Best Baguette

A couple of weeks ago when I was on my quest for oxtails, I took myself off via #9 bus to Fubonn Market. It's about a 40 minute trip but the time passed by quickly as I daydreamed about this and that and talked to the voices in my head. I'm not sure if I would have had the dedication to go to Fubonn if I hadn't also wanted to go to Best Baguette to try their banh mi sandwiches. I read about Best Baguette in the nytimes and it sounded both cheap and delicious. And notably, when I mentioned the words "banh mi" to my labmates in Portland they usually returned with "Best Baguette mmm" so I knew I was on the right track. Fubonn was a delight of a store; much more eclectic than other Asian supermarkets I've visited in the past, which tend to be predominantly Chinese or Japanese. I sensibly restricted myself to what I could carry, mostly by repeating this mantra: I will come back, I will come back.

After 1+ hour of wandering around in Fubonn and picking up a couple of pineapple buns at a nearby bakery (I do not recommend this place), I finally got myself a banh mi. I chose the grilled pork and got some fresh sugar cane juice too. The beverage actually cost more than the sandwich. And, having had sugar cane juice in Singapore and Taiwan (I watched muscular ladies squeeze the juice out of the canes for me) I have to say that Best Baguette's was disappointing and tasted weird, like they thinned it out with oj or something. Their banh mi sandwich though, was very tasty. The bread in particular was wonderful: crispy paper thin crust and a soft but flavorful middle. I will most certainly continue to plan my Fubonn trips in conjunction with banh mi sandwiches in the future so I can try all the other tasty looking ones from the menu.