Charming slice of Vietnam at Geylang banh mi shop, with great sarnies and ‘goreng pisang’
We could be forgiven for thinking that we were on a bustling street in Ho Chi Minh City. Loud chattering in Vietnamese greeted us as we walked down a row of shops at Le Royal, a mixed development of apartments and shops at Geylang Road. Hi Banh Mi is tucked between a Vietnamese-run goldsmith shop, a fashion store and a beauty salon. Lady boss Tammy Tran holds court in the tiny shop. One look at her largely Vietnamese customer base, including a few youngsters chilling out at the low tables and stools by the roadside, and you know the food is going to be legit. Hi Banh Mi is more rustic and low-key than its popular rival Banh Mi Thit by Star Baguette in the neighbourhood.
The well-groomed Tammy, 40 (“Some say 25!” jokes her Singaporean husband, Allan Choo, 44), used to run a beauty salon in her native Ho Chi Minh City. The couple met at a mutual friend’s wedding there and she relocated to Singapore in 2019. After a short spell running a manicure business, she switched to F&B in 2021, partly due to the pandemic’s dampening effect on the beauty industry back then, and also because she grew up helping her grandma sell banh mi at Ben Tre market in Ho Chi Minh. “Selling banh mi is my way of remembering my grandmother who looked after me and taught me to cook. It's a popular dish in Vietnam, so I hope my customers will say ‘Hi’ to the banh mi before eating it. It will be like saying ‘Hi’ to me and my country,” shares Tammy about the store’s cutesy name. Allan, an army officer-turned data analyst, helps out with admin work and deliveries when she gets too busy.
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Legit Vietnamese vibe and ingredients
Tammy, who wore an ao baba (a short version of the traditional Vietnamese outfit ao dai) for our shoot, used to run Hi Banh Mi from her Vietnamese friend’s bakery, also in Geylang, for six months before she moved to this new street-front location a year ago, for the better footfall. Being surrounded by other Vietnamese businesses has helped to draw a strong crowd from her countrymen. “My customers say my banh mi reminds them of home, especially because most of my ingredients are from Vietnam. However, there is a growing trend of Singaporeans and tourists buying from me too,” observes Tammy. Ingredients aside, those cute low tables and chairs were also brought over from Vietnam. There are only three tables though, so most people grab their banh mi to go.
Southern vs northern banh mi
Hi Banh Mi serves Southern Vietnamese-style banh mi. What’s the difference? “Northern Vietnamese banh mi is slightly drier, as they prefer it without sauces unlike our southern version,” explains Tammy.
The menu
Tammy offers nine banh mi options. She pops the crusty baguettes, delivered fresh daily from her friend’s bakery, into an oven to warm them up before stuffing them. Prices start from an economical $4 for the sunny side up egg number, to $6.90 for the traditional Viet-style one made with her own ham.
She also sells Vietnamese-style fried bananas. We spied her Vietnamese neighbours ordering off-menu items like her dry noodles with assorted add-ons like roasted pork, beef or grilled pork, which start from $6. Yes, they’re available for the rest of us too; just ask Tammy for them.
Homemade Special Banh Mi, $6.90 (8 Days Pick!)
This best-seller features four kinds of Tammy’s house-cured pork-based chả lụa (Vietnamese-style ham): a sweetish salami-esque red one, the more common salty white ham, slices of a red ham that looks and tastes kinda like Christmas ham, and a peppery ham that has chunks of meat (and we suspect cartilage) embedded within, which offers a nice light crunch.
Home-made radish and carrot pickles, and char siew, are loaded into the baguette smeared with homemade pork paté and “cheese”, as Tammy calls it (an egg-based Vietnamese-style Hollandaise sauce.) This hefty sandwich is then drizzled with her special sweet-savoury homemade sauce, topped with pork floss and coriander. The fresh crusty bread makes a great host for the riotous burst of flavours and textures that smacks you in the face from the first bite. We like it. Kinda reminds us of crossing a relentlessly busy road in Ho Chi Minh for the first time – don’t question the process, just do it.
Crispy Roast Pork Banh Mi, $5.50
A dish created specially for local palates, the sio bak from a supplier tastes decent enough though we wish the skin was crispier. No paté in this one, but Tammy’s special sauce, spiked with chilli, is drizzled over to keep the sandwich moist. A good choice for those new to banh mi and who want to start with a familiar flavour, or who don’t like the flavour of the ham.
Beef Banh Mi, $6.90
We like this because the tender beef slices are stir-fried upon order with julienned onions, so it is served sizzling hot.
Stuffed with the usual condiments into a baguette, Tammy drizzles some of her sweetish special sauce and a sprinkle of chopped chilli over the beef. It’s a nice mouthful of savoury, sweet and spicy. One of the bestsellers here, this is also her husband Allan’s favourite.
Vietnamese Fried Banana, $1.80 each; $8 for five (8 Days Pick!)
According to Tammy, she is the only one in Singapore selling this Vietnamese-style fried banana. “I use a Vietnamese banana from a Vietnamese supplier in Singapore. It is sweet without being too juicy, so it can be deep-fried without getting soggy.”
Unlike our local goreng pisang, Tammy first flattens her banana into a long ribbon. The slightly smashed fruit is then dipped into an imported Vietnamese flour mix, to which she adds some of her own special ingredients which she declines to disclose. (There’s definitely sesame seeds in there which added fragrance and crunch.) The pleasantly gummy bananas are twice-fried and stay crispy even when eaten cold. The juxtaposition of soft, chewy banana and crackling batter makes this sinful snack super addictive.
Vietnamese Iced coffee, $3; Lime Tea, $2; Iced Tamarind, $3
These specialty drinks are priced lower than at most Vietnamese restaurants and are pretty good. The coffee beans are sourced by, roasted, and sent over by a family member from Vietnam. A bittersweet brew to perk you up post-lunch. The refreshing Lime Tea is basically like our Ais Limau and a safe choice.
Our favourite here is the Ice Tamarind, which has tamarind pulp, canned pineapple pieces for extra zest and sweetness, and with a generous helping of house-roasted peanuts. This is the perfect drink-dessert to end your meal with.
Bottom line
Good flavours, reasonable prices, plus a fun, kitschy Vietnamese vibe. Definitely worth a repeat visit. Next time, we’ll try the off-menu dry noodles.
The details
Hi Banh Mi is at #01-15 Le Regal, 340 Geylang Rd, S389365. Tel: 8841 5839. Open daily except Tue 10am to 9pm. More info via Facebook.
Photos: Alvin Teo
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