I'm very picky with bread quality... this is part of our french culture and traditions.
in France, you can find very good bread more and more easily, but you can also still find very bad quality bread. A few years/decades ago, the bread's quality went worse and worse in many places. Many bakers turn to industrial bread... pouaaahhhh!
But now, there is clearly a quality renewal of bread in France (back to traditional style bread).
In laos, you can find "french style" bread easily... but sincerely, the quality is most of the time not very good... Maybe better than the worse french bread, but very far from our recent good quality bread.
Anyway, one thing is very true: Lao sandwich are very good, because lao people put many good things inside (anyway, be carrefull with the safety of what they put inside : In Laos, some shops are clean and respect safety rules, but others not) In France, you have to pay a high price to get a small sandwich including only a small peace of Ham and a few tomatoes parts. This is ridiculous when you compare with what you can get in Laos inside your sandwich!!!
Moreover, to come back on bread quality, in France, most of the sandwichs are made with low quality bread... anyway not worse than the bread they use in Laos, but not really better too. If you want a sandwich made with really good bread, you have to go to "Paul" shop... and it's more expensive again.
So if you compare the average quality of sandwiches in France and the average quality of sandwiches in Laos, i think we can say Laos is N°1.
But if you just talk about bread, you'll find much much better quality bread "baguette" in France, and more and more easily (but be carefull, many place still sell bad quality bread, and some place sell both good and bad).
OH MY GOD! These for me are TO DIE FOR!!! I freaking love these! Although the breads are smaller in Laos than they are here in the states, the ones in Laos taste soooooo much better. I want one now
Banh Mi is definitely Viet. I prefer Lao kao jii over American bread that use at Subway, Quizno, or other that uses for Philly cheese steak. Lao kao jii is alway crispy, the texture is nice, the inside is white, and I can just eat it plain without putting any stuffs in it. I guess maybe it's because it bakes the old fashion way in a clay oven
We refer to them as BANH MI around here. In Laos, there is definitely alot more variety of condiments (stuffing) than in the US. Makes it taste so much more authentic. Just wish they made them in a bigger bread like in the US.
