Banh (Mi) Appétite!

By: Celia Kwan

Over the past few years in Hamilton, there has been an increase in popularity in Vietnamese cuisine, from Saigon Asian to Pho Rong Vang, to the Pho Soup Bar right in the student centre.

While Hamiltonians have been introduced to a variety of Vietnamese noodle soups and rice platters, Banh Mi – or Vietnamese sandwich – has not gained much presence in our city.

Like many others, Jennifer Tieu had trouble finding a banh mi shop when she first moved to Hamilton from Toronto. Hence, she started making her own sandwiches and eventually decided to open her own food stand this September.

Her shop – Nam Nom Banh Mi – is located in the Hamilton Farmer’s Market, which over the past year has seen the opening of shops from a variety of cultures. Like many other shops in the market, Nam Nom Banh Mi is very keen on their quality and on using fresh ingredients.

“We want it to fit in with… what people come to expect from a farmer’s market,” she explained.

For Tieu, having fresh ingredients is especially important in making a good Vietnamese sandwich.

“Everything we make is in-house, the bread is baked daily, and same thing with the daikon and carrots. We [pickle] them for about 24 hours… the mayonnaise we make daily and everything else is served and chopped that day.”

When establishing her brand, Tieu conducted a lot of research in order to establish a product and business that would resonate with Hamiltonians, the farmer’s market crowd, young professionals and students.

Tieu keeps the traditional warm sandwich as well as the sweet, the savory and the sour taste, she has also made some modifications to create a more inclusive menu.

“We were just thinking about the types and variations of banh mi and we decided on the pork belly, the pulled chicken and the tofu just so that there is a variety for everybody to try, because some people don’t eat pork and some people don’t eat meat.”

In the future, Nam Nom will potentially offer a monthly special, where they introduce a new banh mi every month. For now, Tieu’s goals for the food stand’s next few months are to establish their brand amongst the greater Hamilton and student communities.

“Since we’re relatively new, we want to get the word on our food out there...based on the [first] two weeks we’ve been open, people really like our food and we get tons of feedback every day, with lots of people posting pictures... It’s great to see people enjoying good food.”