Banh mi Phuong 18 — Restaurant in Sydney

(4.5 stars) Every lunchtime battle banh mi plays out in Bankstown Plaza. It’s centred upon a bend in Chapel Street where two duelling Vietnamese bakeries reside. On one side of the pedestrian crossing, Banh Mi Bay Ngo has held court for more than 30 years, with a devoted following. On the other side of the crossing, Banh mi Phuong 18, a relative newcomer, boasts a queue down the street. A glistening mountain of thinly sliced roast pork encourages us join the Phuong 18 faithful.

From a single page menu with nothing over ten bucks, we opt for roast pork ($9.50) and salted pork ($9.50) with chilli and no exclusions. The bread is the first revelation: baked in-house, it’s light and shatters but maintains enough structural integrity to last the length of the roll. Balance is good across both rolls, with plenty of lightly pickled daikon, carrot and shredded shallots. Nothing is left whole, so the mouth-feel is better than most banh mi. With cubes of crackling that add crunch to every bite, the salted pork eats better than the roasted pork, where it was a more challenging to bite through chewy rind in places. This is messy food, better suited to eating outside at the handy street tables right out the front of the store. The only disappointment was the lack of heat from the chilli (next time I’d ask for more).

I was told, by a reliable source—a Vietnamese man on the street who asked me if I liked my banh mi—that both Vietnamese bakeries are equally good, but Banh Mi Bay Ngo make a more traditional banh mi. He agreed that Phuong 18 are too light on the chilli, but told me the secret to the best banh mi is cooked rather than raw birds-eye chillies as you get less sting and much more flavour. Sipping my house-made pandan soy milk ($6) street side, I contemplated going across the road to try out the opposition, but decided to wait for another day and an...

Oct 2024 - Roast pork roll ($8.5) - their rolls are SLIGHTLY smaller in size than the average roll from the popular shops in Cabra/Bankstown but in my opinion those are oversized and Phuong 18's is more realistic. The bread is baked to a beautiful golden brown, and crispy too - these pics are taken after an hour and a half's transit and they held up with little to no sogginess. The pork has a good meat/fat ratio (and is tender and not dry at all) and the crackling is mostly crispy (with just a couple of tough/softened pieces) - they also add more crackling (real, fresh crackling) on top. The most distinct thing about this banh mi was probably the pate - firstly, they slather it on thick (much appreciated - some places don't even put pate on crispy pork rolls) and secondly, it has a bold flavour with a good amount of black pepper which added a lot of character while cutting the richness of the pork. They also shake pepper onto the roll. They are generous on both coriander and pickled daikon (compared to other places who give a lot less daikon than carrot).

The BBQ garlic chicken roll ($8) - eaten by my Dad but it looked well-marinated and juicy.

Feb 2025 - On my second visit, I tried the salted pork ($8.50) - it is great too, but compared to the roast pork, the salted pork is even more fatty and rich (it's like steamed pork belly slices so moist and juicy fat) so does get a bit heavy towards the end. The pate was as generous as ever, and it's grown on me more - I love it - it's the most unique thing about Phuong 18 and what ties the whole roll together. The greens and pickles are so crisp, fresh and vibrant too. Beautiful. I think I can now say this is my favourite banh mi...

Going to Bankstown for Banh Mi—specifically, a Vietnamese sandwich over other dishes from the nation’s cuisine—is the equivalent of say going to Bondi for cinnamon rolls or Greenacre for açai; you can literally stumble into a serviceable spot. So if you’re being choosy because your brain can’t shake the idea of not having the “best” experience, especially if you’ve travelled far from outside the area, then Banh Mi PHUONG18 will 1000% scratch that itch.

Relative new kid on the block, they hit the ground with running with some powerful reputation revers – fresh and seasoned shallots vs fried, marinated, homemade and more cooked protein choices, and not a single roll ^$10 AUD… yeah, in this economy and I was given the line “If you want more meat luv, $1 extra.” That’s + $1 on a 7.50 - 8.50 roll so we’re still under the 10 bar with double meat. Taste and texture is rich and light, with thicker cut pickles and thinner salad to add crunch and catch (“catch” when the salad catches the sauce and juices, like Big Mac lettuce) . My meat selection was sliced BBQ pork belly and lemongrass been sausage. The flavour was really deep with a nice fat sheen that made the pork more ish and not sickeningly heavy. The flavours of lemongrass, pepper, ginger and garlic in the beef patty really brought this home as a meal between a nice crusty bun that acted more like a crunchy kebab wrapper than a sandwich style baguette. Works really well with everything going on in this BM. Massive credit to the cross section, the even distribution of everything speaks for itself.

📍 Banh Mi PHUONG18 | Shop 1/335 Chapel Rd,...