Footlong banh mi and steaming hot wings at this uber-friendly sandwich shop

A few bites into the bo xa ot banh mi and the fish sauce chicken wings are still steaming.

The Vietnamese classics at this petite, family-run restaurant on the border of Federal Way and Northeast Tacoma take longer than most counter-service operations, but it’s because everything — from the meat to the spring rolls — is made to order.

One of the first things you’ll notice upon entering, aside from the sunny personal greeting and bright walls to match, is the open kitchen to your left, the sizzling of beef in the pan and the pleasant tingle of chicken skin submerging into hot oil.

That visibility was paramount for Hazel Trinh, who opened Hello Bánh Mì Oct. 14, 2019, with her sister, Thuy Trinh, and their parents.

“We care about every detail,” said Trinh, who moved to the United States to earn her MBA. That business instinct has shaped the restaurant’s identity in its first year.

“I look at every review,” she said, shrugging off the notion that poring over Yelp could drive a girl crazy. “I learn from it. I respond to every one.”

The Trinhs’ oldest sister owns a sandwich shop near their home in central Vietnam, and they wanted to bring their family’s recipes here to western Washington. Their mother provided the base recipes, and their father helps with buying ingredients. Hazel wasn’t a cook, but Thuy insists that now, “She can do everything.”

HELLO BANH MI

The banh mi menu runs 16 strong, with 10 standard choices and five house specialties. Favorites include that bo xa ot (lemongrass beef with chile), the combination ham with homemade paté and a semi-crunchy headcheese called gio thu, and the BBQ House Special — pork marinated overnight in a secret spice blend, then slow-roasted in the oven for 10 hours.

Many guests stick with the straightforward grilled pork or the BBQ pork belly. That side of the menu, the “classics,” will set you back just $4.50 for a 6-inch. Specialty 6-inch banh mi go for $7.50.

What you should do no matter what is order the footlong, one of Hello Bánh Mì’s crowning achievements. Doubling up adds $2 for a classic and just a buck on the specialty side, save for the Vietnamese dip ($9.50 for a footlong only).

Very few, if any, Vietnamese restaurants sell a footlong banh mi, said Hazel Trinh. She drives four hours round trip to source the bread from a French commercial bakery: “I can get the bread from here, but I don’t think that’s the best one.”

It doesn’t carry the same rough outer edges of some baguettes, which means the sandwiches meet their prime shortly after assembly. She and the family have tested recipes for homemade loaves, perhaps more feasible when they open their second location in Kirkland later this year.

That bigger footprint might also allow for further experimenting with dishes like bánh tráng tron, which, if you look closely in the bottom corner of the menu, you can order at the original Federal Way restaurant.

In its cheapest form, Vietnamese school kids will dig into a plastic bag of shredded rice paper mixed with chili powder and tamarind sauce, not unlike the Mexican tostilocos of corn chips with chamoy and lime and “walking tacos.” Finer versions of rice paper salad, including the one at Hello Bánh Mì, combine beef with tamarind, rice paper and hard-boiled eggs — “a little bit sour and a little spicy,” said Trinh. “It’s our favorite street food.”

Spring rolls are rolled to order, rather than pre-shaped, with your choice of shrimp, grilled pork, chicken or tofu (two for $4.50). For just $2.50, add the classic or vegan egg rolls.

HELLO BUBBLE TEA

The corner shop also serves Vietnamese coffee, hot or iced, and a modest menu of bubble tea in flavors like lychee, honeydew and passion fruit with the standard array of toppings: tapioca, crystal boba, coconut and rainbow jelly. But it’s the freshly brewed fruit teas that Trinh highlighted, especially the peach, slices of fruit and all.

Choose your sweetness level for any drink, starting at zero sugar and upwards in quarter increments.

Neither Trinh sister was keen on boba before opening the shop. “It was always too sweet,” said Thuy. A fresh brew with 25 to 50 percent of the sugar, she added, “That’s what we love to drink at home.”

For them, it’s another way they want to welcome guests like they would their own family.

“When we do something,” said Thuy, “we put our heart in it.”

Back to those chicken wings: They can be tossed in either a honey-garlic or simple fish sauce, five to an order for $5.95, and are best enjoyed hot out of the fryer.

In normal times, you can find a seat at one of two booths, but due to COVID-19 takeout is preferred, or cross your fingers that the lone outdoor table is unoccupied.

HELLO BANH MI

▪ 35501 21st Ave. SW, Federal Way, (at Northshore Village Shopping Mall, near Ace Hardware and Hong Kong Market), 253-517-7566, facebook.com/hellobanhmipshop

▪ Daily 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m.; call to order

▪ Second location opening this winter at 14304 124th St. NE, Kirkland

This story was originally published October 14, 2020 at 5:00 AM.