Ba-Le Sandwich Shop

Family run business– sometimes their daughters r helping out the cashiers after school. All plastic bowels San utensils. Tables r so so clean but it’s a fast food type of establishment.

I haven’t been here since the 1990’s and it’s still almost the same. Great cheap place for Vietnamese fast food. It’s still as ghetto as ever. You can’t best Ba-le’s fresh baked and toasted breads. There is a lot to choose from on the menu. Just know that’s it’s nothing fancy. If you remember the City Slickers line: Hot, brown and plenty of it.

I finished scuba dive from next door at 4-​ish pm and decided to grab a banh mi to eat on my way back in town.
the restaurant was not busy at that time and I was the only person in line. All I ordered was a pâté & steam meat banh mi.
My ONLY request was to omit parsley and cucumber. And when the man (seemed like the boss) asked if I wanted spicy, I said yes.
Then I saw him walking over to the lady who made the sandwich — told her the order in person.
SHE ONLY HAD ONE SANDWICH TO DO.
I was the only one there the whole time.
I grabbed the sandwich, hopped into the car, and took off.
As I opened the bag, I saw it full of parsley, I managed to pick some out but i couldn’t really cuz I was in the car. I just tried eating because I was hungry. Well, next bite I found — cucumber. Seriously?!
Despite of why I can’t/don’t eat those two greens, is it that difficult to remember it?
I tried to eat around the sandwich, and then I realized there was no jalapeño pepper… Ok… where is my «spicy»?? Or why bother to ask me if not planning to follow orders.
again, she only had ONE sandwich to do for the whole 15 – 20 mins I was there waiting.
Was she even listening ???
to be fair, the banh mi tasted good. But since I ended up eating a very demolished sandwich, it was very messy and ruined my impression of how «good» it was supposed to be. I might go back and try other dishes as they looked good, but I’ll definitely be more skeptical if they are really listening to customers needs, cooking what I really order, or just do their own robotic routine.

Our go-​to place for a weekday takeout dinner. We call in our order and it’s ready in minutes!
We usually get a mixed plate (#5), sandwich and a few spring rolls. Can’t beat the food and the price!

I only tried the deluxe banh my and it tasted like any other ones I had. Decent but nothing special. I was disappointed that they didn’t carry Che Thai, since it’s pretty popular and my favorite. The owners were friendly and chatted a bit. Would recommend if in area.

Your average casual phở place with bah-​mi sandwiches. It satisfied my phở carvings while in Oahu.

This is my favorite Ba-​Le! Of course it’s also the most convenient for me. We always get the same items — chicken phở and turkey sandwich (bahn-​mi) — disclaimer, that’s all I get here.
CHICKEN PHO:
It always amazes me how hot the broth is when I bring it home. Facial steam! The noodles, chicken, Thai basil, lemon, bean sprouts, hoisin/​chili sauce are all packaged on the side. I always-​always ask for fresh jalapeño, and they usually give me a whole one (yay!).
As soon as I yet home, throw in the jalapeño (all of it) so it has time to steep and add the chicken and noodles so it has time to warm up. Hubby adds in the bean sprouts too so it has time to soften. I like my phở sans sprouts. Lastly, tear up and add the basil and finish with a lemon squeeze — yum!
TURKEY BAHN-​MI:
Perfect amount of fish sauce, mayo, Sriracha (I ask for spicy), turkey is deli sliced (I don’t mind), pickled carrots and cucumber, and cilantro… all in the perfect crunchy, chewy vehicle… French bread from Ba-​Le/​La Tour bakery. Wrapped in simple paper and cut in half… only to make it easier to eat — because this is something I do not share.
I love this place… they never fail to satisfy my bahn-​mi and chicken phở cravings.

I love bale in Hawaii Kai there phở is amazing and always comes out fast !!! The lady (the owner) always remembers too that I like extra lemons with my phở so I don’t even have to tell her she just knows which is amazing great service !!! Love !!!

The vietnamese sandwich is the way to go here. Had the crispy noodles and garlic shrimp and chicken. Meh.
But the sandwich is large, packed with veggies and pâté and cold cuts.
Was in the area to go on a water excursion, so this was a good stop before heading out. Wouldn’t seek it out on purpose, but was decent for a last minute find.

The Bale has a good selection of vietnamese foods. The Phở is decent and rice plates are all good.

