Lemongrass Chicken Vietnamese sandwich (banh mi) @ quick bites, Publika

Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi

We were out really early this morning to do some Chinese New Year shopping in Publika and decided to have a quick breakfast before we hit the aisles. My better half wanted to try this shop on the same level as Ben’s Independent Grocer, right beside the food court – it serves bánh mì!

Quick Bites Publika

I was quite intrigued by the different sandwiches they have, especially the unusual combinations. I have been to Vietnam before and eaten a lot of interesting things in Hanoi, the most popular notorious being dog meat. This is far from that though, the Asian themed Vietnamese sandwiches (banh mi) sounds really good.

Banh Mi

We decided to share a Lemongrass Chicken Egg Combo on a regular baguette. I found out during my travels that Vietnam was once colonized by France, which leads to the introduction of the baguette into their diet. I went for the set, which comes with gỏi cuốn (Vietnamese spring rolls).

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

You get an option of shrimp or chicken Vietnamese spring rolls and we went for the former. It’s pretty good, the dipping sauce has crushed toasted peanuts inside and a fiery hot sauce that will sear your tongue, but it’s wonderful. It’s better than the Vietnamese spring rolls I made anyway. The set of a sandwich with a starter of spring rolls and a drink will set you back RM 16.50.

Banh Mi Sandwich

We both loved the Lemongrass Chicken Egg Banh Mi! The chicken pieces are nicely seasoned and you can taste the lemongrass in the sauce. There’s also an egg and lots of vegetables in the baguette, and there’s just something very satisfying about biting into a baguette stuffed with ingredients and tasting fish sauce as an end note.

Vietnamese Sandwich

The baguettes are baked daily and it’s crunchy on the outside and warm and soft on the inside. It’s really delicious! quick bites claim to be from San Francisco and I couldn’t verify that but they certainly make the best and most authentic banh mi I’ve had in Malaysia!

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13 thoughts on “Lemongrass Chicken Vietnamese sandwich (banh mi) @ quick bites, Publika”

    • Yeah, it was surprisingly good! 🙂

      We both loved it too, they would make a killing if they’re located as a food truck outside a large office complex. I don’t know why they decided to go into a high rent mall.

      Reply
  1. HB, well not sure of the baguettes from San Francisco but here we indeed enjoyed banh mi just much as any where else. Banh mi is very popular in states some charge high price for it with fancy filling.

    Reply
    • Yup, I’ve seen it in travel shows! 🙂

      Especially in places with a high Vietnamese population like San Francisco, there’s a lot of banh mi stalls. I meant I’m not sure this particular one hails from SF, they claim to, but I couldn’t find any references to it.

      Reply
    • Me too! 🙂

      I fell in love when I was in Hanoi! There’s a stall selling it right outside the big highway bordering the Old Quarter, where I was staying.

      Reply
    • Thanks Mun! 🙂

      It’s good for lunch though! I think they’ll do very well if they’re a food truck outside a large office building since a lot of patrons buy theirs to go, as we noticed. Not sure why they would choose a high rent mall instead, since it’s not really sit-down food.

      Reply
    • Nice! Vietnam is an awesome place! 🙂

      I stayed in the Old Quarter in Hanoi and that was a wonderful experience…you can see people working in the market and bia hois in the morning preparing their stalls and eat pho and other local food by a short stroll. There was one operating temporarily (as is the norm in the market) under my hotel!

      Reply

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