10622 97 Street NW, Edmonton

I’ve found that the Vietnamese subs that we have in Edmonton are one of the best, even better than the some of the ones in Vancouver. That being said though, where can you get the best sub within Edmonton? In my opinion, I think the two places that I’m stuck between are Nhon Hoa 2, and Van Loc.
Nhon Hoa 2 is located on 97th street, and they share the same area as Super BBQ Delight. It’s not to be confused with Nhon Hoa, which is just a block away on 106th avenue. They are actually not affiliated with each other and have separate owners. Many years ago, the owners of Nhon Hoa sold it. The buyers didn’t obligate the original owners to sign a non-compete so they opened up Nhon Hoa 2 just down the street. Just recently again though it seems like they’ve either changed management or owners because all the staff in there seem different. This is just what I’ve been told through various grapevines in the Vietnamese community though, who knows if it’s true! All I know is that they make some tasty sandwiches.

Vietnamese subs are inherently a fusion food because of France’s influence on Vietnam during colonization. The subs are typically made with a baguette, pate, and can be filled with a different variety of meats. I’m kind of a traditionalist and I usually always get the combination sandwich, which is typically filled with various cold cuts. It’s the classic Vietnamese sub that you can get anywhere.

Updated pic!

The subs at Nhon Hoa 2 are lightly toasted, then lathered with a homemade mayo-egg-butter mixture, and pate. Then they add Vietnamese sausages, headcheese, and other meats. They top it with cucumber, pickled carrots, cilantro, and jalapenos. The mayo mixture is one of my favourite parts of the sub. It’s nice a creamy and savoury. It goes nicely with the crunchy baguette. The meat is nicely seasoned, not too salty. It goes perfectly with the pickled carrots. The jalapeno is optional, and they always ask if you want it. In comparison to Van Loc, Nhon Hoa 2 adds a more generous amount of toppings, including meat and pate. I really like the baguette at Van Loc though. It’s a little bit on the lighter side. The bread at Nhon Hoa 2 can get a little bit hard and crumbly if left for too long.

Overall, if you’ve never had a Vietnamese sub, I’d definitely recommend you try it. They are nice and really filling and a nice change. Plus, for 4 dollars, it’s really hard to beat. I’ve had a lot of different subs from many places. Unless you really eat a lot of them from different places, it might be hard to tell which place you like more. Even then, there are so many different kinds of subs to try too! Even the ones from TC sandwiches in West Edmonton Mall are not that bad if you’ve never had one before! So in my opinion, we’re pretty lucky to have so many good Vietnamese sub places to eat at in Edmonton. It may just come down to convenience for me… if I ever need to buy any chinese BBQ treats, and I’m standing in Super BBQ Delight, I might as well buy subs from Nhon Hoa 2 anyway!