'Banh mi' vs. burger: Which is better?

The burger that is the icon of American cuisine is not American.

According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, “the origin of hamburger is unknown, but the hamburger patty and sandwich were probably brought by 19th-century German immigrants to the United States, where in a matter of decades the hamburger came to be considered an archetypal American food.”

And banh mi carries a similar story.

The French, popular for the baguette, brought white bread to Vietnam in the early 19th century, along with butter, cold cuts and pâté. It was the local Vietnamese who took to this introduced meal, and carried across two centuries of development, ending with this iconic street food we know today.

As banh mi gains global recognition, Vietnam’s growing international integration has also brought cuisines from around the world to Vietnamese diners.

After more than a decade calling Vietnam home, I find myself wondering: which do I prefer as a quick meal – my beloved go-to burger or the familiar flavors of banh mi I’ve come to know so well?

The burger comes to Vietnam, banh mi goes abroad

It is obvious that the international burger has a firm hold on the modern city centers across Vietnam with the major chains from the U.S., Korea and Japan all scrambling to get a foothold on the changing tastes of the growing Vietnam market.

As an expat, I have traveled the country to major tourist destinations like Hanoi, Da Nang, Hue and Vung Tau, not to mention my hometown of Ho Chi Minh City, and there is one thing for sure.

If there is a foreign bar that shows sports in that city, they will have a burger on the menu that’s worth eating.

Recently, I traveled to Hue in central Vietnam. Saturday came around and I wanted to watch my team play football in Australia. I found a bar about 300 meters from my hotel. As I entered, I was greeted with a cold beer and a menu that showed a range of burgers with meat and chicken.

One caught my eye. A monster burger with BBQ mince patty, cheese, tomato, bacon and a beautifully cooked local egg, with runny yolk to make the eating experience a bit messy. But it was absolutely wonderful. After a week of rice and noodles, this burger was the best thing I had tasted, and the dark ales topped off the culinary experience beautifully.

That's not to say that banh mi has not got the same appeal. This morning, I drove over the bridge and outside the nearby construction site was a woman with a cart selling banh mi. I bought an egg roll (banh mi trung), but I ended up with this mixture of meat, vegetables and egg. I went along with it and I was impressed. It was amazing.

A small old lady sitting outside a construction site brought me the best experience I'd had that week. That is my Vietnam.

Interestingly, some expats make a point of eating banh mi in Vietnam but turn back to a burger when they return to their home country.

That, in my mind, reflects the enormous price difference between banh mi in Vietnam and its namesake being sold at the gourmet level in Western countries.

Whilst the global burger market attacks Vietnam, the Vietnam banh mi market has attacked the world. In Australia alone, banh mi shops are opening in the more progressive areas of the cities.

But these sellers in Australia are not little ladies with a cart and a gas cooker. They are extensive sandwich shops selling gourmet-level bread rolls. However, I believe these bread rolls share little resemblance to the local food on offer in Vietnam.

Back in Vietnam, there is one good thing. Vietnam is resisting the temptation to compete with the global trend of "bigger is better". The real banh mi thit (a cold-cut banh mi) is a perfect balance between calories, protein, carbs and taste, but sometimes the chilli catches me out when it's hidden under the meat.

All up, as much as I love a good burger, the experience of sitting on a quiet country road or outside a construction site and enjoying the complex tastes of the many versions of Vietnamese banh mi wins for me every time.

And, to me, it's not a French invention. The French brought the first ingredients here, and for generations this food has grown through challenging times to people on their pathway through life.

The banh mi is iconic in Vietnam and should remain one thing that time won't change because that taste and smell is everything I love about this country: simple, cheap and unforgettable.

What’s your choice in the banh mi vs. burger debate?