Those whom follow us would probably know how much of a Banh Mi fan that we are; that being said, the holy grail for us isn’t quite on the best Banh Mi out there, but we have been searching high and low for the Bò Né all around the island — a Vietnamese dish that features sizzling steak and eggs and is mostly accompanied with a plain Banh Mi on the side. There are only a handful of establishments that serve up such a dish around the island, and some of them which we had previously patronised includes that of Miss Bo Ne at Ubi and 233 Banh Mi. Maxwell Food Centre had seen few new entrants moving in of the late; it does seem that the opening of new stalls in hawker centres had since shifted to that of Chinatown Complex Food Centre — at least for the area. This is also why we were pretty stoked to have found out about Hello Banhmi; a new stall that had moved into the food centre that occupied the stall right beside Mr Appam at Maxwell Food Centre (which for those whom know, is a stall specialising in Indian Appam that is also run by a Vietnamese lady. Hello Banhmi does seem rather attention-grabbing; the brightly-lit signage with a white background somehow illuminates the surroundings that it is around. Bright red elements are used in contrast to the white background to list out the items on the menu, further making them stand out from the crowd. As the namesake suggests, Hello Banhmi has its core focus around the Vietnamese baguette; the menu does offer patrons with eight (8) different types of Banh Mi to choose from — this includes more usual ones like the Pork Ham, to Banh Mi like the Pork Dumplings as well as the Double Sunny Side Up Eggs w. Chicken Floss. That being said, Hello Banhmi does cater to the crowd whom prefer their rice and noodles; other offerings at Hello Banhmi includes rice noodle dishes — think the Bun Thit Nuong and Bun Nem Nuong (i.e. Rice Noodle with Grilled BBQ Pork and Rice Noodle with Grilled Meat Pork Rolls). There are also a variety of rice-based dishes with meat, as well as sides being served here as well.

Hello Banhmi is not the very first Banh Mi-centric establishment to have found home at Maxwell Food Centre; that would probably go to Baguette HƯƠNG VIỆT that is located nearer to the exit of the food centre leading up to Maxwell MRT Station — the establishment having made its move from Golden Mile Complex to Maxwell Food Centre. That being said, the item that really caught our attention at Hello Banhmi are their offerings of hotplate dishes with Banh Mi — having passed by Hello Banhmi the day before we made the visit there on a weekday evening for dinner, the entire reason that made us visit Hello Banhmi pretty much on a spontaneous basis was due to its offering of the All in One Platter. The Vietnamese name of the dish per the menu is the Banh Mi Chao Dac Biet; it is also being described on the menu to come along with elements such as Stir Fry Beef, Ham and Sausage — reality did its work to ensure that there are some differences to that though, considering how our order came without the ham. That being said, we did note other elements in the All in One Platter that was not being mentioned in the description on the menu — this includes a small knob of pate, Double Sunny Side Up Eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, coriander, onions, a bit of fish sauce and sriracha chili. The Banh Mi comes served on a plate on the side being toasted warm; the way we would have expected it at other establishments as well. We have been to enough Vietnamese establishments serving up hotplate dishes that uses the hotplate as an apparatus to hold whatever condiments that they choose to serve as part of the hotplate-based dish — the hotplate at Hello Banhmi does deceptively look so considering we are missing with all the smoky, bubbling action. We were actually pretty surprised to find the hotplate actually being warm here when we touched the handles without really thinking about what we were doing — certainly not scalding hot, but warm enough to still catch one by surprise if they aren’t expecting it.

Going through the various elements, we liked how the All in One Platter has a little bit of everything — our first order of action was to break the yolks of the sunny side up eggs. These came with a molten and runny yolk like how we had expected; we also noticed how the whites get more cooked by the warm metal pan over time as it starts to get stuck in the pan after a while, though never becoming eventually burnt even when we had finished it. We decided to use the Banh Mi to mop up the molten egg yolk; the Banh Mi here was surprisingly delightful — the bread being all warm, crusty and yet fluffy and light in the inside; a great texture to tear apart and use it as the vehicle to pair with the runny egg yolks and juices from the stir-fried beef that is puddling at the bottom that gives it a light, savoury note to taste. We don’t know these folks have done it here, but their stir-fried beef was completely rid of gamey notes — we would probably think that it was pork if they had not described the meat that they have used for the dish; the meat also being juicy, tender and did not require much effort to chew through. For those whom are particularly afraid of pate, we would recommend one to mix it up altogether with the molten egg yolk and have it as a dip for the Banh Mi; we liked it that it was savoury to the right degree, though not overwhelming nor jelak in a way that some might find too “buttery” with a distinct gamey note. The cocktail sausages were good to have; bouncy with a soft bite and is just about savoury enough — it would not really be a Vietnamese hotplate dish “All-in-One” style if it was missing if this element anyway. Other elements such as the cucumber and tomatoes helped to refresh the tastebuds with a crunch and a zing respectively to keep it from being too meaty or carb-y. Vietnamese Hotplate dishes are quite a rare find around the island, and a good one is incredibly difficult to come across; we are pretty glad to have found Hello Banhmi’s version considering how satisfying it is. Needless to say, we will be looking forward to have it again soon; also very curious about the Pork Dumplings with Quail Eggs that is offered as well!