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Why a YouTube influencer is selling Vietnamese sandwiches in Hong Kong: Banh Mi Nem owners on their authentic flavours
- When YouTuber and KOL Kiki Phung found Hong Kong’s Vietnamese restaurants lacking, she opened a banh mi (sandwich) shop with chef Hanh Dang
- They talk about how their southern Vietnamese cuisine packs more of a punch and how most Vietnamese restaurants in Hong Kong don’t use enough herbs
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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.
In that time, Phung has gained almost 40,000 Instagram followers and 47,000 YouTube subscribers. After trying almost every Vietnamese restaurant of note in Hong Kong, she felt something was lacking, so Phung decided the city needed an authentic banh mi. The result is a humble takeaway in Wan Chai called Banh Mi Nem.
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