YEANIE: So, we are doing our Mui Tàu Signature.

We named it Mui Tàu because that is the location that my mom have her bánh mì cart on the street in Saigon.

And in my mom's cart, she just sold one kind of bánh mì and that is what we're making too.

SETH: All right, so all the flavors you knew from back home in Saigon are now going to be right here in the Eden Center.

YEANIE: Yeah, bring it here.

SETH: Love it.

All right and obviously, we're starting with some pretty fresh bread here.

Tell me about these baguettes.

YEANIE: We make the baguette every single day at 5:00 a.m.

We start with mixing the flour in with cold water.

We separate the dough into smaller balls and we let it rest for a couple of minutes.

Then we shape it into our bánh mì shape and then we proof it for 40 minutes.

Then we take it out, score, then put it back to proof for another 40 minutes.

We spray water and put it in the oven for about 15 minutes.

And here is the final product.

SETH: All right.

What makes this baguette different than maybe a traditional French baguette?

YEANIE: Yeah, that I want to show you right now so you can have it.

So, our baguette is very thin crust, very fluffy, and very airy inside.

And you can just squeeze it and you don't see any dough left.

You can try a bite.

It's the best time right now.

When it's fresh from the oven, it's really good.

SETH: Oh, that has a nice chew, but the outside is so nice and flaky as well.

So how do you put this signature bánh mì together?

YEANIE: Let me slice the bread.

And then the first ingredient is going to be our soy sauce.

So, I will put the aioli on.

So, this is one of the things that I helped my mom when I was eight years old to make the aioli every day by hand, not by machine right now.

SETH: Of course.

YEANIE: One of the most important ingredients next is going to be pâté.

It's made from pork liver, milk, bread, and onions, and fish sauce.

So, it's bring the umami for the flavor.

So, we have three more kinds of pork that goes on the sandwich.

SETH: All right, so this is a pretty loaded bánh mì?

YEANIE: Yeah, yes.

Okay , so, the first one is the pork bologna.

Next one's going to be kind of like an Asian ham.

You can see the gelatin right here.

And the last one is our steamed pork belly.

We make everything in-house, and we run around like 50 pounds per day.

SETH: Wow.

YEANIE: Yeah.

To make this balanced, we have a lot of vegetables as well.

So, first of all, we have nice slice of cucumber.

So next, we will have the carrot and daikon, that pickle in-house.

We brine it in vinegars and sugars to balance all of the meat and the bread outside.

SETH: Right.

YEANIE: So, to finish our bánh mì, we will put a little bit fresh cilantro on.

SETH: And I like cilantro.

I know not everyone does, but you can load it up with cilantro as far as I'm concerned.

YEANIE: Perfect.

And then last but not least, we add some slice of big jalapeño.

SETH: All right.

So, we're definitely going to get a little kick when you bite into the sandwich.

YEANIE: Yeah, I love it.

And that's it.

Here's our Mui Tàu Signature bánh mì.

SETH: All right.

I cannot wait to try that.

YEANIE: So, let's go upstairs and eat it.

SETH: Let's do it!

YEANIE: Let's go.

SETH: All right, Chef, this Mui Tàu Signature looks so good.

Going right for it.

YEANIE: Yeah, go ahead.

SETH: Big bites only?

YEANIE: Yep.

SETH: Here we go.

(crunching) Now, that's a sandwich.

Wow.

So much freshness with the cucumbers, those daikons and the carrots.

It's such a great counterpoint to all that pork flavor because maybe it's the fish sauce and the pâté, but just so much rich, unctuous pork flavor there.

YEANIE: Yeah, that is the point of the Mui Tàu.

Some people say that, oh, they want more pâté, but I feel like the most important is the balance of everything.

SETH: And going back in for that second bite, really able to focus on the bread.

Making it in-house, just such a difference because it's so light and airy.

You get the crispiness, great little vehicle for delivering all those amazing bánh mì flavors.

And chef, as great as that bánh mì is, obviously I need something to wash it down with.

Vietnamese iced coffee with a twist here?

YEANIE: Yeah.

So, you have the egg coffee.

So, it's made from raw egg.

It's like egg nog.

And it's kind of like a layer of egg custard on top of the dark and strong coffee.

SETH: Oh, very strong coffee indeed.

YEANIE: And our coffee is from Vietnam.

We have a farm over there.

We roast it in Saigon and we fly it over here.

SETH: Wow.

So, you were getting the true Vietnamese experience with the drinks, and obviously with the table and the seating as well.

YEANIE: Yeah.

Yeah.

It's very common in Vietnam that you can sit on the low plastic table on the street, and I want to create a kind of like a slow morning in Saigon that you can people-watch and having a sandwich, having coffee.

SETH: And obviously, it looks like you're bringing some of your own unique twists to it.

This does not look like a traditional bánh mì to me, chef.

What are we looking at here?

YEANIE: So, bánh mì kind resembles of all of the influence.

So, one of the things I create here is a Nashville hot chicken that I influence from American.

I love the Nashville hot chicken in Tennessee that we tried with my husband, and he loves it as well.

Yeah.

SETH: Oh, wow.

YEANIE: It's spicy.

SETH: It's spicy, saucy, and like no bánh mì I've ever had before.

YEANIE: It's the most messy bánh mì, I think.

SETH: Yeah, you got to be careful with this one.