THH Sandwiches & Coffee

Originally known as Tan Hoang Huong, THH Sandwiches & Coffee is currently our top choice when asked to pick the best place for banh mi sandwiches in Orange County. And it’s also a great choice for Vietnamese spring rolls and drinks, a fine place to try banh cuon (tapioca rice rolls, shown served DIY-style with shrimp and/or pork), and not bad at desserts.

THH’s banh mi are pretty much perfect sandwiches: just-baked French baguettes cut in half and loaded with over 15 different meats and/or fresh vegetables, each with just the right level of saucing. Top picks include the house special, which mixes Vietnamese pate and cold cuts, and the sweet/spicy crispy chicken, which is as close to a General Tso’s banh mi as anyone has yet assembled. Well over a foot long, these sandwiches are filling, as well as more reasonably priced than Subway and other American sub shops given the quality and quantity of the ingredients.

We’re also big fans of THH’s unfried rolls, which some places call “summer rolls” and THH generally calls “spring rolls.” In each case, soft uncooked rice paper holds a salad made from vegetables, noodles, herbs, and a protein such as shrimp, pork, sausage, chicken, or a combination thereof. THH’s sausage version, Bo Bia, uses jicama and eggs as a contrast to the oval-sliced meat, a particularly awesome combination of sweet and savory flavors with soft and crunchy textures. It also serves sausage nem cuon rolls for those seeking maximum pork flavor, shrimp spring rolls for the calorie-conscious, and shredded chicken rolls in the middle, all with an addictive soy-hoisin-peanut dipping sauce.

Explore THH’s brief menu or the area next to its cash registers and you may discover other items, including savory sticky rice with peanuts, bright green banh bo nuong (coconut pandan honeycomb cake), and cassava cake, the latter two spongy and sweet without becoming cloying.