A banh mi looks like a simple sandwich, but at the Soonta counter there are eight protein choices, two dressing decisions, and a long-standing question of which combination actually tastes best. First-time customers often default to whatever the person ahead of them ordered. Regulars usually have a fixed favourite they have never deviated from. Both miss what is interesting about the menu: every banh mi at Soonta starts from the same foundation, and the protein plus the dressing is where the entire personality of the sandwich gets decided.
This is a guide to building a banh mi at Soonta — what is fixed, what is chosen, and which combinations work best for which kind of lunch.
The Fixed Elements: What Every Soonta Banh Mi Has
Every banh mi at Soonta starts identically. The baguette is freshly baked. Inside, before any protein is added, there is a fixed combination of vegetables and aromatics:
- House-pickled carrot
- Cucumber
- Spring onion
- Fresh coriander
- Soonta’s signature garlic aioli (unless No Dressing is selected)
This is the banh mi base, and it is not customisable in the conventional sense. The pickled carrot brings the acidity. The cucumber adds the crunch and the cool note. The spring onion gives sharpness. The coriander brings the herbaceous, slightly citrus aroma that signals “Vietnamese sandwich” the moment the wrapper comes off. The garlic aioli is the binder — creamy enough to coat the bread, garlicky enough to lift everything else.
Two practical implications. First: even a Soonta banh mi with No Filling is still a recognisable banh mi — pickles, herbs, aioli, baguette. Second: anyone who avoids coriander, garlic, or fermented vegetables should know upfront that all three are foundational to the sandwich and cannot be removed.
A Note on the Baguette Itself
The baguette is wheat-based and freshly baked. This matters for one specific group of customers: anyone eating gluten-free. Even when the protein on top is gluten-free (BBQ Pork is marked GF on the menu, as is the Tofu and Mushroom for vegan customers), the bread itself is not GF, so the sandwich as a whole is not GF. The honest answer at the counter is that the bowls and cold rolls are the better menu sections for someone who must avoid wheat. Banh mi is intentionally a baguette sandwich.
For everyone else, the bread does the work it is supposed to do: crisp crust, soft inside, sturdy enough to hold a heavy filling without collapsing.
The Protein Choices
This is where the customisation actually happens. Soonta lists nine protein options on its banh mi menu. Each one creates a different sandwich.
Roast Pork. The traditional Vietnamese choice. Slow-roasted, deeply savoury, with the kind of fat-and-meat balance that makes banh mi work as a category. Pairs particularly well with the pickled carrot — the acidity cuts through the richness. The default pick for anyone trying banh mi for the first time and wanting the most archetypal version.
Karaage Chicken. Japanese-style fried chicken — marinated, battered, fried until crisp. A modern banh mi protein, slightly outside the Vietnamese tradition but increasingly the most-ordered version on busy weekdays. The crunch of the karaage layers onto the crunch of the baguette, which is the appeal.
Katsu Chicken. Japanese breaded fried chicken cutlet — a flatter, more even fry than karaage. Lower crunch ratio, more meat-per-bite. A good pick for someone who wants the fried-chicken character of karaage but in a more sandwich-friendly format.
Grilled Chicken. The leanest, lightest banh mi option. Grilled rather than fried, no breading, no batter. Pairs cleanly with the herbs and pickled vegetables and lets the bread and aioli do more of the work. The right pick for someone who wants banh mi but not the fullness of a fried option.
Soy Ginger Chicken. Grilled chicken with a soy-and-ginger marinade. Adds a deeper savoury-sweet note than plain grilled chicken without going as heavy as fried options. A useful middle option for anyone who finds grilled chicken slightly plain and karaage too rich.
Lemongrass Chicken. Marinated in lemongrass before cooking. The most aromatic chicken option on the menu — lemongrass gives the sandwich an unmistakable Southeast Asian character that the herbs and pickles complement. A strong choice for anyone wanting a chicken banh mi that does not taste like a generic chicken sandwich.
BBQ Pork (GF). Marinated and grilled. Marked gluten-free on the menu (though again, the baguette itself is wheat-based). Sweeter than the Roast Pork, with caramelised edges, similar in role to char siu in other cuisines. Pairs with the pickles in a slightly different way — the sweetness of the BBQ marinade plus the acidity of the pickled carrot creates a sweet-sour balance.
Tofu and Mushroom (V) (V+). The vegetarian and vegan option. Tofu and mushroom together cover the savoury, umami role that meat plays — the mushroom adds depth, the tofu adds substance. The most under-ordered banh mi at most Vietnamese counters, which is unfortunate, because it is well-balanced. For vegan customers, this is the only protein option that delivers a full sandwich.
