A brand new food cart is launching this month with a prime parking space in downtown Vancouver. NaMì will bring a fresh spot to grab Vietnamese eats on the go starting April 23.
NaMì is a next-gen kind of restaurant on wheels; owner Kevin Thach is a recent UBC grad who was raised in the business at his parents' restaurant Phở Thai Hoa 1 on Kingsway.
Photo courtesy NaMì
“NaMì both continues the evolution of Vietnamese cuisine here in Vancouver and elevates our family restaurant brand to a contemporary and approachable level,” says Thach in a media release. “At its heart, NaMì’s flavours are the result of fusing traditional Vietnamese home-cooking with modern techniques, novel approaches and fresh, delicious ingredients.”
On the menu are classic items, such as grilled lemongrass chicken, made using contemporary techniques, for example using sous vide (an immersion circulator water bath method).
You'll find the chicken served on a baguette sandwich, aka bánh mì, along with other sandwich options such as Breakfast (scrambled eggs, pork belly, paté, lemongrass and chili aioli, soy sauce, cucumber, pickled daikon and carrot, chopped chives) and ‘Xiu Mai’ meatball (Vietnamese style meatballs, tomato and chili sauce, chopped cilantro). Sandwiches are available in half or full sizes, and you can add on extras like fried egg, extra meat, or paté.
Also on the menu are deep fried pork and shrimp spring rolls, shrimp or tofu salad rolls, and Vietnamese coffee. Look for rotating features and vegan-friendly items too.
Photo courtesy NaMì
To celebrate their launch, NaMì will give away free bánh mì to the first 50 customers to visit the cart on their opening day, Tuesday, April 23 (first-come first-served). The cart will operate from 10 am to 3 pm. If you miss out on the freebie, take note that they'll have bánh mì on special for $5 each from April 23 to 28, too.
NaMì will be parked at 700 Granville St. (corner of West Georgia and Granville) in downtown Vancouver and will be open 10 am to 3 pm. You can follow @namivietnamese on Instagram and Twitter.
