Banh Mi Phuong: The Hoi An Sandwich Bourdain Made Famous (and the One Most Locals Eat Instead)

Banh mi Phuong is a small sandwich shop at 2B Phan Chu Trinh street in Hoi An's Old Town, run by the Phuong family since 1989. They sell one item: banh mi — the French-influenced Vietnamese baguette sandwich, stuffed with grilled pork, pate, fresh herbs, cucumber, pickled carrot and daikon, chilli, and a house mayonnaise. Cost: 30,000 to 45,000 VND per sandwich ($1.30 to $1.90), depending on which fillings you choose.

The shop has about 8 staff working a 2-metre prep counter visible from the street. The line moves quickly — one sandwich is assembled in under 30 seconds — but the queue itself can be 20 to 40 people long during the peak window (11:00 to 14:00 and 18:00 to 20:00).

What makes the sandwich good is the bread. The baguette is baked fresh on-site every 90 minutes, with a thinner crust than a French baguette, slightly chewy, and crackly enough that flakes come off when you bite into it. The fillings are decent rather than extraordinary; the bread is the differentiator.

In 2009 Anthony Bourdain filmed an episode of 'No Reservations' in Vietnam and stopped at Phuong. His on-camera quote — calling it 'a symphony in a sandwich' — was picked up by every travel guide in the next decade. Lonely Planet, TripAdvisor, the New York Times, and most travel YouTubers featured the shop. By 2015 it was the most-Googled banh mi in Vietnam.

The family kept the recipe exactly the same — same bread supplier, same pork-grilling method, same mayonnaise. What changed is the queue. In 2009 you walked in and ordered. In 2024 you queue 30 minutes during peak. The sandwich itself is the same.

This is the trap most travellers fall into: they queue for an hour, expect a religious experience, taste a perfectly good but not transcendent sandwich, and feel slightly let down. Banh mi Phuong is good. It is not magical. Setting that expectation correctly is the difference between a happy lunch and a disappointment.

Madam Khanh's banh mi at 115 Tran Cao Van street is the sandwich most Hoi An locals actually buy. It is four blocks north of Phuong, same Old Town, no queue (or a 5-minute wait during peak). Cost: 25,000 to 40,000 VND per sandwich.

The bread comes from a different bakery — slightly lighter crust, marginally less chew. The grilled pork is the same quality (both shops buy from family suppliers in Cam Kim village). The mayonnaise is a touch sweeter at Khanh. The herbs are identical because both buy from Tra Que.

Does Khanh's sandwich taste different from Phuong's? Yes — by maybe 10 to 15%. Is it worth saving 30 minutes of your day for? Almost certainly. Locals who eat banh mi twice a week buy from Khanh; Phuong is for visitors, and most locals say so openly.

Both shops have English-friendly menus and staff. The default sandwich (banh mi thap cam — 'mixed') comes with grilled pork, pate, ham, herbs, and house mayonnaise. Say 'thap cam' or just point at the picture on the menu.

Vegetarian options exist at both shops on request — say 'banh mi chay' (chai means vegetarian). The filling becomes tofu, mushroom, more herbs and pickled vegetables. Cost is the same.

If you have chilli sensitivity, say 'không cay' (khong kay — no spicy) when ordering. Both shops by default put a small amount of fresh chilli in the sandwich; without the request, you will have a spicy version.

Pay in Vietnamese dong (cash). Both accept USD but the exchange rate offered is poor.

Best time at Phuong: 09:30 to 10:30 in the morning, between the breakfast and lunch peaks. Queue is usually 5 to 10 minutes. Bread is just out of the oven (the 09:00 batch). After 13:00 the queue grows to 20 to 40 minutes through to 15:30.

Best time at Madam Khanh: any time. Queue is rarely longer than 5 minutes.

When to skip both: during the lantern festival (14th of each lunar month) when the Old Town crowds make both shops impractical. On those evenings, walk to any banh mi cart along the riverside — most are supplied by the same Cam Kim pork suppliers and the difference in quality is small.

On the 4-hour private Hoi An food tour I rotate between Phuong and Madam Khanh depending on the night and queue length. Both are walking distance from each other and both are good. The tour also includes cao lau noodles, white rose dumplings, a riverside dessert, and a tea or sugarcane juice. Five to seven tastings total. See the dedicated cao lau article for the full food sequence and the food tour page for booking.