Out & About #122 | Banh Mi Boys

When a friend recommended Banh Mi Boys as one of the must-go places on her Places to Eat List, I cannot deny that I had my doubts. Some few months later, I finally made the decision to embark on a trip to their new location on Yonge St., between Dundas and College.

From the extensive data that was conducted prior, it seemed that the eatery commonly experienced long lines throughout the day, and especially during lunch hours. However, users did remark that despite the length of these lineups, wait times weren't long at all.

We arrived a little after 11:30 AM to find that majority of the seats had already been occupied. A small lineup had formed near the counter, but orders were processed quickly and soon it was our turn to order.

The diner was arranged in such a way that there was one member of staff taking orders at the cashier and several kitchen employees would prepare the orders at lighting speed once the slips were relayed to them. The workers, as I had observed, were all considerably young and appeared to be no older than late 20s. This applied to the girl that took our order as well.
For someone working in such a hectic environment, she was extremely sensitive and unnecessarily mindful of the camera that was present in my hand: I had paused to snap a quick shot of the "Welcome to Banh Mi Boys" sign on the cashier display, only to have her coarsely interrogate me about the photo and confirm that she was not included in it.
Judging that the camera had been pointing downwards and towards the far left, it would have been highly unlikely for her to be caught inside the frame anyways. I have never experienced such snide remarks while dining out before, and hope that this isn't the attitude that regular BMB-goers experience on a regular basis.

Orders were called out by and handed to customers over the counter directly from the kitchen staff as customers' names were written down on the order slip. I don't believe the girl even wrote down my name correctly, as my Braised Beef Bao had been called several times under a different name until I claimed it. Great job, I-don't-want-my-photo-taken girl! (And guess what? Another Yelp user that visited on the same day actually snapped your photo and uploaded it soon after!)

< Pictured above: Kimchi Fries with Green Onions and Pulled Pork, Braised Beef Steamed Bao >

View the full album HERE !

As I had assumed through photos, Banh Mi Boys operated mainly as a grab-and-go-style restaurant. Tables were scarce, and few were large enough to occupy more than four diners at once. Needless to say, it wasn't the most spacious of places, but the dining experience was great nonetheless. The tables were clean and the interior was brightly lit. The only strange aspect of the diner was that there were no glass windows; as opposed to this, the table located adjacent to the entrance was completely exposed to passerbys. While there was a nice breeze, I didn't appreciate that many pedestrians were smoking while strolling by. Charred seafood has a intricate bitter taste, but cigarette smoke and flavourful baos don't exactly compliment each other in the same manner.

To put it simply, both items were great. I had initially expected the Steamed Bao to be no wider than the width of my palm and not much better than stale bread with toppings, but was pleasantly surprised when it proved to be neither of those things. Quite a decent size, the order was equal parts soft, fluffy bao, sliced pickled carrots and radish, and flavourful braised beef with onion chutney.
The Kimchi Fries were also of a generous portion. Heavily deep fried till dark brown, they were then topped with fresh green onions, a thin layer of mayonnaise, and somewhat firm, mild kimchi. Surprisingly enough, the kimchi that had been placed on top did not yield soggy fries, but for the amount of deep-frying they had undergone, they weren't exactly crispy either.

Overall, the experience was a positive one - there is nothing I enjoy more than observing an efficient process in work. The entire duration of the lunch excursion was no more than twenty minutes, photo time and order confusion included. For my next visit, I'd definitely like to explore more of their menu options as well.

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