SLIDESHOW: Cook Huong Tran brings more than 20 years of experience to the new Mama's Kitchen in Federal Way. At $2.75, the banh mi sandwich is Federal Way's best lunch under $5. Click on the image for more photos from the story.
Banh mi thit heo Nuong - That's Vietnamese for "the best meal in Federal Way under $5."
Actually, it describes the extremely tasty Vietnamese style BBQ Pork sandwich on the menu at Mama's Kitchen.
For those of us still dabbling in Vietnamese cuisine, banh mi takes everything we love about Pho (sans broth) and nestles it in a loaf of fresh french bread.
Picture fresh cucumber, carrot and Thai basil paired with tangy barbecued pork; all stuffed in a sizable sandwich that makes one of those mega-chain "five-dollar-foot-longs" seem overpriced.
Add to that fresh slices of jalapeno pepper and a small (I repeat, small) squirt of the spicy chili sauce, and you have before you a wallet-friendly meal with enough zing to get you through the afternoon.
Mama's kitchen serves banh mi sandwiches with a variety of different fillings (including a tofu vegetarian option) for $2.75.
That's right, I didn't leave out a digit.
The tiny price for a big sandwich left me enough change from my Lincoln to order the deep-fried egg rolls. The dipping sauce for the egg rolls goes great with the sandwich, too.
Mama's kitchen is located at 31254 Pacific Highway South, on the opposite side of Highway 99 from the Best Buy shopping center.
Got an under-$5 lunch you believe can top Mama's Kitchen? Send me an e-mail at sethb@robinsonnews.com and tell me why you think it's best cheap lunch in the city. I'll try it out for myself.
