Ho Chi Minh City’s Michelin-starred restaurant Anan Saigon has introduced a high-end banh mi menu priced at up to VND200,000, featuring premium fillings like wagyu short rib and top sirloin cap. The luxury street-food twist, launched by chef Peter Cuong Franklin in July 2026, aims to elevate traditional Vietnamese flavors.
A Michelin-starred dining room in Ho Chi Minh City is shaking up perceptions of Vietnam’s most iconic street food by serving up a baguette priced at VND200,000—roughly eight dollars—sparking curiosity and debate among local diners.
Anan Saigon Introduces Wagyu and Picanha to the Baguette
After a decade of researching the staple baguette, chef Peter Cuong Franklin of Anan Saigon, HCMC’s first Michelin-starred restaurant located at 89 Ton That Dam Street, rolled out a specialized menu featuring three distinct varieties. Each creation arrives at roughly half the size of a standard street-side loaf. The lineup includes a Vietnamese mortadella ham banh mi, a fish cake banh mi, and a headline-grabbing wagyu beef version.
The luxury beef option utilizes a picanha cut—also known as the top sirloin cap—prepared in thin layers resembling Italian mortadella sausage and stacked 25 to 30 times. That layered beef is paired with a wagyu beef short rib that undergoes a 24-hour slow-cooking process before being finished on the grill to ensure tenderness. The other two variations are priced at VND180,000, while the wagyu creation reaches the VND200,000 mark. Traditional elements remain part of the build, with each baguette accompanied by pate, Hoi An chili sauce, tomatoes, lettuce, and pickles.
Sourcing Bread Styles and Defining Value
To achieve the desired texture and structural integrity for his heavy, premium fillings, the chef deliberately sources Hanoi-style bread rather than the local southern variety. According to the reporting, Franklin relies on northern-style loaves because they more closely resemble French baguettes—remaining smaller, denser on the inside, and carrying a more pronounced aroma than standard Ho Chi Minh City banh mi.
Nhan Hien Nhi, a Ho Chi Minh City resident, visited the establishment out of curiosity created by the prices. Though she noted the portion is only half the size of a conventional street version, she observed that the generous amount of beef makes it equally filling.
“Both banh mi and hamburgers are sandwiches. If a burger can sell for VND200,000 to 250,000, banh mi easily deserves the same price, its flavor and quality are every bit as great.”
Chef Peter Cuong Franklin, owner of Anan Saigon
Expanding a Street-Food Vision
The launch fulfills a long-standing personal goal for the chef. Franklin had long dreamed of opening a banh mi stall in Saigon, an ambition he finally realized when expanding the space adjacent to his flagship restaurant. The newly configured street-front setup serves the elevated baguettes alongside fresh Vietnamese coffee.
Moving forward, the restaurant ownership confirmed plans to continue pursuing his goal of elevating familiar Vietnamese dishes to higher-end dining tiers while striving to protect their authentic cultural identity.
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