B Real Banh Mi

Still in its soft-opening stage (so the sign says on the window) since November 2010, B Real is the Vietnamese sandwich sister shop to Pho Real across the street. Pho Real has already disappointed not once, but twice, but perhaps will still tempt a visit later in the year. In any case, B Real promises authentic Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches in a stylish and casual shop. Banh mi is commonly made with pickled sliced carrots, cucumber, cilantro, hot peppers, mayonnaise, pate, and meat all placed in a crusty, French-style baguette.

The B Real location is small, brightly lit, and clean from the light-colored wood and white paint. The walls are lined with mini-polaroid photos, Vietnamese coffee, and cans of condensed milk. There are bars and stools to eat at, though B Real also does take away.

There banh mi options are limited to grilled pork, grilled chicken, or combination meat. With the soft opening discount, the combination option is 36RMB (at a 20% discount), which is well-priced for a sandwich, especially in the French Concession. The person at the counter continually asked if I wanted a drink to go with the meal each time I changed my order. This happened about four times and the answer was always, "no." From the drink refrigerator, it looked like the options extended further than Coca-Cola to sodas made with lychee or guava.


The sandwich came out accompanied by a salad with thinly sliced vegetables doused in a mayonnaise dressing. The pickled vegetables gave the salad a bite, but otherwise was not very interesting. Before consuming the banh mi, B Real offers three signature house-made sauces that may be added to the sandwich: B1) Vietnamese Lime Honey Mayonnaise, B2) Vietnamese Garlic Sriracha Mayo, and B3) Home-made Passion fruit Hoisin Sauce. Out of the three, B2 was selected. The sandwich was served with a garnishing of cilantro and chopped red chilis as well as heavily seasoned prawn crackers. From the looks of the sandwich, the "combination meat" was more grilled pork with a few slices of ham. There was also a thin layer of pate, mayonnaise, pickled vegetables, and lettuce. The baguette was warm, crusty, and not hard. It looked good, but was lacking balance in its flavors. The pork was marinated and brought a sweet touch to the sandwich, but was not balanced out by the saltiness of the pate (or lack thereof). The pickled vegetables brought a nice acidity and fresh crunch, though the sandwich could have used a little more. Even with the chilis, there could have been more heat. Basically, the banh mi was primarily meat and bread and could have done with a tad more vegetable.


After the soft-opening period, B Real could be visited again as it works out the quirks in its sandwiches. Now, if only the 20% discount was available after its soft opening would B Real be a hot lunch spot.

B Real. 185 Fumin Lu (by Changle Lu), 富民路185号(近长乐路), Shanghai, People's Republic of China.