Ordered the banh mi «special sandwich.» Good, not great. The sandwich lacked a balance of favors and weighed in largely on the sweet side. Some fresh sliced jalapeño would have done it some good, as well as reducing the sugar in the pickled veggies. Extensive menu of Asian, Asian-​American food.

Good food for the price. My wife had chicken phở i tried it. I don’t think they used chicken it tasted like turkey haha. Although the squid and shrimp meal was great.
I need to come back and try the sandwiches. For atmosphere I would give it 2 stars but the rest was good.

After a killer workout at the Oahu Club, my BFF asked me if there were any Vietnamese Restaurants in Hawaii Kai. She had a Phở craving! I looked at her in bewilderment because I live miles away in the rainy hills of Manoa and she’s «Mrs. Hawaii Kai» that lives in sunny Hawaii Kai! Umm. So, of course we Unilocal the area and I notice a restaurant called «Phở 777», but it’s accompanied with pretty low ratings — I’m typically one to ignore overall ratings because sometimes it’s simply not as accurate as the sheep think they know. However, my BFF’s son said it did suck and we would be better off at Ba-​Le Hawaii Kai instead. Okay, he’s a teen, but also the son of my lovely BFF, the BFF with the mad Phở craving, the BFF, who btw is picking up the tab, so… See me complaining?
We decide to do Ba-​Le Hawaii Kai! I’m sure most of you are aware that Ba-​Le is a Vietnamese chain that has that pseudo fast-​food vibe. All Ba-​Le locations are franchised, so what you get in Hilo (the best one I’ve been to) is totally different than the one on Ward, and all are totally different than the one in Hawaii Kai Towne Center!
Ba-​Le Hawaii Kai is located on the Long’s side of Hawaii Kai Towne Center. Ample parking is okay. Voilà! MY BFF finds a parking right up front and we enter Ba-​Le Hawaii Kai! Once you enter… Ordering is on the immediate left of the glass door. The menu stretches across two walls, yes, a massive selection. I also noted that you could order to dine-​in or to-​go. We decided to-​go and dine at my BFF’s house. I did notice the dining area to be larger than the normal Ba-​Le, but TBH the lights were too bright for my eyes! I do admit I’m light sensitive, but I swear you can get a suntan in here… Way too much artificial fluorescent bulbs going on! So yes, definitely to-​go!
After a minute of perusing the massive menu… We decide:
–BFF: CHICKEN PHO ($ 8 and change)
–Me: BEEF PHO W/​MEATBALLS ($ 8 and change)
After about 5-​minutes it’s ready for pick-​up! Packed neatly in styrofoam containers and the meat, phở, greens all separated. The broth packed in a airtight bowl to keep it hot! Once we arrived at the BFF’s lovely place, a mere 5-​minutes away, we dig in! We’re famished! Looked good… Smell was divine… Generous indeed, but…
One bite and the broth was way too sweet! Yikes! Okay, we still dig-​in since we both were simply starving and were chatting away, anyway. I do admit that everything was fresh and lots of meat too — props there! However, after about half a bowl of «sweet broth» we both had enough! I mean it was okay, and I guess I could have «fixed it» with salt, pepper and maybe some chili pepper water, but I didn’t and before you know it — our dinner time was done!
So yes, I can still recommend Ba-​Le Hawaii Kai, but next time I’ll opt for my standard rice plate or Viet sandwich! I was not impressed with the Phở here, in fact, that sweet broth (that some seem to like) was over the top IMHO. BFF seemed to agree looking at her half untouched Phở! Yup, I’ll go anywhere BFF goes, but next time I’m picking up the tab and flying her to Ho Chí Minh City w/​me! I heard it’s pretty legit there!
OVERALL GRADE: 3.5-STARS! (Just ordered the wrong!)
LIVE ALOHA…
Unilocal REVIEW #418

Excellent sandwiches! French bread was fresh and with just the right amount of crispness, as were the veggies. Had the ham and steamed pork. Very generous portions of meat and nice balance of spicy sauce for a very reasonable price.

Phở Broth is sweet for some reason and the meat is too thick. I felt like I was chewing on shoe leather. I found a bone in our lemongrass Bön mi sandwich and I could have broken a tooth! Plus the lemongrass chicken just tasted like regular chicken, but with bones and lots of cartilage.
If you like dessert phở and picking through your food to make sure it’s safe then by all means, try it. You will not see me here ever again! Gross!

