Cóm Bánh Mì by Chef Phuc Dat Bich

I was a little hesitant after reading Chris’s review below, but I think that probably helped. It set my expectations a little lower. And because of that I was completely satisfied!
Now, if you’ve been to Vietnam, and you’ve had a proper bánh mì sandwich, this will fall a bit short for you, but if you just want a delicious sandwich cheap, this hits the spot nicely.
In addition to a very tasty sandwich, I got the side of fried spring roll, which was delightful. And the staff is super friendly.
So there you have it. Taste, service and value. Sounds like a pretty good place to me!

I was introduced to Cóm Bánh Mì in a manner by which many patrons have and will be introduced, in an exchange that goes something like: «lol I tried this new Vietnamese place in Wan Chai. Get this, the Chef’s name is Phuc Dat Bich! Asians are so funny haha».
But when you dig past the school yard jokes, any true connoisseur of the bánh mì will realize that the punch line comes up flat. A good bánh mì is a thing of beauty. It’s complex. It’s complicated (although the best bánh mì’s I’ve procured have been from road side stalls in Hanoi for about a buck and change). It’s the happy handshake between Western (bread making, pâté, etc) and Eastern (fish sauce, roasted proteins, etc) techniques.
This is not a complex bánh mì ($ 45 for the chicken and duck version), nor is it a good bánh mì. They should just call it a ‘bland mi’. The pâté was a shadow of what it should be, wan and insipid. The bread, which was squishy in the manner of a Portuguese pão (not that there is anything wrong with that, but not for this particular application) instead of the crackly exterior and dense crumb of a proper French demi-​baguette. If the veg (cucumber, carrots, radish) had seen an ounce of pickling liquid, then I’m the Queen of France. Somewhere along the way, the shredded chicken and duck get lost in the mix.
To be fair, I did love the abundance of fresh herbs — not a strict requirement for a proper bánh mì but a matter of personal preference. Plenty of sauces — hot sauce, fish sauce, etc — are on hand, and boy are they necessary. Service was polite and prompt.
It’s easy to be seduced by the attractive store front and cheeky menu. One might think that the restaurant is laughing with us. Instead, the joke is on us.

Located where Bao Wow used to be, is un-​apologetically hipster Com Banh Mi, as you can probably tell by the name, and all the innuendos on the menu. So don’t expect a traditional Tim Kee Vietnamese sandwich here, although they don’t stray too far from the classic.
The Banh Mis are based on the classic ones with the expected pickled carrot shreds, liver pâté, Vietnamese sausage, all inside a toasted french baguette. This itself is already quite solid, Com Banh Mi adds on their own flavor through their special hipster ingredient, yes you guessed it, Sriracha Mayo sauce, and allows you to choose Shredded Chicken, Pork Belly, Pork Satay, Steak Satay or Iberico Ham as a main filling (HKD 45 each). You can also choose all of the above stuff inside a football-​sized Banh Mi (HKD 160) if you want to pig out. I tried the Shredded Chicken and Duck and it was perfectly toasted, the pâté flavor wasn’t as apparent perhaps because I overloaded on the amazing pickled chilies they had in jars on the table. I’d prefer a classic Banh Mi like Tim Kee’s to be honest, but this is worth a strong 4. I gave 5 stars because of the rice (and the pickled chilies), which I was curious about and decided to order afterwards.
Stuffed as I was already, the rice was good enough that I could not leave it. Same fillings as the Banh Mi, except served atop a bed of rice cooked in Chicken Broth. Very satisfying and flavorful, more so than the banh mi, in fact. Next time I come back I will be getting this rice again, and load it with pickled chilies. Looks like no more going to the dark side for Banh Mi fixes. Phuc Dat.