Banh-Sen Street Food & Noodle Bar — Restaurant in Southern Pines

This is some of the best food in Moore county. The staff is always friendly and the food rivals what I normally order in Chapel Hill. I've actually slowed down on take-out in Chapel Hill because Banh-Sen is just as good and better in some ways.

For one, sticky rice seems to be an option most of the time, and it's fantastic! Many restaurants do not offer sticky rice. It's phenomenal compared to steamed rice.

Some menu suggestions:

Beef Bulgogi--Perfect portion size and not dry like some places I've experienced in the past. Perfect seasoning and flavors.

Dumplings-- perfect balance of dough and filling. Some recipes provide too much dough, but not Banh-Sen.

Laotian Sausage--Probably my favorite menu item. Seasoning is absolutely perfect and the sausage is actually leaner than most I've had in the past. The provided sauce adds an insane amount of flavor.

Thai Beef Jerky--If you are not as familiar with this dish, it's far more moist and filling than the name might suggest! The seasoning and sweetness here definitely satisfies!

Laos Vermicelli Cury Mee Ka Tee--- If you've ever been to the famous Bida Manda in Raleigh, Banh-Sen's dish is equally flavorful as Bida Manda's signature Crispy Pork Belly Soup, but minus the pork belly. Bida Manda is great, but I will be patronizing Banh-Sen whenever possible; to my knowledge, no restaurant within a 1 hour drive has anything close to Banh-Sen's Laos Vermicelli Cury Mee Ka Tee.

Spicy Thai Basil Chicken--The flavor and quality of this dish could easily come from Twisted Noodles in Chapel Hill. I will continue to order this dish regularly.

While not on the menu, in the past, Banh-Sen has provided a childrens chicken noodle soup that my kids are obsessed with! This place definitely satisfies my picky young children!!

Definitely check out Banh-Sen for sit-down or take-out! It's a...

UPDATE: réponding to restaurant response below

There was no scene caused. I simply walked out after your staff made me wait without proper communication and all I said was I wish you could have told me sooner, not after I waited for over half an hour. Perhaps there's a lesson learned there to allow people to order something else that is available.

Check your surveillance again. I knew what I wanted, while your other patrons asked your waiter to describe the flavor profiles of your various curries. And the only response your staff was able to conjure was... This one is pretty good, you'll like it.

Yoga is my jam, among other things. And taking time for myself... That I do. Just won't be doing it at your place. . Maybe you guys should NOT wooh sah too much in the kitchen. Om Shanti.

........

WORST FREAKING non-dining experience to date. Where is the negative, no star option?

Was actually looking forward to eating here. Walked over after hot yoga, ordered within a few minutes and watched people around me order, eat and finish their meal. Got up to ask for status of my meal, and the young female waitress said it should be coming right up. A few minutes later, she came to tell me they ran out of the Laksa broth at lunch so they had to make it from scratch. Good for you for making things from scratch. But this should have been communicated within 5 mins of taking my order, not 30 mins after.

Note to self: will never return to...

Where to begin?

Location: Banh-Sen is conveniently located on Pennsylvania Ave.

Atmosphere: The interior of Banh-Sen is fantastic. The murals, paint colors, and ambiance is perfect! You can’t tell it used to be a Mexican restaurant years ago. So, job well done.

Service: We, myself and two others, were greeted with a smile, and sat at a table. Our waiter came over and took our drink orders. He returned with our drinks and took our order for appetizers and eventually dinner. He was a decent waiter.

Food: The table ordered two of the same appetizer orders. They selected the Philly cheese steak wrapped in a spring roll. There was no flavor and hardly any meat. Everything was overpowered by the cheese and the texture was off due to the spring roll rapper. It was…unfortunate. For our dinners, we ordered Thai chicken Basil. This is a dish I am very familiar with having consumed it in Thailand and Japan, respectively, and also in other local Asian restaurants. Banh-Sen’s version of Thai chicken basil was disappointing. While the spice level was nice, the meat tasted as if it was heavily marinated and seasoned with soy sauce only.

I think this restaurant has potential to be something great in the future. However, they have some kinks to work out in...