Bread stall since 1950s in Saigon

We talk a lot about our bread, we know how it's popular, how people prefer it, our bread has been even selected as one of the best street foods in Asia, but we may not know that somewhere in Saigon we still have a place where they serve bread in another way since 1950s.

I was told about this place quite sometime ago, I keep in my mind "I should go there" but by somehow only last week I've been there for the first time. It's not far from my old parents house and the stall was there probably long before 1975. It's an old stall right at the corner near to Cao Thang and Nguyen Dinh Chieu's intersection - with a faded signboard "Bánh mỳ Hòa Mã"

It's not take-away shop as other places, they have tiny old metallic chairs, small, low tables along the passageway. If more customers they put more chairs and tables, if not they clear them up, not to disturb the traffic in this alley.

                  A plate of the variety of cold ham, sausage, homemade mayonnaise and pâté.

Here they serve two types of breakfast and always with bread: few kinds of cold ham with homemade mayonnaise and pâté de campagne or sunny-side-up with some ham, fish cake... One of my gym mates who is living nearby, he said the owner was a couple from Hanoi, moved to Saigon in early 1950s, that's why the name "Hoà Mã" immediately reminds me of Hanoi when I fist saw the store, very old store. Both of them used to work for some French ham-making factory in Hanoi and when settling down in Saigon, they decided to open this shop.

                   I'm not sure which one homemade but surely the mayonnaise and pâté ...

                    A small pan with sunny side up, fish cake and ham.

I go for the plate of cold ham and my friend for the sunny side up. The homemade mayonnaise is good but I wonder why it's so white? I made this sauce at home few time, it's a mix of egg yorks beaten with oil and it's always in bright yellow. But it tastes good. The pâté is also homemade, as I was told, and it's delicious. The only thing I don't like much probably is...the bread, it's crispy but quite "hollow" inside, I prefer a crispy crust bread with a soft crumb.

Now it's up to you, how to eat. Either you tear the bread and simply have it with some ham or you make a cut and fill the bread with whatever they serve you: ham, sunny-side-up, pickled carrot...exactly in a way that we always enjoy our bread.

              Customers are sitting along the alley, next to the wall...
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If you love to try, here is the address - Bánh mỳ Hòa Mã 53 Cao Thắng , approx. 50 meters away from the intersection of Cao Thang & Nguyen Dinh Chieu. Open morning only until 10:00!