Rise and Shine Bakery's Mackerel Banh Mi Chao

August 12, 2024

Rise and Shine Bakery's Mackerel Banh Mi Chao

The Vietnamese sandwiches at Rise and Shine Bakery are legend. If you know, you know. The owner, Mai, makes perfectly pillowy/crunchy bread every morning at 4 am, and it's delivered far and wide to bless Vietnamese sandwiches throughout the region. But if you live close enough to get Mai's fillings on Mai's bread, her pork belly and meatball sandwiches are unmatched, especially for their astonishing price (all under $10).

The lines during lunch hours confirm this.

The regular dish on her non-sandwich menu that I think about throughout the week, though, is the Mackerel Banh Mi Chao (Vietnamese Pan Baguette, $16). Chunks of mackerel swim in chili tomato sauce, onions, and whole tomato pieces topped with a fried egg and herbs. Pile everything on pieces of Mai's perfect baguette after breaking that egg open, and please let me know if you have even one drop of sauce left. If you do, I will no longer trust you.

You can get Banh Mi Chao with sardines or meatballs, too, which are both valid and amazing choices--but try the mackerel first.

I taught at the American International School of Ho Chi Minh City for two years, and lived in a five-story stack house in the middle of a neighborhood that transformed into a thriving market every morning. I ate my way through vendor carts daily, which was like being granted free admission to Food Disneyland. I took pride in trying everything I possibly could.

Mai knows this about me, so when I told her I had never seen Banh Mi Chao on the streets of Saigon, she expressed disbelief.

"But it's everywhere!" she said.

How did I miss it? I'm stumped. And ashamed.

A challenge for next time.

Here is the non-sandwich part of the menu. I have tried everything on it, and I pronounce it all to be the best Vietnamese food in the region.

Okay, now, are you ready to hear about the really unbelievable, head-shaking thing about Rise and Shine Bakery? Because you haven't yet. It's Mai's weekend specials. She is a magician. She makes dishes no one else is making (please let me know if someone else is!).

Take, for example, Ca Cha La Vong - Hanoi Fried Fish with Turmeric and Dill. I climbed rickety steps in Hanoi's Old Quarter to experience the original, which is the only thing offered on that menu. It's a do-it-yourself meal of turmeric marinated and fried catfish, rice noodles, dill and other fresh greens, fried shallots, and a fermented shrimp paste sauce to pour over everything. The fish comes to your table in a sizzling pan.

When Dat, the magician's son/assistant, told me Cha Ca La Vong was the weekend special during my Friday banh mi run, I rearranged everything in my life to be there for it. I made sure my parents were there, too, because they have been my Vietnamese food search companions since they visited my market in 2009.

Here is the masterpiece:

Mai's take on Cha Ca La Vong was better than the Hanoi version. This is usually what happens, because Mai cares so deeply about bringing the best possible food to our community that she curates every single ingredient. The firm, buttery fish was fried lightly and perfectly. The dill was fresh, the greens were exactly the kind you would find on your plate in Vietnam, and the sauce was sour, pungent, and a little sweet.

My dad pronounced it one of the best things he has ever tasted.

When I got home, I kept feeling like I had actually been in Vietnam for a few hours. The flavors, the scents, the background music, and the pride and passion behind the food -- it's all translated perfectly at Rise and Shine.

I just told you about a dish that may not be a weekend special again for a long time, if ever. I'm sorry for your pain. Take a moment.

However, Cha Ca La Vong is but one representation of the wonderment of Mai's weekend creations. After you experience a few of them, you will know why I just did that to you. Whatever you taste will be art, and you may not ever taste it again. Mai's Vietnamese food mandala, created and destroyed regularly right here on Highway 99 in Edmonds next to Public Storage.

I will end with this: if you don't finish your meal with the mango sticky rice...well, I don't even know what to say. My parents and I split one three ways, which allowed us each about three bites of the chunky mango pieces mixed with sweet, sticky rice, topped with a coconut sauce so delicious you want to drink it straight. My mom closed her eyes and made each bite last as long as she possibly could.

"This is just perfect," she said.

**Update!

I went back a few weeks later to get the weekend special crab soup, and saw that Cha Ca La Vong was on the special menu again. I panicked and ordered it (but oh I mourned that crab soup). Well, Dat told me that Ca Cha La Vong was so popular that Mai might make it a regular menu item.

This gave me an idea. I'm an English teacher accustomed to giving people assignments, so I will end each post with homework (that I wish I could give to my students).

Today's Homework:

Do your part to get Cha Ca La Vong on Mai's regular menu!