Mary T.
Yelp
I had bookmarked Han's Banh Mi & Pho before I flew into Nashville. It was a part of my never-ending research for good eats in a city that I had never been to.
After seeing a matinee at a nearby AMC, I had planned to get some food at Han's for lunch. It's located in a plaza. I found a parking spot fairly close to the eatery and parked.
I walked over. To my dismay, there was a sign saying that it was on vacation till July 7th. It was July 7th. Ugh!
I was persistent. I came back the following day for a late lunch. It was open. I was elated.
I was greeted immediately by a friendly woman. The idea is that you order at the counter and state your first name. You pay and then get a marker if you are dining in. Otherwise, if it's takeout, you simply wait.
The menu has banh mi, pho, snacks, bubble tea, and more. The beef pho caught my attention, so I ordered it. I also got a strawberry fruit tea with lychee jelly.
I paid with a credit card. I also tipped. All was great.
There isn't any air conditioning in this eatery. However, there was a super powerful fan that cooled the place down in the corner. It was pleasant dining here the entire time.
My bubble tea came first. I did normal ice and sugar. It was a bit sweeter than what I normally order, but the sweetness wasn't gross. I loved it. The lychee jelly was awesome. It was excellent and was perfect on a hot day.
My pho came to me next. My beef pho came in a stainless steel (I'm guessing) bowl. The extras (bean sprouts, mint, lime wedge, sliced hot peppers, and a soup spoon) came in a recyclable tray.
The pho is excellent, er, pho-nominal, really. The rice noodles were perfect. The onions were paper-thin and yummy. I loved the green onions and the broth was incredible.
The slices of beef were also thin and yummy. I added the bean sprouts and mint in my bowl of soup, and squeezed the lime wedge. I absolutely loved my pho here.
I was so impressed with my meal that I decided to get some food for dinner. I ordered the combination banh mi and a mango fruit tea with popping boba. I paid and tipped again at the counter, and sat down to wait for my takeout order.
It didn't take long for my food to arrive. I had a nice chat with the woman who helped me with both orders. I let her know that the food was excellent. She was happy and said that it's a family-run businesses that used to be a bakery only, but went with a different business model instead. It works!
I thanked her and left with my food. I had it when I got back to the hotel.
The bubble tea was excellent. The mango fruit tea was flavourful and refreshing. I loved the popping boba, which made drinking this tea enjoyable and fun.
To me, I have never see the ends of a banh mi cut off. I was thinking that my mom would have been upset seeing them gone, for she loves the ends. The combination banh mi was packed full of sliced proteins, pickled carrots and daikon, yummy mayo, and more. What makes this sandwich different is that gravy is added, which made this sandwich moist, but not soggy.
It was excellent. The banh mi has a different spin on ones that I have enjoyed in the past. I loved it.
Han's is such a gem. I'm so glad that I had two meals from this eatery, not consciously realizing that I kind of made up for dropping by while the restaurant was on vacation. I'd head back in a heartbeat when I'm back in Nashville.
(341)