yvr eats

It amazes me that I haven’t been eating Vietnamese food all my life. The combination of flavors used in the cuisine is near perfection for my taste buds. Pho, bun and banh mi have been staples for me in the past several years. Both Calgary and Vancouver have great Vietnamese scenes. On a recommendation from several folks on Chowhound, I rode my bike up Kingsway to Tung Hing Bakery, an outpost of a Toronto based Vietnamese/Chinese bakery that’s been around since 1985 (it’s as old as I am!). The Vancouver Tung Hing is located in an unassuming strip mall as most business are along Kingsway. The doors were wide open and the place was busy. Lots of families were loading up on the tasty and very inexpensive treats in the display cases. But my eyes were on the sandwiches. Banh mi, for those who don’t know, are baguette sandwiches made with a variety of meats, pickled vegetables, pate and other condiments. The Tung Hing House Special I ordered was loaded with ham, barbequed pork, sausage, pickled turnips, carrots, cucumber and fresh cilantro. Mayo, a ‘special sauce’, salt, pepper and chilies were also added. Here’s a photo of the finished product.

Banh Mi - very tasty

That guy was about 10″ long. How did it taste you ask? Fantastic. The bbq pork was fairly sweet (or maybe that was the ham, it reminded me of maple ham). Pickled julienned vegetables are perhaps the best addition to a sandwich ever. The bread was excellent too with a good crust. They bake everything in house, and this one was obviously fresh. All for a bargain $2.75. Seriously. Under $3! Where else can you get something of this calibre for that amount of money. I’ll be back for sure. Just be warned that you might have to push your way to the front of the crowd to get the attention of the ladies making the sandwiches. No one was lined up or paying attention to any order…

Tung Hing Bakery 1198 Kingsway