Lim's Hot Bread Eastwood — Restaurant in Sydney

Brandon and I had a fantastic stroll down memory lane (the memories blistered by gabber whiplash) while he expertly and effortlessly assembled my coconut chicken Banh Mi this soggy Sunday. Lim’s is in full bore renaissance mode since renovating and re opening earlier this year. A Family that is definitely one of the pillars of the 2122 revamped bringing into their fold a lot of their homestyle recipes, both in Banh, Çom (rice) and Chè (dessert drinks, soups and stews).

The Banh Mi has always been one of the best—the coconut chicken is unique to their own recipe with an incredibly aromatic and deep flavour tinged with richness and brightness like a green curry marinade without the heaviness. The same is with the nem nuong (sweet pork sausage) and skewered beef. Everything is made with the standard fix ins plus particular topping choices to proteins. That’s a hidden level of BM that puts it above the Subway assemblage fare and denotes the personal touch that prescribes both passion and a touch of personal ness in every bite. With the bread baked on site, it stakes the golden rule: Banh Mi is secondary to the establishment as a whole essentially being a Vietnamese Deli. Lims in Eastwood is easily one of the best with nothing tasting generic or mass produced – /clean/. Some might err at that comment but let me put it this way, you wouldn’t feel that way about a home cooked family meal. Meet the Family...

Star weighting, 80% banh mi, 20% other goods (this is low tier ATAR humour)

So for the Banh Mi, there are a few to choose from, but my experience consists of Pork, BBQ pork and chicken. The bread is very fresh (it IS a bakery after all), and the ingredients are very fresh and good quality. And at $5, is insanely good value, as the size is also quite decent. My gripe is the less than traditional fillings; you won't get pickles like you might in Marrickville Pork Roll. However, it is still very enjoyable. Pork - 3/5

The BBQ pork is a kind of sausage, with the same fillings except for the meat, and the addition of sweet chili sauce. My personal favourite, this gets a solid 7/5. Oh, did I mention they make their own pate?

Chicken roll; less flavorful, but to be expected when going with a leaner meat. This is for the people who prefer a cleaner, less fatty taste (still got that mayo and pate tho) Very nice, relatively clean taste. 5/5

As for the bakery itself, I've had a curry pie, some breads. I strongly recommend the cheese herb bread, but the one without the bacon bits inside. The cheese and bacon rolls are decent, but the pie was meh (great flavour, but little meat). Overall, 4/5.

As the marks are rounded (due to star system), I declare Lim's hot...

Today, I finally went to Lim’s Hot Bread and had two crackling pork rolls—and I have to say, I was extremely disappointed with both the service and flavour.

The service was incredibly slow, despite the long queue. There was only one person preparing the food, and everything moved at a frustratingly sluggish pace. Compared to other Vietnamese roll spots—especially Marrickville—it was a stark contrast. Places like Marrickville are fast and efficient, even with big crowds, whereas here, the staff moved like sloths from Zootopia.

As for the food itself, while the portion size was decent, the flavour was completely lacking. It just tasted like plain bread and meat—no seasoning, no freshness, no balance. Honestly, this was one of the worst Vietnamese rolls I’ve ever had. I won’t...