No Filling. The customisation outlier. Effectively a vegetable banh mi — baguette, house-pickled vegetables, herbs, aioli — with no protein layer. Useful for customers who want a very light lunch, an in-between snack, or who are pairing it with a separate side order like the cold rolls or spring rolls.
The Dressing Decision
The dressing question is shorter but it changes the sandwich.
Aioli (V). The default. Soonta’s signature garlic aioli. Creamy, garlicky, the binder that pulls every other element together. Most customers should pick this.
No Dressing. For anyone who wants a lighter sandwich, who avoids creamy sauces, or who plans to add their own condiment. The trade-off is honesty: without the aioli, the sandwich relies entirely on the pickled vegetables and herbs to keep the bread from feeling dry. It works, but it is a noticeably different eating experience.
There is no third option listed — no chilli sauce upgrade, no soy glaze, no nuoc cham option on the published menu. What is on the menu is what is on the menu.
Combinations for Specific Goals
For anyone using this guide to actually pick a sandwich rather than just learn the menu, the combinations group by goal.
For the most traditional banh mi experience: Roast Pork plus Aioli. This is the closest a Soonta banh mi comes to a Saigon street-vendor version.
For maximum crunch: Karaage Chicken plus Aioli. Crisp on crisp, with the aioli softening the edges just enough.
For the lightest banh mi without sacrificing flavour: Grilled Chicken plus Aioli, or Lemongrass Chicken plus Aioli. Either is a clean lunch that does not weigh down a 2pm meeting.
For the most fragrant sandwich: Lemongrass Chicken plus Aioli. The lemongrass amplifies the coriander, and the two together carry the sandwich.
For sweet-and-savoury: BBQ Pork plus Aioli. The marinade plus the garlic aioli plus the pickled carrot is a three-way balance.
For vegan: Tofu and Mushroom — Aioli or No Dressing depending on whether the aioli is the vegan version (the menu marks the aioli itself as V, meaning vegetarian; vegans should confirm with the counter whether the aioli is dairy-free at their local store).
For lightest possible banh mi: No Filling plus No Dressing. Effectively a pickled-vegetable baguette.
Banh Mi for an Office or a Group
For office orders or group lunches, the same banh mi proteins appear in Soonta’s catering format. The Mini Banh Mi Platter on the catering menu starts from $75, and the Signature Box ($150, serves 8-10) bundles Mini Banh Mi with Bun Cup. The catering version of the banh mi uses the same protein logic as the in-store sandwich — most catering platters lead with Roast Pork, Grilled Chicken, and Tofu and Mushroom as the three default proteins so a single platter covers traditional, lighter, and vegan eaters at the same table. The accompanying sauces in the catering format are Sweetened Soy Sauce (V/V+) or Traditional Fish Sauce (GF), confirmed for the Signature Box.
For workplaces with mixed dietary requirements — meat eaters, vegetarians, gluten-considerate eaters who can have wheat — the mini banh mi format is straightforward to scale across a meeting. For strict gluten-free attendees, route them to a bowl rather than a banh mi.
What Is Not Customisable
A short list, for honesty. None of the following are listed on the published banh mi menu:
- Extra protein
- Double aioli or extra sauce
- Substitution of the pickled vegetables
- Removal of coriander or spring onion
- Toasted versus fresh baguette
- Different bread types (no rice paper, no wholemeal listed)
Most Vietnamese fast-casual operations will accept reasonable polite requests at the counter, but they are not part of the published menu and should not be assumed. The way to get a customised banh mi at Soonta is to combine the published protein and dressing choices well, not to invent options the menu does not offer.
How to Decide at the Counter
When in doubt: Roast Pork plus Aioli. It is the most traditional version and the version the menu was designed around.
When wanting something different from the usual order: rotate through the protein list one per visit until a favourite emerges. Lemongrass Chicken and BBQ Pork are the two most often-overlooked options.
When ordering for someone with dietary restrictions: Tofu and Mushroom for vegan, plus No Dressing if dairy-free aioli is uncertain. For gluten-free, redirect to a bowl — the banh mi is wheat-based by design.
When ordering for a group: order three or four different proteins across the order so the table has variety. Roast Pork, Karaage Chicken, Lemongrass Chicken, and Tofu Mushroom together cover most preferences.
Pick the protein. Decide on the dressing. Trust the pickles, the herbs, and the bread to do the rest. That is the entire banh mi system at Soonta, and it has worked for the same reason for eighteen years.
