Kim's Sandwiches

Very impressed by the Banh Mi! Probably my favorite banh mi I've ever had. A place with sandwich in the name really ought to make sure their sandwiches are a great draw (insert the "you had one job" meme) - but in this case, they were absolutely great! Generous with the meat and vegetables, the bread was nice and moist, and the real best part is that they seemed to line the insides of the bread with pate, which is a really fancy thing you see people do when they really care. It makes sure the entire sandwich is nice, moist, and flavorful, regardless of what sandwich fillings you actually get in each bite. The vegetables are also tasty and plentiful, which means you're never really lacking moisture or flavor. Hours are pretty flexible. A lot of restaurants in the Bay Area have hours that are pretty limited - but these guys are basically open all day! Honestly, your food options are pretty limited at 8:30 AM in the morning, but these guys are open and ready to shove delicious banh mi at you! And they are some of the nicest people that I've ever seen manning a store (that seems to be open forever). Shopping there definitely brightens a day!There's also a lot of other stuff they sell. Various Vietnamese pastries, including pate chaud, as well as desserts, groceries, and what not. This is honestly the closest to a bodega that those of us in the West Coast can enjoy, which is another reason why this is a great stop because bodegas are actually very convenient. I saw someone just order a bunch of balut, which...is a choice, but hey, it's convenient!A great place to stop by for quick Vietnamese food - or if you just want to pick up a bunch of food for a potluck or party. Definitely going to be my go-to place for banh mi and other delicious Vietnamese snacks now!

After spending the better part of the day bouncing around from complex to complex, my friend and I found ourselves in Lion Plaza with one last thing I wanted to pick up to bring home - banh mi. Sadly, we were running behind, so there was no way to fit in a trip for me to finally try the famed Duc Huong (this time...), but it was just a question of where, not if, we should go. Luckily for us, there was no shortage of options around here, and after reading some Yelp reviews (and seeing there was nary a line), Kim's Sandwiches seemed like our best bet!Much like a couple of the other banh mi shops here, Kim's Sandwiches has more to offer than just the aforementioned sandwiches. When you step inside this place, you're immediately greeted with shelves and racks full of different foods and snacks, from a wide selection of candies, nuts, and drinks to trays of Vietnamese specialties, such as banh cuon, banh beo, spring rolls, sticky rice with pork floss and sausage, and Vietnamese zong, as well as a bunch of desserts in their refrigerated units. However, as intriguing as many of those offerings looked, I buzzed straight to the back counter to check out the banh mi menu. In total, there have about a dozen types available that are the more traditional variety, but they all seemed decent enough.-- (#7) CHARBROILED CHICKEN BANH MIAlthough this had a good amount of chicken in it, the taste of it was rather lackluster, as it wasn't really charbroiled nor was it seasoned well. What's more, the chicken wasn't all that moist, though, it wasn't dry either.-- (#8) CHARBROILED PORK BANH MIThis was notably better than the Charbroiled Chicken banh mi, but it was just okay compared to others I've had elsewhere. This one was also fairly well packed and the pork was both juicy and tender. The taste of this was pretty good too, but I wish there was more of everything (it was just really subtle).Across both of the sandwiches, the other issue I had was with the bread that they use. On the plus side, I really liked how fresh and soft it was. However, it also was only lightly toasted, so it lacked that crusty, flaky consistency (it felt more like I was eating a regular sandwich than a classic banh mi).All in all, while what I had wasn't all that bad, I found my experience with Kim's Sandwiches to be a lot closer to okay than great. The banh mi here is definitely better than what you'll get at Lee's Sandwiches across the street, but they can't compete with the likes of Duc Huong (which I finally made it to on another trip down to San Jose after this) or my go-to spots in SF. I certainly wouldn't rule out coming back to try some of their other prepared foods, but for banh mi, I'd be more inclined to try one of the many other mom and pop shops in the are before making a point of coming back here.TWO AND A HALF STARS rounded up.

Went for BreakfastFood - 5/5. Bread was soft and crumbly, being easy on your temples. Pickled vegetables were sweet and sour with a slight crunch and the ham was savory. Their pate and mayo is what really stood out for me. Pate was rich in umami flavor with no gaminess or strong iron flavor. Mayo was dense in with a savory flavor that comes from a large amount of egg yolks. It was seasoned well and had a dash of citrus. Banh mi was assembled well so each bite had a bit of every filling, creating a harmonious flavor. Sponge cake was soft with a subtle sweet flavor and a hint of vanilla.Service - 4/5. Quick and courteous. It is a take-out location but seats can be found around the plaza.Value - 5/5. Bahn mi was $7 and the sponge cake was $6. Quality is fantastic and the sandwich sizes are standard, despite the reasonable price! Excellent spot to grab some breakfast banh mi on a budget! Cash only.Parking - Mall Lot (Free)

