Lucky was ranting and raving about Banh Mi Boys. She hummed and hawed over their Kimchi fries which raised my eyebrows and scrunched my face. I lived in Seoul for a year back in 2008 and realized kimchi was not for me. While I have never had an affinity for Kora’s national culinary trademark I was intrigued by her honest enthusiasm. I have also traveled extensively through Vietnam and ate my first Banh Mi while wandering the streets of Hanoi. I checked out the restaurants asian fusion “grab and go” friendly menu online and added it to my to do list.
It seemed like the entire city was rambling on about the success of Banh Mi Boys so when organizing a lunch date in the Queen and Spadina hood I felt it was the perfect spot to feast. I met with Rebecca, the Director of the Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance for lunch to chat about the summers upcoming Ontario Culinary Tourism Awards which I will be judging with a top notch team.
I arrived at 11:30am and by the time we left two hours later the entire place was packed with a line out the door. I tried to order one of everything off the menu and was a huge fan of their crunchy and fresh Banhh Mi. I popped open the kimchi fry take out box and stabbed it with my fork. Closed my eyes and shoved it in my mouth. I was pleasantly surprised that I fell in love with this kimchi centric dish. A treat that I will admit I have craved since. The combination of crispy frites, sweet mayo and fermented cabbage forced a smile across my stuffed face.
Banh Mi Boys offers up an exceptional menu with a focus on fresh ingredients, creativity shines through on old classics and most importantly makes our wallets happy as it with its affordable pricing.
We enjoyed (* notes my favorites):
Kimchi Fries *
Jicama Papaya Salad
Grilled Pork Banh Mi *
Pulled Pork Taco
Beef Cheek Steam Bao *
