Ms Ba Co is one of the vendors at the Majura Park shopping centre food court (Woolworths entrance) selling all sorts of Vietnamese street food. We had just bought some groceries and walked past Ms Ba Co to head back to the car. I saw various $8 banh mi’s on the menu and suggested we stop and try one. It ended up being a very good decision.
Apart from the regular pork and pate banh mi, you can also choose from a pork chop banh mi, pork belly, grilled pork, grilled lemongrass chicken, pork meat balls, betel leaf beef, and a tofu banh mi. Then there’s also pho, vermicelli noodles, com tam, rice paper rolls, spring rolls and soups.
I had to try the traditional pork and pate banh mi ($8) for my first visit. The banh mi was made fresh in front of me using all the ingredients available at the counter. It literally took about 1 minute before my number was called out and I could collect it. I was really happy with the banh mi which had just enough mayonnaise and pate, crunchy fresh vegetables (I love the pickled daikon) and a crispy roll which was soft on the inside. There was quite a lot of grated carrot and I would have liked it stuffed with a bit more pork terrine/ham, but I thought it was pretty darn good.
Mr FPJ chose the grilled lemongrass chicken banh mi ($8) which I only had a small bite of, but I could taste the wonderful flavour of lemongrass and he really enjoyed it.
On another occasion, I went back and couldn’t resist the fat pieces of pork belly that had just been placed in the bain-marie.
The pork belly banh mi ($8) was heavily stuffed with plenty of pork belly and crackling. It was a little difficult to eat as the pieces were chunky but I managed. Again, lots of fresh crunchy vegetables, a generous amount of meat, all in a crispy yet soft roll.
On another occasion, I tried out the grilled pork banh mi ($8) which was stuffed to the brim with meat. The pork had been marinated in lemongrass and other herbs, but I found it quite salty with some fatty cuts of pork. There was also an overly generous amount of meat and not enough vegetables (but that’s just me). I found the grilled pork to be very oily and let a lot of the oil drip into the paper bag that the banh mi was wrapped in.
I need to go back and try the pork chop banh mi, not to mention the special pork chop com tam (one of my favourite Vietnamese dishes). Ms Ba Co is a popular spot and I’ve noticed the queues that form during my outings. At about 2pm on a Sunday, there was a queue of people waiting so I wonder what the queue is like during a weekday lunch hour.
Ms Ba Co’s banh mi are reasonably priced and the portions of the other dishes (when I’ve glanced over to see other people’s orders) seem to be on the large side. There isn’t a long wait time for food and there are plenty of tables in the food court area or just get it to go.
Ms Ba Co
Majura Park Shopping Centre, Spitfire Avenue, Majura Park, Canberra
Opening hours:
Seven days a week for lunch.
Cannot find anything about dinner but am assuming it’s only a lunch time to mid-afternoon timeframe as per most food court vendors.
Foodgasm 8/10
Value for money 8/10
Service 9/10
FPJ score 25/30
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