5-Spice Asian Street Market, a 6-year-old fast-casual restaurant in Boca Raton, Florida, in its ongoing mission to bring to America hidden culinary treasures from different regions of Asia with uncompromising authenticity and quality, is introducing Banh Mi to its menu offerings.
Although still new to South Florida, Vietnamese baguette sandwiches, called Banh Mi, have already attracted a cult-like loyal fan base in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and San Jose and other major cities in California.
The uniqueness of these sandwiches includes the French-influenced baguette, usually made with a combination of rice and/or wheat flour, resulting in a very light, crackly crust and not overly dense bread and savory, international fillings.
The Original version at 5-Spice begins with a freshly baked French Alpine baguette, layered with mayonnaise and French liver pate spread, slices of Chinese roast pork, and Vietnamese pork roll, combined with English cucumber, pickled Japanese daikon, and carrot. It is topped with cilantro, jalapeno, and Maggi seasoning.
For those less adventurous, 5-Spice offers two additional versions–grilled chicken or Chinese roast pork–with the same condiments and toppings.
"When we opened 5-Spice Asian Street Market in January of 2006, our mission was to bring the delicious, authentic, affordable dishes we found and loved in the street stalls and markets all across Asia to America," says Melissa Leung, cofounder and chief concept officer. Leung was born in Vietnam and lived in several other Asian countries before settling in the U.S.
"We are the only restaurant in Florida that offers a wide variety of popular, authentic Asian dishes in one place," she continues. "What we serve you can only find today in urban areas of major cities such as New York, L.A., and San Francisco. I believe Banh Mi will maintain our legacy and become as desired and loved here as it has been in Vietnam for many generations."
As with Banh Mi, 5-Spice Asian Street Market plans on continuing its tradition of developing and introducing at least one new menu item each quarter from a different region of Asia.
"Our loyal clientele really enjoy the broad variety of Asian dishes they can only find here," Leung says. "They come from near and far expecting to find unique and special dishes.
