banh mi xo - oslo, norway

Rating:  7 / 10

I am fully aware that I show favouritism towards asian cuisine on this blog, but I'm not going to apologise for it. I grew up in Asia, have spent half my adult life there, and crave fruits from her bounty every waking minute of existence. Having said all that, it can be problematic fawning over authentic Asian food and living in a city like Oslo. Choices are plentiful, good choices are slim.

After a triumphant visit to my dentist, culiminating in them telling me I didn't need further work, and therefore sparing my bank account from a further battering, I walked home via a few side-streets I don't frequent. I spotted a line of people obviously waiting for a spot of lunch, and leant in further to investigate. A banh mi spot? Here? Well I never.

Curiosity got the better of me, and with a devilish addiction to Banh Mi, I could hardly resist trying to see if the line was reflective of the quality or just the convenience. 

I'll admit, I balked at the price. 115kr for a fucking mini-baguette with some freshness tucked on top. Insane. However, the taste was better than most places I had tried. I found the pork flavoursome but overly sweet, however, the rest of the ingredients made up for that oversight, and char sui is almost always too sweet for me anyway so it's not their fault. 

It was the only Banh Mi in Oslo that didn't shy away from lots of fresh coriander, and the carrots and cucumbers were more the style i'm used to in Vietnam. There was no pate, but this seems to not be a thing in local Vietnamese outlets. All in all it was a tasty, fresh, crispy yet light Banh Mi, and probably the best example I found thus far in Oslo.

The price, however, is a sticking point, so it got a point deducted for that.

These recommendations are just personal opinions based on my palate, things change, chefs get fired or replaced, places open-close, relocate, so take it all with a pinch of MSG  and discover your own gems too. But please do try a few of these, they have been researched exhaustively.