WTF: Hing Won Now Selling Chinese “Banh Mi”
Just when you thought the whole banh mi craze couldn’t get any crazier, Hing Won (on 48th btw. 5+6th) has added banh mi to their menu. Yes, my favorite fast food Chinese place, known for their Chinatown style meats, soups, and noodle dishes is now serving Vietnamese sandwiches. W…T…F? My gut instinct is to laugh this one off and- in what should be a surprise to no one- it’s not a completely “authentic” banh mi, but that doesn’t mean it’s not good.
Check out what they’re serving, after the jump…
Basically if the thought of eating Hing Won’s delicious roast meats in sandwich form appeals to you, you should be excited about this news. The sandwiches cost $6 ($6.45 for the duck) and are served on french bread, topped with “pickled carrots and daikon, cucumber, jalapeno, and cilantro”. Sadly there’s no pate, and the meat options are strictly Chinese (roast pork, roast duck, two kinds of chicken, and “crispy Chinese pork belly”) but it’s a pretty good effort considering it’s coming from a Chinese restaurant. They also have a vegetarian version with portobello mushrooms.
I didn’t actually try a full sandwich (I had already eaten), but they did have little samples. I tried the crispy Chinese pork belly, which wasn’t very crispy- but still tasty. The bread isn’t the greatest of all time either, but overall I’m definitely interested in returning to try a sandwich. I love Hing Won’s roast pork… what could be bad about eating it in sandwich form? Initial impression from the free sample: not as Vietnamese as Boi Sandwich (on 3rd btw. 44+45th), or as tasty as Baoguette (on Lex btw. 25+26th)- but might end up being my favorite new sandwich option near Rockefeller Center. Early adopters, let us know how the full sandwiches are.
Related:
It all started with Hing Won… one year ago this week
Original Hing Won Post (6/8/06)
Posted by Zach Brooks at 11:45 am, June 15th, 2009 under Chinese, Hing Won, Sandwiches, Vietnamese.
19 Comments | RSS comments feed for this post
Chinese style banh mi. It sounds interesting. Price might not appeal to moi if hero isn’t sizeable. :P