Queen West has a brand new spot to satisfy a Vietnamese sandwich craving. Just don’t go to Banh Mi Boys, situated in the old Ziggy’s Shawarma and Seafood House space, expecting traditional cold cuts between your bread. Go expecting better.
While the “boys” (brothers David, Philip and Peter Chau) have yet to renovate their space (there’s been some back and forth about getting a permit, since they’re in a heritage building) or have an official grand opening (they’re still operating on reduced hours and close at 8 p.m., not 2-3 a.m., like they want to), their food is already flying off the counter.
“It’s all thanks to the Twitter bugs,” Philip says.
It’s also thanks to their awesome Vietnamese-inspired sandwiches.
The brothers have years of expertise behind them, having worked at longtime family business N & H Food Co. Ltd for nearly their whole lives. Philip handled the bakery part of the business, while David handled the meat processing side and Peter dealt with wholesaling.
Philip says they wanted to open their own sandwich joint for a while, and spent the last five years perfecting their recipes on weekends.
“It did help to have a bakery and meat plant at our disposal,” he says.
The weekend time paid off, and led to creations such as the pork belly bao (pictured above, $3.49). The pork belly is rubbed with a Chinese five-spice powder, slow-cooked for five hours in a pan with cola and veal stock, then seared to order. It’s topped with house-pickled radish and carrots, cucumbers, cilantro and secret recipe “luck sauce,” which is similar to hoisin sauce. The result is a supremely tender bao, which also happens to be an amazing lunch for under $4.
Also popular is the grilled chicken banh mi ($4.99), with boneless chicken thighs that have been placed in a soy sauce marinade for at least 48 hours. Toppings include house-made aioli and barbeque sauce, pickled carrots, cucumbers, cilantro and, if you want them, jalapeños.
The Chaus do their own take on a taco with the kalbi beef taco ($3.99), served in a soft flatbread shell. The beef is a plentiful serving of short rib, soaked in a spicy soy sauce and pear marinade, topped with purple cabbage slaw, kimchi, pickled carrots and cilantro.
Nearly everything, from the kimchi to the pickled vegetables, is made in-house. Philip says they often head out to St. Lawrence Market for their meat, and get the rest of their supplies from various wholesalers.
And for those who don’t know, Banh Mi is pronounced “bun me.” Incidentally, that’s the perfect thing to say when walking into to this place.
Banh Mi Boys, 416-363-0588, 392 Queen St. W.