Patrick Irwin
18 April 2024
It’s a staple that we all know and love. We’ve all had that feeling – I need a banh mi now.
This guide will take you through the best eateries where you can grab this Vietnamese culinary delight between classes or during a study break.
I traipsed around all the outlets closest to MLS that I could find, to deliver what is hopefully a thorough, if not comprehensive, guide.
The order: I kept things simple and classic, ordering a crispy pork roll with chilli. I think it’s important not to meddle too much with the humble, but delightfully inspired, combination of flavours that makes up the modern banh mi.
This is the guide you’ve been waiting for – ranking venues based on the factors that matter: how much pork they heap on, how soft the bread is, and how flavoursome the sauces are.
#5: Rolld
Student Pavilion
The wait-time here was the worst of the lot. It’s one thing to wait while your order is prepared, but it’s quite another to watch it sit in the store computer system and be neglected while the next customers’ noodle bowls and salads are duly prepared, and handed over. A wait time of 10 minutes might be ok for a big mac, but not for a pork roll, especially not this one. Its crashing flaws were the use of crackling instead of authentic belly roast, and an altogether-too-tangy sauce.
In short: go elsewhere for an authentic experience.
#4: Bar Scopa Café
127 Leicester St, Carlton VIC 3053
My experience here wasn’t an entirely smooth one. It took a while for my order to move out of the receipt stack and into the kitchen, and it seemed like something had been lost in translation. There was only a morsel of the crispy stuff left, and so the chef deftly added some barbeque chicken to make up the difference. Maybe they hoped I wouldn’t notice? In any event, it left the final product a bit too dry.
#3: Char Grilled
164 Cardigan St, Carlton VIC 3053
Also called Madame Linh Vietnamese Kitchen, this venue is tucked away a block from campus, on Cardigan st. Inside it was packed – usually a good sign. But the reality didn’t quite live up to the hype. There wasn’t anything bad about this one, just nothing extraordinary. A reasonable price, a reasonably rich sauce, and a reasonably decent helping of crisp-but-tender pork. But nothing to warm the heart and bring about salivation in the true banh mi-devotee.
#2: Eat Ngon
103D/604 Swanston St, Carlton VIC 3053
This no-nonsense venue takes a back-to-basics approach to the humble pork roll. You shouldn’t bother asking for any additions, just enjoy the sleek simplicity of their freshly roasted crispy pork, carved in a thick slice from their slab of crispy, juicy pork belly. Nowhere will you find a more generous helping or a more attentive chef assembling your roll. There are no frills – just coriander, cucumber, carrot, a smear of paté, and hoisin sauce. The end result is loaded, and overflowing with meat, but somewhat salty and unbalanced in flavour due to the hoisin’s dominance.
#1: Lincoln Bakery Café
154 Bouverie St, Carlton VIC 3053
This is it. The softest, crunchiest roll to be had. You know it’s quality when there’s a queue of metro tunnel tradies out the door every lunchtime. And it’s basically around the corner from MLS. Get in quick before they run (by about 2 o’clock in my experience).
There’s just something special that happens when a fresh, doughy roll meets a delicious handful of tender, but not-too-chewy roast. But the thing that makes this banh mi truly great is the unique special sauce. It comes out of a brown squeeze-bottle, and it must be a special recipe, because it strikes the perfect flavour balance between hoisin, barbeque, saltiness, and sweetness. Ultimately it is this – the crescendo of complimentary flavours, which makes the perfect banh mi.
I couldn’t recommend more highly that you pay the lovely ladies at this venue a visit.
Purely Dicta 