Grilled pork (Nem nuong) banh mi

Pretty sure this was my first nem nuong banh mi—or maybe I’ve had one before and forgot. Honestly, I’m a bit of a goldfish these days (or maybe I’ve just eaten one too many sandwiches 😂). I know I’ve had nem nuong in other dishes before, and in Thai/Lao cuisine we’ve got nem sausage too (that one’s sour though, which always makes me mix up the name). Anyway, back to the banh mi.

This was actually an unexpected stop—I had other plans but was running short on time, so I ducked into the first sandwich shop I passed, which happened to be Banh Mi Dee in Glebe. When I first unwrapped it, I was a bit taken aback at how red the nem nuong was—like, redder than a frickin’ beetroot 😂.

Pretty happy with this detour though, because the banh mi turned out to be super tasty. The bread was great—light, airy, and crusty. The grilled pork had really nice flavour, well-marinated and tender. The veggies were fresh, sweet, and crunchy, and the sauce gave it a nice rich finish. Only real downside was the packing—everything was uneven, with all the meat sitting up top instead of spread through. I asked for extra spicy too, but the heat only kicked in near the last few bites. Bit of a shame, because otherwise this could’ve easily been a 10.