The Banh Mi Co Ba Saigon that Hanbin TEMPEST ate: Tearful and spoiled

After having a great night at the VPBank K-star Spark In Vietnam concert at My Dinh Stadium on the evening of June 21, Hanbin - a Vietnamese member of the K-pop group TEMPEST - stayed in his home country for a few days before going to Korea.

TEMPEST's official fanpage posted a photo of Hanbin checking in to Hanoi with a "combo" of bread and soy milk with the caption "tearful and spoiled". After two days, the post attracted more than 55,000 likes, nearly a thousand comments, and thousands of shares.

The shop owner "flexed" under the "so touching" post; fans urgently asked for the address to come over and eat the sandwich like their idol.

Inside the 55,000 VND cold cut sandwich

The "teary and spoiled" trend was originally used by some TikTokers, notably Minh Minh Ty Ty, to describe the attractiveness, deliciousness, or eye-catching appearance of dishes.

Gradually, this phrase was transformed and widely used by Vietnamese youth in many different contexts, mainly to praise something/someone.

bánh mì - Ảnh 2. — The photo of Hanbin checking in with the "combo" of bread and soy milk went viral online - Photo: Fanpage TEMPEST

Hearing Hanbin's caption "tearful and spoiled", fans exclaimed: "People don't use the phrase 'delicious' anymore but instead follow the trend of 'tearful and spoiled'. Just came back to Vietnam but caught the trend without missing a beat."

"The caption shook the three worlds", "bread and soy milk, a destructive combo", "returning to Vietnam is so cool, right?", "he's such a trending undercover agent", "so delicious"... are other comments.

Some "slow-witted" people said "you have to google to understand what he's saying". Everyone praised Hanbin for being cute, adorable, and showing off Vietnamese culture whenever they had the chance.

Ms. Tran Bich Ngoc, owner of Co Ba's sandwich shop, confirmed to Tuoi Tre Online that the sandwich Hanbin ate was her cold cut sandwich on Phan Dinh Phung street.

Because the photo went viral, the restaurant quickly printed it out and posted it right in front of the counter. Instead of ordering a "combo" of cold meat sandwich and soy milk, some people jokingly said it should now be called a "Hanbin combo".

According to research, the special cold cut sandwich that Hanbin ate cost 55 thousand VND. The bottle of soy milk cost 15 thousand VND. The total "combo" cost 70 thousand VND.

At first glance, it seems expensive because normally, bread costs from 15-25 thousand VND. But after seeing and trying it, I understood why Hanbin commented that the bread was "coquettish and tearful". Not only was it big, enough for two people to eat one bread, but the filling inside was very full. If one person ate it, they would be full and a bit bored.

bánh mì - Ảnh 3. — Close-up of the "huge" cold cut sandwich, enough for two people to finish - Photo: DAU DUNG

In addition to char siu, the filling includes smoked pork leg, Vietnamese sausage, ham, other cold cuts, liver pate, shredded pork floss, green onions, sweet and sour pickled radish, butter sauce, special sauce, cucumber, sliced fresh chili...

bánh mì - Ảnh 4. — Hanbin accidentally became the brand's representative - Photo: DAU DUNG

Saigon bread is loved by Hanoians

Ms. Tran Bich Ngoc said that when Hanbin came by, she was not at the shop, the staff were also familiar with K-pop idols. When the TEMPEST fanpage posted a photo, and a friend tagged it, and looked at the cake, Ms. Ngoc immediately knew it was her cake.

"The most touching thing is that a young person like Hanbin, despite being famous, is always proud and constantly spreading the beauty of the country's culture and homeland cuisine . He makes vendors like me feel proud too," she said.

When the photo went viral online, the restaurant checked the camera and saw Hanbin eating outside; however, due to the customer's personal information, the restaurant did not post it.

bánh mì - Ảnh 5. — Ingredients to make the "tearful and coquettish" bread - Photo: DAU DUNG

Ms. Ngoc said that Miss Ba's Banh Mi has been in operation for several years. Besides the location Hanbin visited, the shop also has other branches.

Instead of the traditional Hanoian bread, Ms. Ngoc chose Saigon bread to sell. This is also one of the pioneering establishments in making Saigon-style cold cuts sandwiches in Hanoi, so it is loved and welcomed by customers.

She said that banh mi is a typical dish throughout Vietnam, because of its simplicity and convenience. To her, banh mi is also a transmission of multi-regional culinary culture. Each place has a different delicious style.

"Because of my passion for different flavors of bread, I made and brought Saigon bread to Hanoi so that people could have more cultural experiences and have a little variation to suit the taste of Hanoians. A big, full loaf like that always stimulates the souls of food lovers," Ngoc shared.