The 2023 delicious. 100 best eats and treats list takes you to Adelaide’s Vietnamese heartland for the best banh mi

We’ve found the best spots to grab a crisp roll packed with punchy flavours.

Roll call of our best banh mi

It’s lunch time in the city and some of the biggest queues can be found outside the shops selling banh mi. No wonder when these crisp rolls stuffed with roasted pork (or chicken), pickled vegetables, chilli and herbs are quick, affordable and packed with fresh, punchy flavour.

To find some of the best banh mi, however, you must travel beyond the CBD to Adelaide’s Vietnamese heartland in the north-western suburbs. The short distance along Hanson Rd is particularly fertile ground with the bright yellow signs of its shops standing out like spring daffodils.

Owners of Cha Phu Xong, Khai Hoang Nguyen (L) and Dao Anh Thi Nguyen. Picture: Dean Martin

When selecting the state’s top banh mi for the new-look delicious 100, revealed in full online and in today’s SA Weekend magazine, a visit to this strip was an obvious starting point.

The hard part, of course, was deciding which outlet was the one to recommend. In sampling four different rolls from the road (as well as another around the corner), we found that, while you couldn’t go too wrong with any, each had its own strengths.

In a close decision, Cha Phu Xuong was eventually chosen the Hanson Rd winner.

Khai Hoang Nguyen and his wife Dao have run this shop for five years, at the same time as raising a young family (they now have three sons).

Khai, who came to Australia when he was 18, says the secret to the quality of his banh mi and other food are the recipes he has learnt from a “teacher” in Vietnam. Each morning, he starts work at 3am, roasting the pork belly and producing the traditional pork cold cuts that are Cha Phu Xuong’s specialty.

“We have worked very hard to look after every customer,” he says.

“We try and do our best.

“Hopefully everyone can come in and enjoy the food.”

Real Rolls

With walls clad in gleaming white tiles and a floor-to-ceiling mural depicting the local community, Real Rolls stand out from the other shops on the strip. The banh mi has a high salad ratio, mostly carrot, and the pork, while slightly dry in places, has plenty of crackling. There’s no discernible pate, either, making this the healthier banh mi, if such a thing exists.

171c Hanson Rd, Woodville North

Thanh Long

This shop at the northern end of the strip is one for the five spice lovers. That fragrant blend of cinnamon, star anise and other spices has been used generously on the pork that is cut into thin slices (rather than chunkier pieces) for a roll that does its job, without setting the world on fire. The pickled carrot is good, but there is no daikon, and the chilli is roughly cut making each bite an adventure.

219 Hanson Rd, Athol Park

Cha Phu Xuong

Set back from the footpath in a little shopping centre, Cha Phu Xuong takes its roll making seriously. Owner Khai Hoang Nguyen is up at 3am each morning to start roasting his pork belly and preparing other ingredients. This is reflected in a banh mi that is the best of all worlds, starting with a solid smear of buttery spread and pate in a crisp roll that is then filled with succulent pork, lovely pickled vegetables and finely minced chilli. It’s all there, in perfect balance, though the crackling fiends might argue that it could have more crunch.

1/56 Hanson Rd, Woodville Gardens.

Khai Hoang Nguyen and his wife Dao have run Cha Phu Xong for five years. Picture: Dean Martin

Khai Hoang Nguyen and his wife Dao have run Cha Phu Xong for five years. Picture Dean Martin. Picture: Dean Martin

Nhu Lan

More a restaurant than its neighbours, Nhu Lan opens into the evening and has a large dining room off to one side. At lunchtime, however, takeaway rolls are the main attraction, this version showing a lighter hand with the spreads, plenty of crackling, a particularly good sweet/sour pickle on the veg, and pieces of chilli that look like the whole thing has simply been cut in half. Definitely a contender.

40d Hanson Rd, Woodville Gardens

Have your say in our reader vote

The new-look delicious. 100 is a collection of the best eats and treats from across South Australia, from perfect pies and pizzas to top tacos and burgers. See the five top choices in each of 20 categories here and in SA Weekend on October 21.

To vote, simply click the Vote button on your chosen venue in each category – your selection will then show as Picked. There is no need to submit your vote, your preferences have been recorded. Only one vote per person is recorded, so if you vote again it will simply update your preferences.

Voting opens October 20 and will close on November 3.

Overall winners from the voting phase will be announced on November 4.

Originally published as The 2023 delicious. 100 best eats and treats list takes you to Adelaide’s Vietnamese heartland for the best banh mi