Obanhmi, 1 Utama [CLOSED]

About a year ago, I had my first try of Obanhmi's Vietnamese sandwich (Banh Mi) at their very first outlet at Damansara Utama. It was love at first bite. 

Fast-forward ahead one year, Obanhmi now has a second outlet @ 1 Utama. Obanhmi has since expanded their menu beyond Banh Mi to a variety of noodles, drinks and desserts.

The 1 Utama's outlet is located at LG Floor, near Cold Storage (Old Wing!) & just next to Teppanyaki.

Read about my first and second visit to Obanhmi (Damansara Uptown's branch) here & here!

The 1 Utama's outlet is more spacious compared to the Damansara Uptown's outlet- it can house more patrons (no more waiting for seat during busy lunch hour!). Like the DU's outlet, patrons get to see how their sandwich are freshly prepared on the spot behind the counter on the right side of the restaurant.

Baguettes are freshly baked in house too here at the 1U's outlet. Baguettes come fresh out of the oven at 9am, 12pm, 3pm &sometimes more depending on the crowd. All Banh Mi served here uses baguettes that are baked on the same day, rest assure no leftovers are brought forward from the day before.

Obbanhmi's 1 Utama's branch's menu too differs from it's original branch at Damansara Uptown. Obanhmi's 1 Utama has more to offers to their hungry patrons. 1U's outlet has a few special noodles and sandwiches which are (still) not available at DU's outlet.

Expect a price difference of RM0.50/RM1.00 here at the 1 Utama outlet, which is understandable due to the higher rental rate at one of Klang Valley's popular shopping mall. Despite the (slight) higher price, the food here are still considered relatively affordable. Most food items are priced below RM10! Where else can you get such a good deal in a shopping mall?

Refreshing Vietnamese Soda to quench our thirst before digging in the mains.

Lemongrass Lime Soda RM5
Tangy & refreshing, the Lemongrass Lime Soda was packed with a zest of refreshing mint & lemongrass taste with a tinge of balancing sweetness & sourness. This drink was certainly tasted like a mojito but without the alcohol,of course.

Lemongrass Ginger Tea RM5
Another refreshing drink infused with lemongrass, with a sweetness that was just alright.

O' Summery Set- Pork & Prawn Set (RM9.50)
Braised Yam, Pickled Carrots & Daikon, Lettuce, Prawns & generous chunks of Pork seasoned with herbs packed to the brim in a thin rice paper . Served with a creamy, sweet peanut sauce
.
Each set O' Summery consists of 3 spring rolls. A single spring roll will cost RM3.20

A simple, fuss-free healthy appetizer. Best eaten with the peanut sauce as it tasted a little too healthy on its own on my opinion.

O-meatball RM11
Baguette stuffed with ginormous homemade Vietnamese Meatballs embedded with hard-boiled eggs in it, Pickled Daikon & Carrots, Cilantros smoothered with the signature homemade sauce. A modern Banh Mi. As mentioned before, after taking photographs of this sandwich, I removed the cilantros for an unbias review of the sandwich because I really can't stand the taste of cilantros.

Obanhmi never fails to impress me with their freshly baked baguettes- nice & crunchy on the outside, soft & fluffy on the inside. Obanhmi now offers two different baguette for customer to choose- the original, old-school normal baguette & bamboo charcoal baguette. Obanhmi is the first Vietnamese restaurant in Malaysia to introduce the Japanese Bamboo Charcoal bread for their sandwiches. Both bread tasted equally good on my opinion, and has the same crunchy-on-the-outside-fluffy-inside texture.

Now back to this sandwich review as a whole.O-meatball certainly won our heart- the meatball was so tender, juicy and flavourful. One bite and I was hooked. And the best part: The portion of the meatball was so hearty! Definitely the perfect sandwich to fill an empty stomach.

O-mele-cheese RM9 (Meatless)
Baguette stuffed with cheese omelette, Pickled Daikon & Carrots & Cilantro. Another modern twist to the Vietnamese Banh Mi. Cilantro removed after photography again.

