Banh Mi Lao Phu: two decades of Saigon flavour in every loaf

It began with a cart

Lao Phu was not born in a big kitchen. As the brand tells it, everything started with a little banh mi cart beside Ben Thanh Market and a simple aim: to sell passers-by an honest, well-made sandwich with the true taste of Saigon.

More than two decades later, the cart has become a shop of its own, open from 6am to 9pm every day. The old man smiling with crinkled eyes, dressed in a mandarin-collar shirt with cloth buttons, on its yellow sign has become a familiar face in the neighbourhood. The way the sandwiches are made has barely changed. The brand sums up its approach in one line: "Preserve the quality, respect the flavor, serve with all our heart."

The secret is in the pâté

Ask anyone in Saigon what makes a great banh mi and the answer usually starts with pâté. At Lao Phu it is made in house and spread thick, rich and fragrant enough to recognise from the first bite. Alongside it goes a sauce made to a family recipe the brand keeps to itself.

Then come the fillings: smoky grilled pork, silky chả lụa pork roll, cucumber, pickled vegetables, coriander and a touch of chilli. Each brings its own note, yet together they make a complete breakfast that fits in the palm of your hand.

There is one small step the shop never skips: toasting the bread. Loaves do not sit waiting in a case; each one is heated until crisp when the customer arrives. It takes only seconds, but it is the difference between an ordinary sandwich and one that brings people back.

Pork rolls made by hand

Most of what goes into the bread is made by Lao Phu itself. The shop keeps a full counter of Vietnamese pork rolls: chả lụa wrapped in banana leaf, springy beef roll, fried pork roll, chả cốm flavoured with young green rice, tangy nem chua and ham. Customers can take them home to eat with rice, roll in rice paper or serve at family gatherings.

The menu runs from morning to night. Breakfast brings the house special, char siu banh mi, bánh ướt rice rolls and mixed sticky rice. For those in a hurry, a banh mi and iced coffee combo starts at 38,000 dong, about $1.50, according to the shop’s menu. Younger customers tend to head for the hot dogs and cheesy smoked sausages.

Taking banh mi to the crowd

With its craft well established, Lao Phu has stepped beyond its own doors. It sets up hot banh mi stations at corporate events, fairs, exhibitions and festivals, and takes bulk orders for offices and schools. In 2025 it sponsored the Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai Festival, placing the banh mi alongside the áo dài, the traditional long dress, as two symbols of the same city.

Lao Phu also sells fillings and pork rolls wholesale to banh mi carts, restaurants and central kitchens. A recipe that once fit on a single cart now finds its way into sandwiches across the city.

A sandwich, a slice of Saigon

Vietnamese banh mi has travelled far. The word entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 2011. In 2024, food guide TasteAtlas ranked Vietnamese banh mi first on its list of the world’s 100 best sandwiches. The Vietnam Banh Mi Festival at Le Van Tam Park in April 2026 drew about 250,000 visits, according to Tuoi Tre newspaper.

Yet for most Saigonese, the best banh mi is still the one around the corner, where the seller remembers whether you like extra pâté or more chilli. That is the kind of banh mi Lao Phu wants to be: unfussy, familiar and the sort of place you find your way back to after the very first visit.

BANH MI LAO PHU

Address: I17 Street 38, former District 4, Ho Chi Minh City  ·  Open: 6am – 9pm daily

Hotline: 0969 872 121 – 0969 875 151  ·  Website: banhmilaophu.vn