Duc Huong Gio Cha Sandwiches

When I was first introduced to a Bánh Mì (Vietnamese sandwich), a buddy of mine took me to Lee’s Sandwiches. For the price and what you get, I was pretty impressed! Fast forward a couple of years, I no longer have a go-​to place for this specialty sandwich. Drum roll please… But NOW I DO!
I ordered a small #1, which is a Grilled Pork sandwich. I kid you not, the bread melts in your mouth! If you’ve been to other places, the outside of the bread gets a little too hard right? So hard that you get scratches in the roof of your mouth when you try to wolf it down too fast! Well I have good news for you, that does NOT happen here! The bread is so perfectly textured, you can just eat it by itself! The pork is well seasoned, and the special sauce they include is well balanced! All of the veggies included are super fresh! There is not one thing within this sandwich that I would pull out! It is literally that good!
In closing, location isn’t ideal, and parking is an issue, but in the end, you will be blown away by the sandwiches that come out of this place! The place is tiny, and it gets pretty crowded, but they manage to get your sandwich out in 10 minutes or so. Don’t worry, you will thank me later!

Visited several times to buy their specialty Vietnamese ham and occasionally their sandwiches of which the ham is tasty. The sandwiches are OK.
This time also bought ice coffee and pa tê châu which is supposed to be a buttery flaky croissant type pork pastry. Quite expensive for $ 1 each and also smaller. It was tasteless and not flaky. Coffee tasted old and bitter $ 3.25. Haven’t tried any desserts but I heard their almond pastry is good.
Highly recommend Phát Trí only a block away for all these items and more delicious!
Update: I had a bad stomach ache an hour later.

OMG thisss is my new favorite banh mi shop. So glad I found out about this place, I don’t go anywhere else from Banh Mis now.
We stumbled upon this place when we were going to the Lion Market in the same strip mall.
My all time favorite sandwich is the #7, the egg and the Chinese sausage really works in that sandwich! I love that they also bake their own bread and you can buy little garlic baguettes.
Aside from the sandwiches and baguettes, I also pick up pâté and peppered pork cakes here.

Sometimes I feel adventurous, and with a name like Duc Huong Gio Cha, this looks like a good place to try!
The bad news is that it’s in a shopping center with many popular stores, especially Food Lion, a small cramped parking lot, and no parking along Story or McLaughlin. Duc Huong Gio Cha is located on one side, and I had to park on the other side. So it’s not exactly In-​n-​Out.
It’s also not a restaurant where you sit at a table, the waiter takes your order, and after 20 minutes, you have your food, then you eat while he refills your drink, and then give him your plastic so that you can pay the bill. Not here. It’s a Vietnamese deli, no tables or chairs, cash only, just walk in, place your order (they speak English too), and walk out with your sandwich.
And what a sandwich it is. I had spicy pork. «Do you want vegetables inside or outside?» I answered «outside», and I’m glad I did. The meat was cooked just right, nice and spicy but the spice did not overpower the taste, and it had a good strong taste to it. It would have been too bad for that taste to be overpowered by too much cucumber, carrots, bell peppers, and what looks like lawn clippings. I could add these to the sandwich to add a good taste to it, to the extent that worked for me. I ordered large, and got two footlongs. Add a Sprite and the total bill was just under $ 10. Great sandwich, so I got my money’s worth.
Stop by, give ‘em a try, and I hope you find parking!

love on site fresh baguettes. here they have the $ 2 small or $ 4 large. #1 thit nuong, bread is soft even on the outside with some chew as opposed to the perfect crispier outside, soft inside. still the meat, pickled veggies, cucumber, jalapeño were good overall.