Look at the glorious omelette, golden-yellow in colour, with molten cheese overflowing out. Looks pretty good, but tasted better than good. We loved this sandwich to bits! The creamy egg, savoury molten cheese, crunchy preserved daikon & carrots just come together so perfectly.

Fried Beef Vermicelli RM12
Vermicelli topped with pan-fried Beef marinated to perfection, deep-fried spring roll, crunchy Bean Sprouts, Peanuts bits, sliced Cucumber & tossed in sweet & spicy home-made sauce.

What I really love about Obanhmi is despite the relatively affordable price tag, they were really generous on their meat & toppings. I could barely see the noodles sitting below the toppings!

The sweet sauce & refreshing mint taste blended in perfectly with the savoury minced beef , creating a balanced sweet-and-savoury taste which on my opinion was a fresh respite from the typical oily fried noodle or noodles seasoned with savoury sauce. I loved how Vietnamese food has minimal amount of oil. The noodles somehow reminded me of "Yee Sang", but a much healthier and filling version of it.

Mixed Chicken Pho (RM11)

Flat rice noodles seasoned in herbs & homemade sweet & spicy sauce, topped with bits of Peanuts, Bean Sprouts, Shredded Chicken.
Pronounced as "Fuh", the Pho is a traditional Vietnamese rice noodle dish. It is a popular Vietnamese street food which is typically served with chicken/beef, bean sprouts and seasoned with various herbs & spices.

In Vietnam, the Pho is usually served with broth or dry. All Pho served at Obanhmi is served dry for now.

The flat rice noodle was smooth as silk, falling off my chopsticks as I painstakingly tried to get a firm grasgrasp of the smooth noodles coated with crunchy bits of peanuts & Vietnamese sweet sauce.

The taste of this noodle is similar to the Fried Beef Vermicelli, sweet-and-savoury + refreshing minty taste with minimal oil. I'd choose the Fried Beef Vermicelli over the Mixed Chicken Pho though, because of my personal preference of beef over chicken and vermicelli over flat rice noodles. :)

Coffee Coconut Milk RM8

One of the latest addition to Obanhmi's dessert lineup, alongside with the Vietnamese Lime Slush(below). The Vietnamese coffee & aromatic coconut milk fused in perfectly. Best shared as I find this dessert a little too heavy for one person to finish it.

Vietnamese Lime Slush RM7

Ice-blended version of the Lemongrass Lime Soda, topped with ice-cream & with a creamier texture.

We were lucky to be able to sample a few items on their "secret menu", which has yet to be launch. Prices for these items are currently unavailable, so stay tuned to Obanhmi's Facebook page to get the latest news!

Vietnamese Float Coffee
Vietnamese Coffee topped with homemade Vanilla & Salted Caramel Ice-Cream.

Basically Vietnamese Affogato with a twist. I loved how the Vietnamese Coffee chocolate-y and nutty taste infuse in well with the creamy ice-cream. The homemade Vanilla ice-cream was to-die for. It was certainly one of the best ice-cream I've ever tasted- we've given the feedback to Chris, one of the co-founder of Obanhmi and he said that they might include a tub of ice-cream in the menu in the future!

Vietnamese Egg Coffee

Vietnamese Coffee topped with egg foam, served on top of a candle to keep it warm. 

We were a little sceptical when we heard the word "egg" in coffee. But my first sip proved me wrong- the egg foam had a smooth & creamy texture which, no, it doesn't taste like eggs. Maybe just a little egg-y taste but it blended in well :)  However, we find the Vietnamese Egg Coffee tad too sweet. We've submitted our feedback to Obanhmi and hopefully it'll be less sweet when it's available on the menu! 

Obanhmi's promotion for February 2015. Only applicable for 1 Utama's outlet!

Obanhmi

Uptown Outlet: 

33, Jalan SS 21/56b, 

Damansara Utama (next to the Ship).
Contact Number :03-7732 8540


1 Utama Outlet: 

LG 328, New Wing – near Cold Storage.
Contact Number:03-7732 9316.

Business Hours:

9.30am-9.30pm

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/obmMY