Ben Thanh

You’re sure to find a warm welcome in this ramshackle Vietnamese gem, where owner Anne and her husband Chung greet you with big smiles and delectable traditional banh mi.

Ben Thanh opened in 2005 when the couple began selling their Vietnamese fare, renting half of a fish’n’chip shop from the existing owners. With the chippy now closed, the couple uses the entire space to sell banh mi.

There’s only a handful of items on the menu: three different banh mi which ring in at affordable prices. They come with crispy grilled bread, all the fixings plus a protein choice of pork, chicken or sardine (a firm favourite among local observant Muslims). The pork roll is particularly impressive and, when you order, Anne will tell you how she lovingly roasts the pork and slathers it in pate, pork gravy and mayo.

There’s also a delightful sugar cane juice hand-pressed on a geriatric roller and topped with fresh cumquat.