Vietnamese Sub Recomendations for Vancouver?

[vaneater]

I would appreciate any recommendations to good Vietnemese sub places in Vancouver. My favourites currently are Viet Sub on Robson, Tiem Banh Dong Khanh on Kingsway, and sometimes Ba Le. Thanks.

[slugsunderfoot]

- i used to hit various locales in the ' little saigon ' section of kingsway- but grew tired of the smokers ( management- tolerated ) lighting up at tables DESPITE the ' no smoking ' signs always in evidence. having said that- the small joint on robson @ richards ( southwest corner ) executes a VERY tasty vegetarian version ( hey- this is vancouver ! )
- i was in there 2 days ago with a companion. she had the chicken ' sub ' and gave it an overwhelming ' thumbs down '. the cilantro / carrots / daikon ( ? ) were fresh and crunchy, and the bread was nicely warmed and flavourful- but the ' sauce ' had been dumped on as if from the bowels of a cement mixer- and the chicken component of it consisted of dried- out, spindly bits of tough, tired, WAY- over salted poulet reminiscent of beef jerky. one of the kitchen hands also stepped outside for a minute for a smoke- directly in front of the business. not the best optics in THIS city.

[fmed]

There are a number of Vietnamese cafes there that still allow smoking and gambling. I know to avoid those now.

I have heard mixed reviews about Viet Sub on Robson. I haven't tried it myself.

[Pata_Negra]

i have it on good authority that 'au petit cafe' is authentic. and i agreed! was back in YVR for 2 short weeks and ate 6 of these on 3 different occasions. my last 2 were eaten at the airport. [pics: http://bonvivantnl.fotopic.net/p61596...

]

got one from Ba Le for old time's sake. it was painful to finish the whole thing :(

over to our resident experts....

[daily_unadventures]

I am a die hard au petit cafe fan myself.

[fmed]

Yikes! Which Ba Le did you go to Pata? Ba Le (Kingsway - which isn't affiliated to Main St) and Tung Hing (aka Tiem Banh Dong Khanh) are my two favourites followed by Au Petit Cafe. The Ba Le on Kingsway has a new in-house baking operation and as a result, the bread is much better than it used to be. (They used to source the baguettes from Princess Bakery across Kingsway). They have very good charcuterie too. (Many of Vancouver's banh mi shops use Ba Le's meats.)

[Pata_Negra]

unfortunately the wrong Ba Le (on Main st.). should have gone to the Kingsway one. i went back Au Petit Cafe twice. every time there was a queue each for the baguettes inside, and another outside for the tables.

i shall give the Kingsway Ba Le a go next time.

[fmed]

Just to clarify: I've been under the misconception that the two Ba Le's are "branches" of one operation. In a recent discussion at another site, we realized that they weren't related at all (though there may be a family relation in there somewhere). The Kingsway Ba Le does provide much of Ba Le Main's ingredients.

In any case have a look at this sandwich from Ba Le Kingsway (fresh baguette just minutes out of the oven):

[PolarBear]

The roll is critical to a well made banh mi, these look fabulous. I discovered that my favorite place for them here in central California sources their specially baked loaves from the same French bakery that we used in our restaurant 30 years ago.

[fmed]

The baguette comes first for me. My top two spots: Tung Hing and Ba Le (Kingsway) both have their own baking operations in-house. Quite often, the buns are still a bit warm from the oven when the sandwich is made.

[Pata_Negra]

they look great! Main st. Ba Le's don't look this good.

yes, from your previous response i realised they were not related. i found 2 slices of non Vietnamese ham in the rolls!

how long has the Kingsway shop been around? i did see it last year but don't remember ever seeing it 20 years ago.

[fmed]

It has been there for want seems like forever...perhaps over 20 yrs? My memory is fuzzy.

[jcolvin]

Bump for Tung Hing. It's been my regular for a few years now. Although I always seem to end up in line behind someone ordering 10 subs.