Banh Mi Boys Club Bao

A review

Ahh. The club bao. The only secret menu item offered by Banh mi boys might just be its best offering. Scratch that, it is definitely its best offering.

Costing $6, it is much more expensive than the other baos offered at this Toronto chain that average $3–3.50. But boy is it worth it.

The sandwich is housed in Banh Mi Boys signature bao. For those who don’t know a bao is a Chinese steamed bun that is very soft, sticky and sweeter compared to normal sandwich bread. Then they add a slab of pork belly grilled with their signature Asian BBQ sauce. On top of that goes a fried piece of chicken, some pickled carrots, a slice of cucumber, cilantro, some more of that delicious BBQ sauce and a bit of mayo.

You can add either jalapeños, habanero peppers, or standard Siracha to heat up your sandwich. Personally, I get the Siracha as it mixes well with the mayonnaise and offers a contrast to the sweet BBQ sauce. My issue with the fresh habanero and jalapeño peppers is that while sometimes they can be just right, a lot of times they can be too hot and risk burning my mouth and not tasting the sandwich properly.

This may just be my favourite sandwich, period. The way that the two meats play off each other is just unreal. Better than any chicken club sandwich I’ve ever had, that’s for sure.

Usually you find bacon on club sandwiches, but bacon can become an overkill of crispiness and saltiness especially when on a toasted bun that also offers its own crunch. Here, they replace the bacon with a much softer, sweeter pork belly that’s slathered in their BBQ sauce. This makes the fried chicken’s crisp and crunch a lot more pronounced and I applaud them for that.

Coupling these elements with the fresh, crunchy and light carrots and cucumbers and you get an undeniably delicious sandwich. To be honest, everything barely fits inside the bao and you end up getting sauce all over the corners of your mouth. But so what if it’s a mess to eat, sandwiches aren’t usually meant to be a clean affair.

P.S.

Ask for the pork belly well done, you won’t regret it.