Vietnamese Sandwich Lunch

For lunch, I had yummy shrimp spring rolls, a Vietnamese sandwich, iced coffee, and something labeled "Banh Bo- Puff Cake".

The location was Les Givrals,a Vietnamese sandwich shop that also served pho and noodle dishes. The place smelled amazing, so I was tempted to get the pho, but I resisted. I've heard that you don't want to try the pho at a restaurant that doesn't specialize in it.

Instead, I ordered a bbq pork and pate sandwich. It came on the most beautiful toasted baguette I've ever seen, with lightly pickled cucumbers, mayo, cilantro, and jalapeño. The bbq pork was sweet and nicely fatty, while the pate was barely noticeable. For $2.50, it was truly fabulous. The fresh Vietnamese iced coffee was great with the sandwich.

Then, the "Puff Cake". It was actually four small cakes, two dyed spring green, one dyed pink, and one white. They came with a little tub of sauce, which automatically made it more interesting than the other dessert selections (all of which involved rice flour and more food coloring). The cakes turned out to be a basic rice flour and sugar, and the sauce was coconut milk. The texture left a lot to be desired, but they would be very cooling in the summer, and they had a nice degree of sweetness.