Banh Mi Saigon Bakery

One of my favorite Vietnamese sandwich places.

They relocated recently I believe. The new place is a big bigger and there are more seats. There's still a jewelry shop inside though. I'm guessing they are somehow associated with each other?

Banh Mi Saigon (Pork) - $3.75

I remember eating this sandwich back when the shop used to be under the Manhattan bridge. The place was like 1/15 the size of the current place and it was always crowded. The sandwiches would also sell out really quick too. You could always count on having a good sandwich.

These days though (well, since they moved out of that little shop under the bridge), the sandwiches have been fairly inconsistent. When it's fresh, it's really good. When it's not, it tastes okay. The problem is mainly with the bread. Sometimes, their bread is hard as a rock. Ever since they moved to the new place, I've noticed that they started to make their sandwiches in bulk. I'm guessing this causes the bread to be exposed to the air more, which hardens the bread quicker? It's either that or they just have been getting crappy bread to begin with.

Anyways, I recommend going to this place when it's busy (lunch time) so the sandwiches are fresher.

Banh Mi Saigon Bakery
198 Grand St.
New York, NY 10013

Num Pang Sandwich Shop

It was a pretty nice day out so I wanted to take a little walk during lunch. I ended up deciding to get a sandwich from this Cambodian sandwich shop. It's been on my list of places to try so I figured why not? (Sorry N).

(Forgive the quality of the pic. Not sure what's up with my camera...it has a problem when it's sunny.)

I wanted to try something safe so I opted for the Classic Pulled Pork Sandwich.

 Classic Pulled Pork Sandwich ($8.20)

Even though it was medium size sandwich, I was able to finish it and felt very satisfied at the end.

After a few bites, I noticed a hint of spice. It was enough that you could taste it but not enough that you would have to drink a glass of water after taking one bite. I also thought that the bread was nicely toasted. Not too hard that it would cut the upper part of your mouth (whatever that is called) but crunchy enough to "crunch" when biting it. 

The pulled pork itself was alright. I thought that the best part of the sandwich was actually the bread, the mayo/chili paste, and the vegetables (pickled carrots, slice of cucumber & parsley). I guess that's everything besides the actual meat ;) The pulled pork just didn't stand out very much. When I ate it by itself, I found it a bit dry and a tad bland. 

Overall, it was a decent sandwich. Nothing too special. It's very similar to a Vietnamese sandwich except that the meat is different. I'm glad that I tried it out but I would definitely try another sandwich if I were to go there again. 

BTW I liked the box that it came in. It was made from paper and I thought it was kinda cute.

Nothing better than a nice cup of hot green tea after a meal.

Num Pang Sandwich Shop

21 East 12th Street
New York City, NY 10003
(212) 255-3271

www.numpangnyc.com