TL;DR: We have another decent Vietnamese place that offers all that you would want. As far as a bahn mi goes, few that I have seen have been as big and rich as this one so that is more power to them.
Much like a lot of the outlets in Brisbane's Chinatown, District 1 does not look like that much from the outside but then it does have an allure only to not have it - kind of a thing with downtown areas there. When it comes to that aspect, it is about the appearance where the worst ones end up possessing the best and most authentic foods, particularly regarding the value to portion size. From the try-out I had here, it might not completely meet that description but it was not without a fair amount of merit.
Going for a second time around, I felt on a roll and wanted to give it another burl as well, it was back to the UberEats right before the lunch-time hour began. There was a hankering that I was having the day before, but I saw from a couple of new places that had it but something was unavailable that made the order not feel complete to me. This day though, while it was not the initial location that had it, there was an ace up the sleeve which meant success. So typing in that order into UberEats, it was all a matter of waiting for it to arrive.
It may have been a bit late on my part, so no fault is at the efforts of UberEats. What I am trying to say is that it took a small while to get here with a long route being taken, presumably having several people on the way that also ordered some grub. Regardless, when it did finally arrive, all was good and the delivery was effective enough as it was. This time around, it was just meeting in an agreed upon location, collecting the order, and then sauntering back to the table to eat some food. So I still am keeping the shining opinion on UberEats, especially knowing where they are.
We are looking at some Vietnamese right here, and from a simple scour of the menu and some of the photos online - and only by presumption of it - it is street food along with something of a fusion edge to it. They start the menu off with some basic snacks, the appetisers and all that, then next are the rice paper rolls, the salads including the vermicelli noodle varieties, noodle soups, bahn mis, several kinds of rice dishes which include many classics, and several types of cold drink.
It was the old "burger and fries" again that took my hankering, and that meant another bahn mi and coffee. I could eat those nearly every day, and rarely ever get sick of them - they are that good. Looking at the different bahn mis, the one that took my fancy was a pork meatball one and after typing in to "load it up with chilli" it was on its way. That, and an iced coffee - the two make the perfect snack, and always reliable. Though some are obviously better than others, there has yet to be one that is truly bad in my opinion.
One of the biggest reasons why I have taken a liking to them in recent years is how cheap they often are, but this one is a tad pricier than the norm. Upon thinking about it, I reckon that I can see why it might have something of an upscale in price. The baguette that it was in was big, crusty and had a good deal of butter seeped into it and when they had pate on this roll - they really had a good deal of pate which would have contributed to it. Steve Brimblecombe himself says that this is what maketh a bahn mi.
Getting to the point of the matter, as always the bahn mi was tasty, filling and really substantial. All of it comes down to the unusual mixture of taste profiles and textures. It all starts with a good quality baguette, and it ought to be a baguette and nothing else. This gives it the right crusty texture, the slight bit of an inherent buttery taste, and the soft interior to complete it all. The meats will vary, however I reckon the best kinds are ones with either a good bit of crispy fat on them, or something that is marinated very well. For the one that I ordered, there was a fancy name for it but regardless the meat that was used was minced pork done into a meatball. The generous amount of it was one of the best things, especially due to how flavoursome it was using a good cut of meat, plus the herbs and spices put into the mixture really made it flavoursome. By the time it got to me, it more or less was like a spicy mince. Although it is not generally my sort of filling, this time around I will make an exception - the salad items of cucumber, and carrot contrast to the greasiness by adding a cooling crunch to it all, followed up by the unique flavour of coriander. If chilli is involved - and I make sure to request it - that then adds another contrast, with a spicy bite that melds into the meat, contrasts with the vegetables, and just completes the all-round taste profile of the sandwich. When the cook here read out "load it up with chilli", he must have taken that to heart because there was a good bed of it on there, fresh and everything, which could more or less clear out a cold. All of those were right on with this sandwich, and the rich pate that was seeping out of the reams really was just some icing on the cake.
Of course, we got to talk about the accompanying drink - the iced coffee. As per usual, fantastic. Whatever roast, whatever bean, or whatever the blend that they used was, I know for sure that it would be a high quality one. The depth of flavour, the sheer richness of the bean, plus just how damn strong it was as well, all made for it to be good as it was - all that was a stark contrast to the smooth, sweetened bed of condensed milk that is smooth and creamy. Add this on top of some ice, and it becomes possibly the pinnacle of coffee beverages that can be found.
Regarding this 4.0-score, I am keeping in mind I only really had a bahn mi and coffee from there, and as tasty as they can be, I don't believe they are the sole aspect for the quality of a Vietnamese eatery - even more so if they offer a large or solid range of items. That being said, if the quality of the sandwich and coffee is anything to go by, then I definitely would hedge a bet that the food is of a consistent level of quality that is quite high. Vietnamese street food has definitely established itself as one of the most reliable choices that is around, and District 1 is one more example to go by that statement. Word also has it that they know customer service as well, which would definitely be some more brownie points for them.
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