I realize my number of check ins here is not impressive. Long before I was lucky enough to have Unilocal,I was lucky enough to have this Ba-​le.
Not all Ba-​le sandwich shops and created equal. The menu may look similar and the aroma of lemongrass and toasted French bread might seem the same but I’m telling you… not equal. each one is owned/​operated by different families.
This family that runs this particular restaurant is wonderful. My family knows their family and we have watched their children grow up as the owners have watched my sister and I grow up. The people are not just nice, they are great with the spice combos, portions, and service.
They make their dishes with distinct pride and precision far beyond the «look» of the restaurant.
When I went away for school years ago I craved their chicken phở. There were times my mom would tell me about she and my dad’s lemongrass chicken sandwiches and I sat solemnly in my dorm room drooling.
When I moved away from hawaii kai, I tried other Ba-​Les and they just didn’t compare. So when I’m out on the side of the island visiting my family my mom asks «what would you like for dinner?» This place is always on the top of my list.
Most of the time these days, we do take away. They make sure to keep the broth separate to keep the noodles fresh.
Makes me miss living on this side of the island.

Unilocal 100 Challenge #13/​100
This was my first time to this Bale’s. It seems to be run by a husband and wife with their family. The place was busy at lunch on a 4^th of July. There is about 7 tables in there with 2 of them seating a party of two. I went in to get some lunch to go. I ordered the lemongrass chicken banh-​mi to go and also picked up some Palmiers.
The owner asked if I would like the sandwich a little spicy and I said yes. Within a few minutes my sandwich was done and the gentlemen that ordered before me got this sandwich very quickly as well.
The lemongrass chicken banh-​mi sandwich was perfectly balanced with the chicken having some great flavor with the vegetable that were very fresh and crunchy. The french bread was fresh and toasted nicely. They put them in a toaster before making it for you. I also liked the sandwich a little spicy which I never did have before. It wasn’t my mouth is on fire spicy, but just added a little kick. I would recommended it.
The Palmiers was very flakey, fresh, and oh so good. I would definitely purchase them again too.
The sandwich was $ 5.50 and the Palmiers at $ 4.25 which was a good deal.
This is one of the better Bale establishments I’ve been too and I would come back again.

This Bale, by far, is my favourite Bale chain.
I’ve been coming here for years and years. Same husband-​wife team (now their kids help!) since forever. They are so nice! Always greeting you and whatnot. They forgot my phone order once and gave me a tapioca for their error!
The prices here are really affordable. I usually get the veggie tofu vermicelli and it’s huge! Only about $ 6.75 too! They have the standard Bale fare of sandwiches ($ 4.50) and phở/​rice dishes. Their beef stew phở is surprisingly good also.
The shop could use a face lift and it’s a little rough around the edges, but overall a great place to grab a meal to go. They now take visa/​MasterCard.

I felt like a sandwich today so I went by Bale. It was earlier in the day like 1045ish. By the way… this is not the cleanest restaurant ever… and it is kind of dark. I don’t know if they are trying to save electricity or what.
Anyway, I decided on a pâté and steamed pork sandwich and two egg rolls. They weren’t super quick, but it was an adequate amount of time… there was just one man in front of me and they seemed a little flustered with two customers in their shop… enough to give him my order. They didn’t realize until after he left so they had to go into the parking lot and chase him down!
When I finally got my order home (and checking it twice), it was good. Right amount of vegetables and meat, and they had warmed the roll. I asked for the hot sauce on the side, but they put it on the sandwich too… which was ok, it turned out to be just enough.
I will go back, maybe even try sometjing different…

My boss swears by this Bale restaurant as having the best chicken curry. He loves the flavor of coconut milk with loads of vegetables in the sauce. Personally, I can do without because I’m not kookoo for coconut. But! I’d trek here for their signature crispy sandwiches! Mmm… toasted French bread, shoyu sauce, crunchy daikon… Love me some ham sandwich!
The staff (poss husband and wife team?) are friendly and if they remember you, will throw in a smile. Although they seem initially as the typical «what-​you-​like?» workers with broken English and no-​small-​talk-​necessary attitude, they’re genuinely good people who go out of their way to ensure quality food and affordable prices. A handful of times, if I don’t have the exact payment, they’ll overlook it and round up my change to the nearest whole dollar.
I like their beef and chicken phở, even though they don’t have the fish sauce I love so much. Great pitstop for lunch break and take out!