One of the best banh mi ever! Forget the highly franchised Lee’s Sandwiches, and support your local Vietnamese sandwich shop that can hold it’s own amongst the competitors.
The place was packed when we came in on Christmas Day. I was craving for something quick, simple, authentic and Vietnamese. We ordered the #2 special combination, #8 sunny side up-​eggs, sausage and cha lua and also a bag full of warm, fresh out of the oven mini bread rolls. While waiting on our sandwiches, I took a bite of the rolls and was in absolute heaven! The bread was so soft and chewy! From that moment, I knew I found just the right match that was to come into the makings of a perfect banh mi.
We were so anxious after picking up our order, that we rushed to the car and unwrapped our banh mi from its cute brown paper packaging and chowed down; no care that the juices were dripping and bread crumbs falling into the cracks of the car. My favorite was definitely #8! It had just the right amount of fillings and the epic bread that sandwiched it was unforgettable.
It was a bit of a wait for our sandwiches, but was so damn worth it!

This is the hottest banh mi place in San Jose right now. I married into a viet family and was brought here quickly after being picked up at the airport. The crowd of people was out the door. I got the banh mi dac biet to try something traditional. Best banh mi I’ve ever had! Very balanced combination of flavors between the meats and veggies. The raw unseeded jalapeños in the sandwich did leave my mouth wishing I had a drink. Will definitely try to make another trip before having to go back to Denver.

I think this is the best banh mi thit nuong in town, i usually get the banh mi thit nuong (large size 4 $ and small size 2 $) highly recommend :)

Dang that sandwich was gooood !!! The bread: solid! The meat: soo good. Loved the cucumber and the pâté. Man soo delicious

My favorite Banh Mi place currently. Everytime I’ve been, line has been out the door. Fast and friendly servicd. Buy 4 larges, get 1 free. My go-​Tos are the grilled pork and cold cut combo. Crispy bread, not too much filling, then pretty good amount of meat. I usually get it to-​go, leave veggies on the side, then toast it up when I’m ready to eat it. It keeps very well in the fridge. Overall, easy to eat!

I arrived at Duc Huong at around 10:30am, the transition period of when it’s too late for breakfast and too early for lunch. I was looking for the perfect «brunch» portion. Out of the million banh mi purveyors in the San Jose area, I chose Duc Huong because it was the closest one to the airport that served banh mi in small size.
For Vietnamese sandwiches, there were 16 options ranging from $ 2 to $ 2.75. The small sized banh mi here is also known as «round bread» in Los Angeles. I decided on the trung lap xuong cha lua (fried egg, Chinese sausage, Vietnamese pork rolls) because it looked like the most appetizing breakfast-​themed sandwich. The cherry on top was its inclusion of gio lua, an item that is prepared in-​house.
The banh mi turned out to be better than the ones I’ve eaten in Los Angeles/​Orange County, considering the bread and fillings. It was prepared exactly the way I like it. The aroma and subtle sweetness of the Duc Huong’s bread were aspects which distinguished it from others. In addition, the bread was much more airy and fluffy on the inside (but not soggy from being soaked with mayonnaise) compared to all the other banh mi I ever had in SoCal. The exterior was less stiff and not as flaky than the bread at other places, but it was still fairly crunchy.
Duc Huong’s thinly sliced cha lua was exceptionally smooth, making it a harmonious pair with crunchy bread. The other savory ingredients like the fried egg and smoked Chinese sausage also complemented Duc Huong’s fresh bread, but the cha lua was simply the best filling. Another observation I made was that the banh mi included spears of cucumber. It’s worth mentioning because more than 50% of the banh mi shops in Los Angeles actually omit this ingredient that I like especially when it’s fresh and crunchy.
Budget-​friendly, homemade ingredients, many variations of sandwiches. How can you not like this place? I’ll definitely return for a cheap breakfast or lunch when I’m back in San Jose.

Let me say — I only came for their banana leaf wrapped sausages (that came in a variety of fillings) and I was left beyond pleased! Their variety was awesome because I like options and that’s what they gave me. I had one of their che (dessert) and I’m usually not a fan of them because more than half the time they are too sweet for me, but this one was perfectly sweetened and they ICE it for you!
However, I can’t leave this review without mentioning the sandwiches! Usually I’m very picky with my Vietnamese sandwiches because I’ve seen some sandwiches that were just wrong wrong wrong, but they nailed it here! It comes in a large and small roll which allows me not to finish a whole large roll when I’m really not that starving (when I usually force myself to finish a large roll because most bakeries only have 1 size). All the ingredients in the banh mi was fresh and it didn’t look like they were skimping on any ingredients.

