MANHATTAN 10013
212-219-8341
Current violation points: 2 - PASSED
Inspection Date: 04/18/2006
No violations that present a threat to the public health or relate directly to factors which lead to foodborne illness were recorded at the time of this inspection.
1.) Plumbing not properly installed or maintained; anti-siphonage or backflow prevention device not provided where required; equipment or floor not properly drained; sewage disposal system in disrepair or not functioning properly.
Wait for my next few posts on Banh Mi on Mott, Paris Sandwich, and Sau Voi Corp!
