Kim Chan Sandwich Shop

***** Kim Chan is now Lena’s Sandwiches & Deli

It has been a fairly warm December, with temperatures reaching into the mid-70's to low 80's on certain days. On one of those days I decided to give Ed from Yuma's favorite Banh Mi shop a try. Though the address is El Cajon Boulevard, Kim Chan is actually located on 47th Street, next to a coin laundry, Vietnamese Video Shop, and Currency Exchange.

It's a fairly small shop with two small tables; a majority of the space is taken up with refrigerators and deli-cases. Most of the menu is in Vietnamese, with only 5 items written in English. At least there wouldn't be any of the indecisive paralysis brought on by too many choices here! Kim Chan is truly a Mom-and-Pop operation. There were two people ahead of me on my first visit; and though my order was taken quickly, I had to wait about 20 minutes for my sandwich.

I ordered the "combination" (Dac Biet) which cost only $2!

This sandwich really had "pate" on it, not just a "sausage pate", a pork "loaf", and "head cheese". Though the sandwich was smaller then those at K Sandwich at about 7-8 inches, the circumference of the sandwich was a perfect fit for my mouth. What set this sandwich apart from many of the mediocre versions, is that I could really taste the meats, the salty, mildly gamy, and sweet fillings. The amount of vegetables was perfect, and added a nice crunch, along with a vinegary touch to the sandwich. The slightly hot chilies was a nice touch as well. But it was not a perfect sandwich. Tough stringy cilantro stems are a pet peeve of mine. Also though the crust of the bread was good, the bread portion was mushy and doughy, and frankly tasted a bit "stale". As a whole the sandwich was not crusty enough for me.

Since I enjoyed the Combination Sandwich, except for the bread, I thought I'd pay Kim Chan another visit. This time I ordered the BBQ Pork($2.00) sandwich:

Since I was the only customer in the restaurant, I got my sandwich in about 5 minutes. The BBQ Pork sandwich contained a single layer of  BBQ Pork sliced to about 1/8th of an inch thick, Instead of the usual thin sliced pork, the pork in the sandwich looked like it had been "cut" from a larger piece. The vegetables and green chili were again portioned perfectly for the sandwich, this sandwich also had fried shallots added which was a nice touch. This time the bread was perfectly toasted, and nice and crusty. I really didn't care for the pork, which was nice and tender, though quite dry, and also very "fishy" in taste.

I think I'll stick with the Combination Sandwich, with the nice flavors, and hopefully will get a "good" baguette. The sandwiches at Kim Chan are a bit smaller then most Banh Mi, but are portioned well, so that all of the different tastes come through. And at about 2 bucks($2.50 for BBQ Beef), the price is definitely right.

Kim Chan Sandwich Shop
4712 El Cajon Blvd Suite N
San Diego, CA 92115

Comments

[milgwimper]

WOW FIRST TO COMMENT!!

The Bahn mi looks pretty darn good, sorry about the bread. I am so hungry for bahn mi, but everything is closed right now...boo hoo

[Jo]

Hey girl! You coulda had soon dubu and fried mandu... But NOOOooOoOoo well, I guess DH is worth it... ::grin::

[Rachel]

Well ... I think banh mi is like dim sum ... even when its bad, its still pretty good :) I just want some banh mi !!! Anytime is banh mi time.

[Kirk]

Hi Mills - Yep ,you're the first.

Hi Jo - geeez run it in will ya'

Hi Rachel - The Dac Biet Banh Mi here is good. But at $2, you really can't complain, even if it was borderline lousy! And I like the "anytime is banh mi time"....What time is it? It's banh mi time! LOL!

[ed]

I guess I've been lucky with the bread and timing. The menu there has changed 3 times since I start eating there, but at one point they had a dac biet that was different from the combination - though I liked the combo better.

The last time I was there I had the bbq pork which I liked - though not as well - but I noticed they had 3 or 4 banh mi choices listed in Vietnamese for $3. I'll have to see what I'll get for 50% more.

So you think K sandwiches are the best in SD? Or is that an unfair question?

[Kirk]

Hi ed - No "K" is not the best Banh Mi in San Diego. Kim Chan could be the best so far, if the bread is good, like that second sandwich. Subsequent visits to Cafe Dore have not been as successful, as the inital Banh Mi I had there was excellent. K sanwich is to San Diego what Lee's is to everywhere else.

[Jo]

Hey, I gotta take advantage of the time I've got right? ::grins:: I'm gonna be SO deprived SO soon! Actually, I found a Korean lady by the name of Sun when we were there in November. She told me that there is a Korean family that runs an Asian goods shop in town. My daughter had already taken me by the shop (closed when we went by) and I peered into the windows enough to know that they do sell food as well as other "dry goods". I hope this means that I won't die from a lack of Korean food in the East! NOW, all I need to do is track down decent, noodle eating, Chinese and Japanese. Dee says she can't get chow fun there. I'm wondering if that is just because it isn't on the menu, are there no noodle factories there, or is that type of noodle called something else?

[Rachel]

Dear Jo,

That type of noodle is also known as hor fun (but you need to tell them to fry it hence "chow" which means fried), chow hor (same reasoning as above), kuay teow and flat rice noodles.Good luck ! you can always take a photo of menus and we can tell you what might be close ;)

[Jo]

OooOooo! EXCELLENT idea Rachel! Although you guys have really given my knowledge and understanding of Asian cuisine a tremendous boost so I maybe able to accomplish quite a bit. I'm actually sort of looking forward to that part. Another interesting thing will be fish. I'm not fond of the fish on this side with the exception of Dungeness and salmon. I much prefer Atlantic fish. I'm looking forward to making pork & shrimp dumplings "over there". I'll have to locate garlic chives first! I'm gonna have to leave Mills with some prepaid postage for seeds! ::wink:: By the by, in a military town, I'm not sure I'm willing to ask for "hor fun". I might not get what I really want!

[milgwimper]

Jo,

Bad bad bad!!! Well I will send you seeds if you want but I think you just bought some garlic chive seeds. Oh and make sure when you plant them to leave some of them flower and sprinkle them around where you want them to grow. Then save some seeds yourself just in case. My mother in law has chives popping up every year without planting. It helped that I plucked several heads of chives and ran around some dead areas in her garden. :P :) She is so thrilled with them.

[Jo]

Yes! I do have seeds now, and they are even packed as of today. I wrote that before we hit the store.

[Kady]

Now you have me craving a banh mi! Thanks for the address, I've only made my own shrimp banh mi and have been dying to try an authentic pork version.

[Kirk]

Hi Kady - If you do visit Kim Chan, I'd recommend the Combination Banh Mi.

[Rey]

I'm new to your blog (I just found it a couple of months ago) and found myself in the area of Kim Chan's. I decided to drop by and try out the banh mi. I ordered both the combination and the BBQ pork. They were exactly as you described though I think the bread I got was somewhere in between your two experiences. I enjoyed the dac biet more since as you put it, "I could really taste the meats." This is what struck me initially as the flavors melded well together and complimented the rest of the sandwich. One thing to note is that they have since raised the prices by $0.25. Still two tasty banh mi for $4.50 is a bargain. Great blog BTW!

[Kirk]

Hi Rey - Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I'm glad this blog is of some use to you. Thanks also for the update - I haven't been to Kim Chan in a few months, so i'll have to stop by when I have a chance.