Shake, Savor & Roll. A plate of shaking beef at Bánh Mì Bon is as big a pleaser like the restaurant’s baguette sandwich items.
Broth known as pho is one essence of Vietnamese cuisine. Bánh mì, the Vietnamese word for bread, is the other. Not just any type of bread but a baguette which is split lengthwise.
It’s a signature menu item that is stuffed to please at newly opened Bánh Mì Bon AT 10555 Westheimer Road. Specializing in baguettes and traditional Vietnamese dishes, Bánh Mì Bon owner Hien Huynh makes sandwiches filled with savory ingredients like grilled chicken, pork, beef and strips of carrots and greens. She says they can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch and dinner because plain bánh mì is also eaten as a staple food.
While Huynh describes her menu, a first-time customer pays a compliment. “Pretty good and the prices are good. I was going to eat somewhere else but saw you were open,” he said. That makes Huynh smile. He just ate her shaking beef or Bò lúc lắc, the restaurant’s most popular dish featuring a plate of vegetables and rice topped with grilled beef.
His feedback affirms her dream of bringing her traditional Vietnamese cooking to the public. A foray that began with a catering business five years ago, she recently made the jump to food service.
Owner Hien Huynh’s friends encouraged her to turn her catering operation into a restaurant in Westchase District.
“Whether you like American food or something else, everybody appreciates good food and that’s what I wanted to serve,” said Huynh. Looking for a restaurant location, she learned about Westchase District from friends. “They told me to look here and it was the place to be,” she said.
Comfort Break Vietnamese Style
The Vietnamese version of comfort food is bowls of Vermicelli rice noodles in sauce. An appetite for the dish can be met with stir fry lemongrass pork and six dishes made to order where diners have a choice of charbroiled meat or sautéed shrimp. Influenced by the geography of the country, Huynh’s cooking reflects how Vietnamese cuisine is divided into three distinct regions including the North, Central, and the South.
Each region has unique local specialties which compete for your palate. Huynh hails from Long Xuyên, the provincial city and capital city of An Giang Province, in the Mekong Delta region of south-western Vietnam.
A house special called Long Xuyên Rice plate pays homage to her native home. It’s a mound of rice sprinkled with diced meat, celery surrounded by sliced boiled eggs, more meat strips and sliced tomato.
For drinks, dining-in or on-the-go, Bánh Mì Bon has a variety of fruit juices with watermelon, orange and passion fruit which can be topped off with brown sugar, crystal bobas or tapioca bobas. Diners’ sweet cravings are satisfied with Vietnamese coffee, peach tea and honey oolong milk tea.
Bánh Mì Bon
10555Westheimer Rd. Suite G
346-802-4794