One of THE BEST Vietnamese Banh Mi shops that I've been to. Hands down may be one of the best Vietnamese quick food stops that I've been to if I consider everything there. Their hours are absolutely insane, seeing that they're open early in the morning and decently into the evening, every day of the week. Truly hardworking staff. Speaking of the staff, I want to say that the couple that run this sandwich shop are the sweetest, kindest mom & pop out there. Felt like I was part of the family and they were super attentive to fulfilling our order and checking us out. Back to how I think this might be one of the best Viet food shops out there, it's because there is an INSANE amount of variety in the food and snacks that they have here. Do you need balut? You can order dozens of them (and we saw someone do that). They have pre-packed plates of food for banh cuon (rice rolls), banh bot loc (Viet tapioca dumplings, something you don't see as often elsewhere), spring rolls (a nice variety of them), banh beo (water fern cakes- both the savory and sweet kinds), rice dishes (both savory and sweet), Viet desserts like the dessert soup, banh da lon (steamed pandan cake), banh bo (steamed rice cake), and much, much more. It was so good, I actually went back here twice during my short trip in Bay Area and even took some food on the road as well. Their banh mi are, once again, some of the best that I've ever had. We had a friend visiting from NY who also agreed with this sentiment. As you can see, Kim's Sandwiches deserves national praise! The banh mi is nice and fresh, the inside is soft, outside is perfectly crispy without being too dry. They mayo is delicious and they PACK their sandwiches to the brim so you are 100% getting your money's worth and more. All of us got the Banh Mi Thap Cam, aka the combination banh mi that comes with a plethora of delicious meats and fillings. This is the one to get if you want to a little bit of everything or if you aren't too sure what to order. Thap Cam means mixed in Viet, so your banh mi comes with delicious pate, cha (the pork meat loaf), some meat ball, sliced ham, peppercorn ham, and you can always have them add the veggies and peppers in or have them set to the side. Each bite is a diverse variety of flavors and never exactly the same. Encompasses everything that you can want in an ideal banh mi! For snacks and to go foods, we got some banh cuon, banh bot lot, banh gio (Viet pork & rice dumplings), banh bo, a crispy rice taco with dry dehydrated meat, and if I were local I would def make this my usual spot to go to. If you're in SJ, or even visiting for Fanime like I was, and are craving a yummy, filling banh mi (or just to have other Viet snacks), stop by Kim's Sandwiches! I didn't get a chance to get a drink here too, so I'm definitely going to do that next time too.

Small little corner shop in the Lion Plaza nearby the supermarket and the food court. Service was quick and friendly. My mom used to take me here to get xoi all the time when I grew up. We don't really get the other things here, but they have a ton of to-go foods and platters. I haven't been back since the pandemic hit, but I think I'd rather get xoi elsewhere. Not bad at all here but it's just lacking. XOI LAP XUONG CHA BONG: 3.25/5The lap xuong was the best part of this, and I wish there was more! In hindsight, I should've gotten the xoi without cha bong. The cha bong was alright, but I've had better. It could've been a tad softer and less salty. The xoi itself was a little bit more bland than I was hoping, like it just didn't have a lot going on. I remember this item having more toppings, but it seems like dried shrimp isn't included anymore, which is a bummer.

Neat little sandwiches here. I had their #1 ham banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich) $7. Nothing came across as mind blowing or the inverse, foul tasting. It was not bad. The bread had a nice crunch and left a bunch of crumbs on my lap after I ate it. The sandwich was soft toward the middle and a slight snap from the pickled vegetables. There are better banh mi shops in SJ, but if I'm in Lion Plaza already, Kim's is convenient and a time saver.

Impressed by their savory sticky rice! We called in about 4 days before the pickup date to place the order. The man on the phone was patient as we asked him a few questions. The medium tray (pictured) was $26 and you could either choose pork floss, Chinese sausage, or both. The food was still warm when we picked it up and it tasted great. Rice was perfectly cooked and seasoned (which was a nice surprise). There was a good amount of pork floss and sausage on top as well as fried shallots and scallions to give it a little extra flavor. Everyone enjoyed it so it is now on our list for party food!

Nice selection of snacks. Haven't try the banh mi yet maybe next time. The lady helping us very nice.

This is mom's go-to spot whenever it came down to purchasing balut and other snacks. With my last visit here being well before covid times, I was pretty pumped to pig out on a few of my favorite items.We made our way thought the tight corners that are jam packed with snacks from one end to the other. Kim's offers baguette sandwiches, savory sticky rice, fresh spring rolls, desserts, & that's just naming a few. Today's purchases included a bag of boiled peanuts that were piled on high, Vietnamese fermented beef rolls, steamed layered cakes, & fresh soy milk.FYI: costs have skyrocketed since my last visit. Not sure if it was due to covid or if it was something implemented even prior to that. Food: The boiled peanuts were very bland, I found a few being undercooked, and they simply were not enjoyed. The nem chua [fermented roll's] were strangely over sweet and was missing the sourness that this dish is known for. Not sure who was in charge of that but it was a massive fail. The only items actually enjoyed was was fresh soy milk and the layered cakes. 2 stars @ it's very best imo. Higher cost and plummeting quality/taste is not "W" in my book. I'll have to think twice before coming back here.

Party tray here is good price and very good . Owners very kind . I'll def support them .