Vy N.
Yelp
THEY HAVE THE BEST BANH MI IN NORCAL (period)
Since 1990, Harry Lam opened Sing Sing Sandwich Shop to bring the goodness of Saigon banh mi with him to the States. With his long charming hair, Harry Lam is not only the owner of the best banh mi shop in Norcal but also is a great musician! If you're close with him, you will be amazed at his guitar and singing skills.
Born and raised in Saigon, my first step to Sing Sing Sandwich Shop took me straight to an authentic Vietnamese coffee shop in Vietnam where people would drink ca phe sua da, eat good food, discuss about news events and share the stories of their lives. Although the front offers limited seating, the back of the shop opens out to a spacious estate for Vietnamese elders to chill. For many young ones, this shop sells the authentic banh mi of Saigon. For these elders, this shop is their escape route to reconnect to their Vietnamese culture, friends and country. Many wonder why this shop remains to look like "straight-out-of-saigon". Harry believes that this hovel style is most preferred by his customers.
Location (5/5): The shop locates on Hyde St between Ellis St and Eddy St. If you are a SF native, you wouldn't have to worry about parking. If you are driving from elsewhere, gotta rely 100% on street parkings.
Services (5/5): Harry (owner) and Dung (the famous cook and sweet lady standing at the front) are the nicest people on Earth! Smiley Harry would always welcome customers with his charisma while Dung would passionately talk about her banh mi babies. I bet they wake up, work out, eat, and sleep with these banh mis.
Food (BROKE THE 5 SCORE SCALE): Although I live in San Jose - the city of Vietnamese food, I would drive to SF for their banh mis without any hesitation. It's not about the hype and the price point that trigger such hunger. It's the vibe that I get from the owners, the authentic taste that I crave from my homeland, and the 10 more togo banh mis (of course, why wouldn't I). I have friends who were born and raised in Saigon, or visited Saigon multiple times; many agreed that Sing Sing has the closest taste of banh mi from home far far away. From the combo banh mi cha lua to banh mi xiu mai, I LOVE THEM.
My partner in crime who has tried banh mi all around the Bay, too agrees that these are the best Banh Mi eVar. Taking the crown from a shop in downtown Saigon, District 1. Damn I'm hungry.