Everyone wants to be an influencer, but Kiki Phung is ready to put her social media stardom aside to sell banh mi, Vietnam’s meat-stuffed sandwich. “I have zero experience in food and beverage, but I love to eat and I love food,” says the Ho Chi Minh City-born Phung. “I was just a KOL [key opinion leader] doing media.
I’m a YouTuber. I make travel videos in Vietnam and Hong Kong.” Phung, who moved from Ho Chi Minh City to Hong Kong 10 years ago, was originally a fitness consultant and court interpreter, fluent in Vietnamese, Cantonese and English.
Four years ago, during the pandemic, she launched her YouTube channel documenting her life in Hong Kong, travels in Vietnam and the various dishes she eats along the way. “I know there’s a lot of Vietnamese food already but it’s not like what my mum made or the stuff I ate in Saigon,” says Phung. “Most of the Vietnamese cuisine here is from the north.
It’s food from Haiphong, not even Hanoi.” Banh mi originated in the more French-influenced culture of south Vietnam. Southern cuisine uses more sugar, spices and chillies, because of the warmer weather in the south.
In contrast, the food in the north, with its four seasons, is generally considered more subtle and savoury, relying on black pepper for seasoning. You could argue that the food in northern Vietnam is more sophisticated while southern meals are simpler but pack a greater punch. Phung launched Banh Mi Nem with fellow Saigonese Hanh Dang, a chef and f.