Check ou Cafe Banh Mi Tao II in Sungai Besi that serves true blue Vietnamese food

KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 — I was bored of the same old stuff served in most Vietnamese places so I decided it was time to step out of my "safe zone" and explore.

There was talk that there's been a sudden surge of authentic Vietnamese places opening up that serve food which won't cost you an arm, a leg and an air ticket.

Fortunately for me, I scored a list of places a good friend had sniffed out like the culinary bloodhound that she is.

These are the places that make you feel like you have walked into a typical eatery in Vietnam. Frequented by homesick Vietnamese, we were the only "foreigners" in this small cafe located in South Gate.

We managed with our orders as the menu is in English complete with pictures.

After tasting the food and finding new flavours we were curious about, we hit the language roadblock so we became tourists — communicating with Google Translate or via relayed voice messages from a friend based in Vietnam.

We were also lucky as they had hired a local to help with their food delivery so we managed to get a little more information about the origins of this place.

From what we gathered, this small cafe is linked to a Vietnamese restaurant in Pandan Perdana.

The small kitchen serves food on the premises and also caters to orders for delivery.

Here, the menu offers banh mi sandwiches, snacks, noodles and rice dishes. Usually, food is ordered for delivery via WhatsApp or WeChat hence the place only has a few tables and chairs to cater to walk-ins.

We started with spring rolls to nibble on: fresh ones or Goi Cuon, and fried ones or Nem Ran.

Their Goi Cuon is filled with an assortment of herbs, greens, sliced prawns and their Vietnamese char siu. It's tasty just on its own. There's the dip if you want on the side.

As we ate the rolls, we tasted fresh Vietnamese basil, lettuce and chives. What puzzled us was the slightly sharp taste of one herb which was heart shaped. Turns out this is rau diep cha or fish mint that is common in Vietnam.

Usually, the spring rolls served here omit this fish mint as not many people can take the slightly fishy taste of the herb.

Just be careful when you eat the Goi Cuon as it's covered with a plastic sheet so just peel it away before eating your rolls. It's RM15 for four pieces.

Crunch down on 'Nem Ran' filled with minced pork and vegetables.

The Nem Ran are filled with minced pork and vegetables but needed more of the dip to give it flavour.

My friends were in the mood for noodles; the more unusual, the better.

You get unusual noodles on the menu like this 'Bun Mang Vit' or duck soup noodles with bamboo shoots.

It was my first time seeing Bun Mang Vit (RM18) or duck soup noodles with bamboo shoots on a menu. It came in a sweet clear broth lightly scented with strips of fresh bamboo shoots and sliced duck. As my friend dug deeper into the bowl, there were vegetables like chewy green strips which turned out to be kangkung stems!

You won't find beef pho here but they do serve Pho Ga or the chicken version. If you're looking for beef, they do Hu Tieu Bo Kho (RM20) or beef stew noodle soup. This was a light beef stew, sweetened with the delicate taste of tomatoes and those soft, stewed carrots.

Truly a bowl of comfort you want to eat in front of the television. The beef is stewed to a tender bite.

There's no beef 'pho' but this tasty 'Hu Tieu Bo Kho' with its light beef soup laced with tomatoes and sweet carrots is just as comforting.

Get the 'Com Tam' if you're feeling hungry as it's a hefty platter with grilled pork chop, steamed omelette with minced pork, and that addictive shredded pork skin.

I got the crowd favourite Com Tam (RM18) or broken rice with grilled pork chop. There's loads to eat with the rice, from the pork chop, Cha Trung or a Vietnamese style steamed omelette with minced pork, pickles, vegetables, a fish sauce dip and hold on, a very tasty mound of what I thought was vermicelli with chopped char siu.

Turns out this was shredded pork skin or Bi in Vietnamese! Its thin chewy strands are tossed with roasted rice powder and char siu. Seriously tasty, I finished it faster than the pork chop.

What an eye opener about Vietnamese food this meal turned out to be.

Various cold cuts are used for the 'banh mi'.

Pack home a fully loaded 'Banh Mi Thap Cam' with a mix of all kinds of cold pork cuts.

As they also offer Banh Mi sandwiches, I brought one home for dinner. I had greedily ordered the Banh Mi Thap Cam or the special mixed version for RM15.

This is truly a fully loaded sandwich as you have a smear of pate on the fluffy bread and it's stuffed with all types of goodies like ham, meatloaf, char siu, and even this thick pork belly. It's crowned with pickles, more of that addictive shredded pork skin and fresh coriander.

They toast it prior to packing it with a mild chilli sauce and soy sauce.

Even when eaten cold, it was a tasty bite. What I found interesting was how it wasn't dry like other sandwiches I have tried before.

Look for the cafe just adjacent to Hong Leong Bank in the Southgate Commercial Centre.

Pair it with a cup of Vietnamese coffee with milk (RM8) for a satisfying meal. The drinks are also unusual — Ginseng Pineapple, Bird Nest in a can, and Calamansi Coconut.

This place definitely needs more visits as there's Banh Uot or their version of chee cheong fun, Hu Tieu Nam Vang with pork and shrimp noodles and my favourite Bun Thit Nuong or grilled pork vermicelli salad.

Cafe Ban Mi Tao II, Lot D-01-1A, Block D, Southgate Commercial Centre, Jalan Chan Sow Lin, Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur. Open: 8am to 8pm. Closed for two days in a month. For WhatsApp orders, you can message 016-7776433. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089167488314

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