My favorite baguettes place. They have garlic butter top mini rolls, $ 1 for 4 mini rolls. Hot out of their oven daily and by high demand. Banh mi that are freshly made.
Cons: Not a sit down place. It’s mostly a take out sandwich place.

–CASH ONLY–
Located in the same plaza as Lion Market!!!
Stopped by to grab some banh mi and I loveeeee that they bake their own bread. It is the right amount of crunch on the outside and the inside is soft. The perfect baguette!
I ordered the BBQ chicken and I thought it was pretty good but I definitely would have liked it more if it wasn’t as dry.
Service here is nice, the ladies that work in the front are friendly :)
They also have a buy 4 get 1 free. The prices are pretty cheap as well. I would recommend and I would come back!

Dou Huong makes their own baguettes on site.
offerings: banh mi (12ish choices), desserts. drinks.
eats: dac biet (combo) 3.75, or ½ (2)
–mostly fresh meats, little parsley, carrots, daikon, veggies, jalepenos yes.
–tasted better than average, not fab. msg tasted, bahn mi looked small
jalepenos provides a kick, flavoring but i can’t handle it.
–quick service promoted, satisfied. got it in 5 minutes.
–buy 4, get 1 free.
3.5 stars (few veggies so bahn mi looks small (.
crumbs:
–service 4 stars. quality near 4 stars. (on the fence)
–no space to eat in, all take out.
–parking difficult here.

Let me start off by saying that I lovelovelove banh mi! But this place just doesn’t do it right.
The sandwiches here are a tad bit better than Lee’s, but honestly nothing special. I got the #2 special sandwich. They need to add some mayo or more pâté on their sandwiches because it was SO DRY. If you really like the pickled carrots and daikon like I do, you’ll be greatly disappointed because they barely put any. :(
Prices are affordable at about 3.75 per sandwich, depending on what you get. There’s also a deal where it’s buy 4, get 1 sandwich free!

First time, right after I walked in about 6 more people came in for lunch. I ordered #12 spicy Korean pork. OMG so much flavor in the meat! the bread and veggies are perfection too! no wonder the crowd, def coming back here.
also very cheap.

Their sandwiches are pretty good!
First time I saw 2 sizes, as you can order Banh Mi small for $ 2 (which is half the size of a regular Banh Mi) and a regular one for $ 3.75.
The small banh mis are pretty handy, as you can order them straight fresh from the cashier or you can grab one to go, since they have a pile of pre-​made banh mis placed on the counter.
They also have meat pies, desserts, drinks.
I had their banh mi dac biet; it was decent; I also had their grilled pork and it was good; lastly, I had their bbq pork; it was pretty good.
Good place to grab some banh mis out of.

The banh mi here is soooo good. They bake their own bread and they are pretty consistent with the amount of ingredients! I’ve found that other Vietnamese sandwich places sometimes have bread that is way too hard and chewy and it makes the sandwich a mess to eat. I guess ending up a banh mi with bread crumbs in your hair or all over your table is all part of the banh mi process? Lots of meat in the grilled pork banh mi.
When I make curry at home, I always pick up some of their fresh garlic rolls –4 rolls for $ 1.

Duc Huong is in the same plaza as Lion Supermarket. Parking is rather challenging so it’s best to find a spot on the street and walk a couple of blocks.
The interior of the sandwich spot is very clean and modern and the staff was friendly.
The large grilled pork sandwich was tasty. The grilled pork was perfectly marinated and super flavorful. The bread was mediocre as it was a little on the soft side… especially the outside.
Cash only and Buy 3 Large get 1 Free sandwich.