Newest Asian Eatery in Chinatown: Banh Mi Boys & One Hour

I recently come across two new Asian eastery in Chinatown. The first one is the highly anticipated Banh Mi Boys, which sells Vietnamese banh mi and bao. I start to notice banh mi when I watch the Great Food Truck Race on Food Network and two attractive and competitive Vietnamese girls are selling banh mi on food truck (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0-LT3rTKR4&feature=related).

Now back to the Banh Mi Boys, whose family owns a bakery + deli meat business. The menu consists of bani mi, taco, or bao. And then you can choose the toppings you want to put in it. Toppings range from pork belly, grilled chicken, to braised beef cheek. You can also choose spicy or mild. Sides include kimchi fries and sweet potato fries (but cost extra, no combo option available). They are constant line-ups in this place, that indicates how popular this place is. Both the beef cheek banh mi and the pork belly bao are really delicious. Although the banh mi at this place costs much higher than other places you'd find in chinatown, their homemade toppings may have worth that. I will go again to try out the other flavours!

Food: 4.2/5 (taste is pretty good, though portion is a bit small for bao)
Service: 3.8/5 (though it's fast food style, waiting for food can take about 10 mins, depending on the line-up)
Decor: 3.2/5 (the sitting area has been renovated but when it gets busy there is no one to clean up tables/counters empty containers may pile up like in a food court)
Price: Everything is under $10

Location: 392 Queen Street W.
Phone:416-363-0588
Open until 10pm daily
Website: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Banh-Mi-Boys/177836625612197
















The second place I want to talk about is One Hour. It's a minimalist style bbt shop in Chinatown. Food options range from homemade pork/beef noodles to chicken rings and cheesecake. Drinks include various bbt and specialty tea. The food and drinks taste pretty good, but choices are quite limited. Hopefully they will expand their menu in the near future. Pork noodle is quite spicy (too spicy for me!), but the rose jelly slush duo is fun to drink. Unlike Destiny or Go for Tea they don't have the latest magazines to browse, but they do offer free wifi service. The gigantic beanbags are interesting part of decor but no too comfortable to sit in for an extended period of time. The service is very good though (friendly and pretty asian girl waitresses).

Food: 4/5 (drinks are pretty good)
Service: 4.2/5 (friendly and efficient)
Decor: 4/5 (nice decor, can choose to sit in front or back of store)

Location: 435 Spadina Avenue
Phone: 647-346-2172
Open until 11pm daily, except Sundays in winter
Website: http://www.facebook.com/onehour.cc