After falling in love with Vietnamese banh mi, a popular type of local sandwich, British chef Luke Farrell on August 2 decided to open a banh mi pop-up shop on New Oxford street in London.
A delicious banh mi at Viet Populaire (Photo credit: Viet Populaire)
According to British online guide Secretldn, Luke Farrell is keen to introduce the Vietnamese food to Londoners after opening Viet Populaire - one of London's first dedicated banh mi stores.
The news outlet states that each banh mi is served Hanoi-style on freshly baked baguettes, stuffed with rich, unctuous pork or fried tofu, with bright, acidic pickled vegetables and creamy pâté.
“Still-warm-from-the-oven bread ensconces the perfectly balanced sandwich in a crackly-crusted textural delight. Each bite is an explosion of complementary and balancing flavours, textures, and temperatures,” describes Secretldn.
The British publisher also shares that along with the classic banh mi and the vegetarian tofu banh mi, a special breakfast banh mi can also be purchased at the pop up along with Vietnamese filter coffee.
“It’s an intensely strong dark filter coffee roasted with butter and vanilla, that is dripped over condensed milk. Strong, sweet, and bitter, it’s just as balanced as the banh mi sandwiches,” the outlet concludes.