Recently, a video appeared on social media sharing the impressions of Hanoi's banh mi (Vietnamese baguette sandwich) by a foreign tourist named Clara Kevin.

The female tourist said: "I know that bread is one of the very popular foods here. Basically, it's like a sandwich with various fillings."

Accordingly, the female tourist chose a beef and cheese sandwich for dinner. She bought the sandwich at a shop on Hang Ca Street (Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi ), which she described as "relatively famous".

After taking a bite of the sandwich, Clara Kevin commented, "It's nothing special, but it's okay."

The video unexpectedly gained attention with over 820,000 views and more than 3,300 comments. Many netizens argued that judging "Vietnamese sandwiches are not special" based solely on eating a beef and cheese sandwich was biased.

"You're enjoying a beef and cheese sandwich. This isn't the kind of sandwich you usually see in Vietnam, so you can't really appreciate the taste," one commenter wrote.

"This isn't a traditional Vietnamese sandwich. It doesn't have pickled vegetables, pâté, or herbs. Traditional sandwiches use butter instead of cheese. Please try again," another user commented.

Many foreign tourists left comments praising Vietnamese banh mi: "I find this to be one of the best dishes I've ever tasted when I came to Vietnam"; "It's a shame you missed out on the best parts of the banh mi, which are the vegetables and sauce"; "Vietnamese food is amazing"...

After receiving so much negative feedback, Clara Kevin posted another video stating that her comments were her personal opinions.

Contacting the sandwich shop where the female tourist enjoyed the sandwich and filmed a video sharing her experience, the owner said: "In my opinion, each customer has different tastes and culinary preferences. Working in the service industry, we always welcome praise and criticism from customers to make adjustments accordingly."

I just watched the video and it seems the customer didn't criticize or make any negative comments about the food. She simply felt 'it wasn't anything special'.

The owner said the shop has been open since 2014 and has only one location. The target customer base is international tourists. Therefore, in addition to traditional sandwiches like mixed sandwiches and pate and char siu sandwiches, the shop also serves beef, chicken, and vegetarian sandwiches.

"Our customers come from many different countries and cultures. Therefore, the menu is diversified to cater to their needs. Beef and cheese sandwiches are one of them. This is a popular dish among many tourists," the owner said.

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The shop serves sandwiches with various fillings, catering to the diverse needs of foreign customers. Photo: Provided by the shop.

Although there are many different fillings, according to the owner, each sandwich must be delicious, hot, and crispy. It always comes with dipping sauce, herbs, and pickles – a characteristic feature of Vietnamese sandwiches.

"When foreign customers order, the staff always ask if they want a traditional type of sandwich. If they don't want one, they can choose a type they like. In this case, perhaps the girl only wanted the beef and cheese sandwich, without the herbs and pickles."

"In fact, the flavor of the sandwich is a combination of many ingredients. Just a little bit of pepper, herbs, or pickles missing will change its taste," the owner said.

According to our research, the restaurant has received quite good reviews on Tripadvisor - a popular global travel review platform. There are over 5,700 reviews about the food and an overall rating of 4.5/5.

The most expensive banh mi in Ho Chi Minh City: Western and Vietnamese customers line up under the scorching sun to buy it . At noon, when the outdoor temperature in Ho Chi Minh City was at its peak, reaching 38 degrees Celsius, a large number of delivery drivers and Western and Vietnamese customers still lined up to wait to buy a Huynh Hoa banh mi for 68,000 VND.