Kung Fu Hoagie

I ran into Kung Fu Hoagie, a vegan food truck that sells vegan banh mi and pho, at a block party. I have read good reviews on yelp and have been meaning to try this place for awhile. They have a calendar on their website to help locate them. Their truck is primarily stationed at West and South Philly; however, they do go to events. Below is what I ordered.

I got the banh mi with the "pork" called Banh Mi Chay in a size small. It came with homemade vegetarian tofu "pork," yams, mung bean noodles, vegan mayonnaise, picked carrots, cucumber, cilantro, and jalapenos. The sandwich was very tasty. The texture of tofu was dry, firm, and semi chewy. Even though I didn't think the tofu tasted like pork, I can see how they tried to imitate pork. The veggies were fresh and complement the tofu. The menu said that there was yam in it but I didn't taste or notice the yam. I did see little shredded bits of mung bean noodles. I don't think traditional banh mi have bits of noodles in it. I think the sandwich would be fine without the noodles. I wonder if they added the noodles for extra protein. The bread was soft and chewy. I think they toasted the bread, but I consumed it an hour after purchasing so the bread soften. This banh mi was filling for a 6 inch sandwich.

In addition, I bought a small bag of vegan jerky. This was my first time trying vegan jerky and oh my goodness it was incredible. It tasted like real beef jerky. It's texture and flavor was very spot on. I let my family try some and they didn't believe me when I told them it was not meat. I was so surprise by the taste. I had to google how vegan jerky was made. It appears that they use either hydrated seitan or coconut meat. Over all I think Kung Fu Hoagie did an awesome job coming up with these delicious recipes. The jerky tasted like jerky.  Although the banh mi did not taste like the original banh mi I was use to as a meat eater, it did have some of the flavors of traditional banh mi but with a twist. It accomplished satisfying my banh mi craving. I look forward to trying the other items on their menu.

Inside Banh Mi Chay and Vegan Jerky

Inside Banh Mi Chay and Vegan Jerky

Mi Lah

When I was looking for vegan and vegetarian restaurants on yelp, I stumble upon Mi Lah (30th Station, 2955 Market Street). Their menu was not extensive so beforehand I was able to decide I wanted to try their Buffalo Hoagie and their Char Siu Bao. Char Siu Bao was one of my favorite foods as a child but once I became a pescartarian, I had never have it again nor have I tried vegetarian or vegan versions of it. Hence, I was really looking forward to experiencing it again. However, when I arrived around noon, all the Char Siu Baos were gone! How could that be?! It was still early and I felt like Char Siu Bao is a lunch item. Needless to say I was disappointed. In addition, Buffalo Hoagie was crossed off on their menu. They stated that they no longer sell it(what?!). I came all the way there to learn they had nothing I wanted. Since I was already there, I decided to give their Vietnam Hoagie a try.

The Vietnamese Hoagie came with marinated tofu, cucumber, shredded carrots, veganaise, and cilantro. I was not a big fan of this hoagie. I thought the tofu had a funky smell. It was salty. It tasted like they use alot of soy sauce in the marinate and the soy sauce did not got well with the tofu and the other spices they used or the tofu was marinated a very long time creating this weird salty taste and smell. The texture of the tofu was interesting, though. It reminded me of Vietnamese pork rolls (Cha Luo) which I didn't mind. It was flavors that I did not like. The carrots were also not pickled. In other banh mi I had before the carrots were pickled. The cucumber and cilantro were fresh, but I wouldn't say it complement this meal because I thought the tofu marinate was overpowering. I don't think they toasted my bread. It didn't taste toasted. It tasted average and was mildly chewy Although Mi Lah got good reviews on yelp, I was highly disappointed especially since I paid $8 for this hoagie.  Not sure if I have a different taste bud than everyone else but I did not like this Vietnamese hoagies at Mi Lah. I felt like Ba Le Bakery and Kung Fu Hoagies have way better vegetarian vietnamese hoagies. I will be reviewing the two places mentioned in the latter in future posts. 

Vietnamese Hoagie