Taste all the textures of a great Banh Mi at this Brampton spot

Suresh Doss: Most if not all of the places we talk about on this show are located in strip malls, throughout the GTA. But this strip mall, located on Kennedy Road in Brampton is one of my favourite for a few reasons. I was introduced to it through my mom many years ago. It's one of the oldest strip malls in the city and there's such great food to be found here. There's a great dosa place, there's Trini roti, there's probably the best vegetarian Sri Lankan place. It's unbelievable the quality of food in one parking lot. But all that aside, there's another strip mall that was built behind it about a decade ago.

Ismaila Alfa:So look for a strip mall behind a strip mall?

Suresh Doss: You can easily miss it if you're driving on Kennedy Road. There's a fantastic Jamaican restaurant. An Indian street food spot. And of course Che Thuy Nga. This is my Go-To for banh mi.

Ismaila Alfa: How did you come across this place?

Suresh Doss: During a food tour. We literally ate our way from one end of the strip mall to the other. We walked into this tiny bare bones shop. It's run by a husband and wife team, Tom and Tina Vuong.

There's a large yellow menu on the wall, which lists the house specialties. Banh mi — baguettes stuffed with a variety of pickled vegetables and meat, usually served with pate and mayonnaise.

Ismaila Alfa: Now we have a list of banh mi places across the GTA, why go to Brampton for this sandwich?

Suresh Doss: So when you read the menu, it feels familiar at first but then you see that it's not entirely traditional. I have gotten to know Tom and Tina over years and I've learned that the Banh Mi here tells the story of their lives and their cultural heritage, tucked between theses loaves of French bread.

They were both born in Saigon. Their parents are Chinese. Growing up in the 60s and 70s, Tom says he remembers eating plenty of banh mi for breakfast.

Ismaila Alfa: I've heard a lot about banh mi from friends who have travelled to Vietnam. 

Suresh Doss: I was never the biggest fan of hard, crusty bread sandwiches. And it still isn't, with the exception of this Vietnamese-style sandwich. There's the full spectrum of taste and crunch in there. 

So, in 1980 Tom leaves Vietnam, seeking asylum as a refugee which takes him to the US, to Illinois. And he started cooking in Chinese restaurants there, for 20 years. They eventually move to Canada to raise a family. Following the 2008 recession, they both lost their jobs and Tom decided to pursue this dream of opening a Chinese restaurant.

Ismaila Alfa: How did that idea evolve into what the shop does today?

Suresh Doss: So it began as a Chinese restaurant, because of his background and his inspiration from his parents. But he opens this place and the menu didn't take off at the current location. So they pivoted. Tom wanted to revisit his childhood memories in Saigon, so they turn the place into a sandwich shop. But he says that he didn't want to just do "cold cuts between two pieces of bread." So he starts tinkering by using stewed meat dishes in the sandwich, like the Banh Mi Ga. He makes a version of Cantonese Soy Sauce Chicken. He marinates pieces of meat in soy sauce - sugar, salt, garlic, black pepper and then grills it.

This brings so much flavour to the sandwich, when you have it tucked in with the Pickled carrots, cucumber, cilantro. It's nicely saucy, full of umami from the tender pieces of chicken. And you have the full spectrum of textures.

Ismaila: I could use that sandwich right about now.

Suresh Doss: Its the best thing on the menu but there are other versions. They make a pork version, same style of cooking, called the banh mi ca. One thing to note here is that aside from the bread, Tom and Tina make everything in house which is rare for a banh mi shop. They even make the mayonnaise in house, which is a signature spread on all the sandwiches. It's the same with the pate. You can get just the basic sandwich with pate, mayo, and the vegetables and still be blown away.

Ismaila Alfa: What if you don't eat pork?

Suresh Doss: The vegetarian banh mi is really great. Get the banh mi thap cam chay, which gives you the full range of pickled vegetables.

Ismaila Alfa: What's so great about a banh mi?

Suresh Doss: You can customize it however you want. You can get layers of cold cuts or in this case, the stewed chicken. It travels really well.

This is a small place so I would call ahead. Last time I went I picked up a few different sandwiches and kept in the fridge. It's like pizza in this case, even if it's cold, it's pretty damn good. 

This interview was edited for length and clarity.