V-Sub: Substandard Vietnamese Offerings

Properly managed expectations are essential to happy eating in Beijing. This new fast-food chain, specializing in Vietnamese sandwiches, is a case in point. These banh mi (Vietnamese for “bread”) rely heavily on the strength of the baguette. Sadly, V-Sub’s bread is tough and lackluster. As for fillings, the necessary flavors are there, but they lack the pop that makes Vietnamese subs an international hit. With sandwiches priced at RMB 15-32, V-Sub’s halfhearted subs merit closer comparison with Subway than Beijing’s other Vietnamese restaurants.

Other items such as spring rolls, pho and iced coffee suffer from execution issues that render them just passable. V-Sub’s daily half-off specials are worth taking advantage of, though. The discounts may lower your expectations just enough to give you a fighting chance at coming out happy.

Also try: Pho La La, Luga’s Pho Pho

V-Sub 巴米 Daily 10am-8pm. Unit W113 (next to TGI Friday’s), World City, 9 Jinhui Lu, Chaoyang District (8590 7769) 朝阳区金汇路9号世界城W113

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Photo: Josh Ong