A bite of multiple cultures

I had such a positive experience trying out the pho at Miss Saigon, I  decided I should stop by the pho restaurant just 3 minutes away from my dorm. Tonight I decided to try out Saigon Pho.

Although my initial intention was to have some more pho, I noticed a wall of the restaurant covered completely with baguette sandwiches. This was really confusing. Here I was, walking into a vietnamese restaurant, that looked very authentic with ornate chinese lanterns covering the cielings and bamboo covering the windows, but the on the wall were sandwiches, not just your everyday sandwich, but french sandwiches... baguettes! 

Apparently these sandwiches are traditional Vietnamese dishes known as Banh Mi. The Banh Mi bread is very similar to the french baguette but it is more airy with a thinner crust. The Vietnamese fill it with carrots, white radish, cucumbers, some jalapeno peppers (without the spicy seeds), cilantro, and a meat, in my case it was filled with barbecue pork. The dish struck me as so odd when I first walked in that I had to give it a try. Below is a photo of the wall of Banh Mi as well as a photo of my meal. It's another clash of western and eastern cultures!