I am a huge banh mi fan – it was something I had a lot of when I was in Vietnam. Vietnamese food can be relatively healthy, while still being filling enough for someone like me who likes to eat a lot! Street food over there is also really high quality, and much more affordable than the resturants targetting tourists. My go to is a pork belly, or (even better) crispy pork belly.
Vietnamese is pretty popular in Canberra, and I try new Vietnamese restaurants and cafes when they open up. This includes a few I tried in the past 12 months. Back to the best banh mi in Canberra. Naturally, as big banh mi fan, I’ve always been on the hunt for the best banh mi in Canberra.
Side note: Some people call it banh mi, some Canberrans (not me) apparently also call it a Saigon roll. I’d never heard this before, but apparently it is prevalent enough that SBS covered it in this article: https://www.sbs.com.au/food/article/2019/12/16/vietnamese-food-crawl-banh-mi-or-saigon-roll
Don’t just take my word for it, I also looked at some local Facebook groups and talked to friends and family to arrive at a more comprehensive list of the best banh mi spots in Canberra.
I think Vietnamese Bakery & Cafe in Fyshwick is comfortably the best banh in Canberra. The only reason I’ve added the caveat (according to me) above is because most people don’t find themselves out in Fyshwick, let alone looking for Vietnamese in Fyshwick. Vietnamese Bakery & Cafe is also great for quiche, amongst a slew of other baked goods.
They have pork belly and chicken options, as well as a vegetarian option with tofu. The salads are always so fresh and flavourful, and they ask you if you’re like some chilli and soy – I would definitely say ‘yes!’, the chilli especially adds some flavour and kick.
If you’re looking for rice paper rolls, I really like the ones at spot next to Kapital Kebab. Honestly, I go there so much but I can’t remember the name of the place.