by C. von Arte

Baguette vendors in Hanoi. An Choi celebrates the Vietnamese sandwich.

his has been my most difficult restaurant to review so far. An Choi is new to Orchard Street, their soft opening was in early March, and by mid April, when we dined there, they still had some kinks to work out. First, the good.

We ordered two appetizers. The first was a Salad Roll - $5.00 for a generous portion of shrimp, pork, greens and herbs, with peanut sauce. The accompanying dipping sauce was tasty, the roll packed just the right amount of crunch and heat. Our second appetizer, Crispy Pork and Shrimp Roll, $5.50 for deep fried shrimp, pork, crab, mushroom, carrot, was succulent, with the pork belly glistening between bites. These fried rolls were a good contrast to the fresh summer roll wrapper of the Salad roll.

For our main courses we ordered a Banh Mi Thit Heo Quay Sandwich, which is made up of chunks of moist Chinese roast pork belly and slivers of crispy skin, served with aioli sauce, pickled carrots, daikon radish, cucumber, jalape?o and cilantro on a Vietnamese baguette, and a Beef Pho broth.

My companion’s Banh Mi was good and filling. We ended up splitting the sandwich, since my soup never arrived. When we first arrived, we were only the third of three parties in the restaurant, and after we ordered, the waitress came on shift, and some friends came in. She must have been distracted greeting her regulars. And the Chef must have been distracted when reading our ticket. They were truly sorry when I pointed out that they had neglected to see me sitting and waiting, and as my companion was finished with the sandwich (with help from me), it was too late for soup. The next day, I popped in to give the soup a second chance. It was 5 p.m. – their posted hours are Noon to 10 p.m. There was even an open sign on the sidewalk outside of the restaurant. But when I walked in and asked for a table for one, I was told that the kitchen was closed until 6 p.m., and the soup was not available.

All in all, let’s welcome An Choi to the neighborhood. They serve fresh, tasty sandwiches for a quick bite (on the pricey side for Vietnamese sandwiches, but fair for the quality. The Roast Pig Banh Mi was $8.00). We’ll just have to bear with them as they work the kinks out.

An Choi - 85 Orchard Street (between Grand St & Broome) 212.226.3700 Tue-Sun. 12:00 - 10:00 p.m.