Bun Bun Bakery — Restaurant in Melbourne

Always drive past the store and notice queues nearly everytime throughout the day. Due to this observation we decided to pop in after ordering there once years prior.

That experience wasn't memorable as they didn't have any bread rolls at the time which was only around 2-3pm on a weekday. So, we thought lets give them another try to see what the long queues are again, all about..

First off we're baffled as to why the rating is so high and obviously accounts for the queues. We regularly eat banh mi thit from a couple other bakeries in Springvale which still taste authentic like they tasted 20 years earlier when I went with a child.

When I say 'authentic' I mean it doesn't include lettuce for one and secondly the overall ingredients used, service and price are quite more modernised and obviously different to majority of Vietnamese bakeries in Springvale. Personally we were after that authentic experience and instead we were disappointed.

The bread is the best part of the experience, it was fresh and crunchy yet soft inside (expected as it was approx 9am in the morning on a Friday). We ordered a chicken roll and a Xiu Mai roll which I noticed from reviews that it isn't the most popular customer choice.

The chicken roll was flavoursome and included most of what a banh mi thit has inside. Although the Xiu Mai had uneven spread throughout the roll and too much soya sauce in every bite I had. I barely tasted the mayo/butter not the pate. There was a big sprig of spring onion and my least favourite lettuce. I prefer it without although I wanted the full experience without altering the order.

The service was expected in comparison to many other businesses in the area. When we asked for the price as we only carried $20 cash on us, we noticed it was much more pricier than other banh mi thit rolls sold in Melbourne. Luckily we had cash on hand as we usually don't carry much although when shopping in Springvale, it's a must if you're looking to shop around.

The price was a bit of a shock at $8 a roll and if we wanted just a bread roll with only mayo/butter and pate for our little one, the owner wanted $5!!! (So no vegies or meat)

Overall, not at all what it's hyped up to be according to the noticeable queues and online reviews. Definitely not the best in Melbourne nor in town if you're after a more authentic Vietnamese roll.

Looking at the reviews (especially the photos), it appears many customers opted for the roast pork roll which we plan to make one more trip to try out. We also didn't see a menu on the board for the original cold meat roll, but there were ones with a selection of just one of the cold meats on its own. No pricing on the board either. We will also order a cold meat roll to try and give an honest review.

We will update the review accordingly after our...

I've been to many Banh Mi places in Aus and I'm genuinely surprised by the hype of this place. Firstly, they got my orders both wrong (ordered 2x mixed ham rolls without chilli and got 2x crispy pork rolls with chilli). I clarified my order when the lady was holding the wrong order asking me again whether I wanted chilli. There was one other person raising concern that their order was wrong too, so it might be that it was domino effect, though this would be surprising given it wasn't busy at all.

Another thing is that there's limited signage indicating they only accept payment via PayID or cash, which is a huge difference to almost every other Banh Mi place, or any bakery really. It's not a difficult transaction to make but it creates an unnecessary line of people who didn't expect to have to pay via a method different to a simple credit card transaction. The lady who took and made my order completely wrong was busy making other rolls, so I showed another lady the transaction receipt on my phone and she nodded. As I walked out, the lady who took my order yells at me to come back and show her the receipt despite me showing the other lady. She was obviously quite ignorant and rude. Better signage of the payment methods needs to be done and I'm not sure why this hasn't already occured.

The Banh Mi itself was unsurprisingly decent, so I wouldn't downgrade any rating of the food less based on the subpar experience. It tasted very sesame-ish. Can't fault the bread, pate and meat, they were quite good. I find it hard to see how the food is rated so highly, but i appreciate it could depend on which roll one gets (although they might get that wrong as in this case). Overall, my experience is that the hype around this place is greater than the...

I took my first bite of their Roast Pork BBQ Banh Mi and thought to myself "my life has hope"

It was my first Banh Mi in Melbourne and what a great little spot to start on a whole new foodie adventure. We made the trip through to Springvale because of other reviews and recommendations and Bun Bun Bakery didn't disappoint.

There was a small line outside that was fast moving and I actually preferred that to just waltzing straight in and up to the counter because it gave me the feeling that we were in for something a bit special here. We placed our order and quickly headed back to the car to devour our meal in peace. There was no seating either inside or out so it's a stand and munch kinda vibe.

The bread roll is both crispy and soft at the same time and the balance of both flavor and textures in the fillings was on point! Crunchy Carrot and pickled cucumber, fried onions and just the right amount of chilli. A bit salty and a bit sweet and of course the main attraction a deliciously succulent bbq glazed roast pork with crispy pork crackling sprinkled beneath it.

My pictures of the roll just don't do it justice to be fair, but I was way too focussed on getting it in ma belly 🤣 Even if you don't live close I'd still recommend taking a drive through at least once so you too can add it to your personal top ten Banh Mi in...