Owner of 'world's best' banh mi shop in Hoi An reveals secret to attracting customers

Hoi An ancient town not only attracts tourists by its hundred-year-old yellow-painted houses bearing the mark of time, the rows of colorful lanterns or the poetic and peaceful Hoai River, but also by its attractive and delicious street food . Rustic dishes such as Cao Lau, chicken rice, stir-fried mussels, corn sweet soup, Quang noodles, rice paper... have all become "must-try specialties" for tourists. Among them, it is impossible not to mention Banh Mi.

Hoi An street food attracts tourists (Photo: Thach Thao)

When it comes to Hoi An bread, it is not an exaggeration to say that the name that immediately comes to mind for tourists is Phuong bread - a brand that has been highly praised by the media and culinary experts around the world . The late world-class chef Anthony Bourdain - who once ate bun cha with President Obama in Hanoi, called Phuong bread "the best bread in the world". After only 2 minutes of appearing on his show No Reservations, Phuong bread has reached out to the world, creating a "fever" in the tourism community.

After many years, Phuong bread still proves its own appeal.

Located on Phan Chu Trinh Street, Mrs. Truong Thi Phuong's bakery is rarely empty of customers. During peak lunch hours from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., customers often line up in front of the door, waiting for 20-30 minutes, while all the tables inside are full. Even on weekends, at 9-10 p.m., customers still gather in large numbers waiting to buy a loaf of bread.

Locals and tourists line up to buy Phuong bread at 10am (Photo: Thach Thao)

Ms. Phuong confided that she has been selling bread since she was in her 20s. "When I was young, my family was poor, so making bread for breakfast was also a dream of mine. That is also the reason why I have been attached to bread until now," Ms. Phuong said.

This woman said she learned to cook from her mother and grandparents. Ms. Phuong’s mother is originally from the North, so her dishes are very meticulous and careful, combining the two regions.

Banh mi Phuong has a diverse menu with dozens of different fillings such as char siu, pate, cheese, bacon, meatloaf, sausage, ... and many types of vegetables such as cucumber, pickles, basil, coriander, onion, ... When biting into the bread, diners can feel the crispiness of the hot crust, the filling is soaked in rich traditional sauce, in harmony with the sweet and sour taste of the vegetables, the aroma of coriander and onion. The meat here is rich, the skin is crispy, the pate is fragrant.

Ms. Phuong - the friendly owner introduces the family bakery (Photo: Thach Thao)

Ms. Phuong said that the fillings and vegetables are made fresh every day and not frozen. From 4am, she and her staff receive fresh meat from the slaughterhouse, wash and prepare it carefully before processing. The spices used to marinate the meat are quite familiar, such as lemongrass and galangal, without using spices or food coloring.

The bread is also ordered from a familiar establishment for many years. The bread is made from pure wheat flour mixed with "genuine" yeast from France. This ingredient is usually 2-3 times more expensive than regular flour, but the bread crust does not crumble, is more fragrant, chewy and sweeter.

A loaf of bread filled with filling and vegetables (Photo: Thach Thao)

Ms. Phuong is also a person who is willing to change and add new flavors to the menu. Many Western customers who come to the restaurant are not used to enjoying pate, so she thinks of using cheese to suit their taste, combining grilled chicken and butter. "However, Phuong's bread always puts the traditional elements of Hoi An, Vietnam first," she said.

Until now, Phuong bread still maintains a reasonable price, from 35,000 VND/loaf.

International tourists enjoy Hoi An's famous bread (Photo: Thach Thao)

This delicious bread is even "airlifted" to Hanoi to serve diners. Ms. Phuong said that every week, she usually packs about 100-200 pieces to ship to Hanoi. Due to the high cost of packaging and air transport, the price of the bread is about 20,000-30,000 VND different from that in Hoi An.

According to Ms. Phuong, there are many parties who want to order her shop's bread to be shipped to provinces such as Hanoi, Ha Tinh, Nghe An, but she has to refuse because she cannot meet the quantity of goods and is concerned that the shipping process will affect the quality. Ms. Phuong also said: Packing bread for long-distance shipping is much more laborious and time-consuming than selling directly. The shop has to carefully pack each portion of bread, sauce, vegetables, and wrap them in a foam box.

In 2019, Phuong's bread caused a stir when it "crossed the border" and appeared in Korea. The shop has a Hoi An-style space in the heart of Korea. Before the official opening day, Ms. Phuong went to Korea for about 10 days to instruct Korean chefs on standard bread making recipes. Here, each bread costs around 150,000-170,000 VND/piece.

In Hoi An, besides Phuong bread, Madam Khanh bread is equally famous. This is also a bread shop that makes many diners nod their heads in praise and affectionately name the owner "Banh Mi Queen - queen of bread". Compared to Phuong bread, Madam Khanh bread is more purely Vietnamese, the fillings are also less, in addition to pate, char siu, grilled meat, roast meat, recently there is chicken. In addition, there are indispensable pickles, sauces cooked according to Mrs. Loc's (owner's) recipe and Tra Que herbs.