First of all if you can read French I would like to recommend an excellent restaurant review site mmmm! and yes, that's the name: mmmm! I like the name and for my money it's the best Paris site for restaurants.
I went back to Belleville today and although I didn't eat here this time I'm posting the photo because perhaps it will make you smile.
The Hawaiian restaurant. Look closely at the sign in the upper right hand corner: it's the laughing cow!
Anyway getting down to today's lunch. I decided to do a taste test and compare two Vietnamese sandwiches. They were both purchased on the same street about twenty meters from one another. The first sandwich was purchased here:
And it looked like this:
The "special" for 2,20 euros.
The second sandwich was purchased here:
Panda Belleville? I think this may have been a Chinese place in a former life and they must just have left the sign...ah, the charms of Belleville and mixed Asian neighborhoods.
Here is the sandwich:
Once again the "special" and it cost 2,50 euros (,30 more than at Hoa Hung).
Here are the sandwiches side by side:
The Hoa Hung sandwich is in front and it is slightly bigger than the Panda sandwich. Now for a close up of each sandwich and my review.
Hoa Hung, this sandwich on a buttered baguette contains somekind of luncheon meat (perhaps chicken), sliced pork, diced chicken, shredded carrot, onion, cucumber, very hot chile pepper (yes I am a daring luncher), coriander and some sort of Vietnamese sauce. It tasted good but unfortunately it got points off because the baguette was kind of stale.
And so the winner is:
Although these sandwiches look similar the Panda wins for two reasons. Firstly it was served on a crispy unbuttered baguette, and secondly, it just tasted better. It contained the same luncheon meat, sliced pork, diced chicken, shredded carrots mixed with some shredded white vegetable, cucumber, onion, chili pepper, coriander and Vietnamese sauce. Somehow the white vegetable mixed in with the carrot soaked up more sauce and just gave that little extra flavor. So, for 2,50 this was a good sandwich!
Tomorrow is Easter so I'm going to the big Chinatown in the 13th for Easter dinner.
See you then and as always, happy lunching!
Eternal truths will be neither true nor eternal unless they have fresh meaning for every new social situation .
Posted by: new balance | 20 October 2010 at 09:47
The incidence of these foods on nutritional status and health varies if intake is sporadic or continuous. For both children and adults, is not the same if you eat healthy food once a week every day.
Posted by: buy propecia online | 18 May 2010 at 19:04
Hallow Emily! Your suggest is wery useful information for tourists untill their tour and they not have a time to lunch. Thank you, nice blog...
Posted by: Paris Hotel | 27 October 2009 at 09:38
Hi Emily
finally someone who mentions one of my favorite places in Paris, the Panda Belleville.
I will for sure check out all the places you suggest in this blog, but I also thought I should say something more about the Panda Belleville. Please go back and give the following items a try:
-the chicken sandwich,
-the "pho sate boulette" (the reason why I travel 50 minutes to go there, ask, it's not on the menu)
-a "boisson haricots rouge" (I agree about the arc-en-ciel drink beeing so so)
Let me know what you think if you have a chance!
Posted by: Zoukini | 02 January 2009 at 18:55
Hi Emily - Those Banh Mi looked pretty good. That Hawaienne sign cracked me up. The "cow" sign is sort of the International symbol for Pho'.
Happy Easter!
Posted by: Kirk | 16 April 2006 at 22:53
Emily! Oh. My. Gawd. I LOVE Vietnamese sandwiches - I used to buy half a dozen at a time and bring them up skiing with me.
Posted by: dana | 16 April 2006 at 00:14
Hi Betty,thanks for checking in, and yes, it is weird but you either live in Paris or you live somewhere else in France...
Please, just let me know when you are ready to reveal the pure pleasures of the Aveyron region...some cheese perhaps, or some local woman and here local cake, oh just something...
Posted by: Emily K | 15 April 2006 at 22:55
We are in two different worlds -- I didn't even know Vietnamese sandwiches existed! They seem to be a going concern in Paris. From here I must admit the sandwiches look pretty similar. Great post!
Posted by: bcinfrance | 15 April 2006 at 22:35