ON A ROLL... (Baguette Me Not

Bread is not something that you usually associate with Asian cuisines, but Vietnam was once a French Colony, and one of the legacies of this history is the Vietnamese bread roll, or Banh Mi. Similar to a French baguette but generally a bit shorter in length, the banh mi is a crusty bread roll, which is traditionally split lengthwise, filled with various savoury ingredients like a submarine sandwich and served as a meal.

Luanne Balaba started doing her baguettes around 10 years ago. Initially at Farmers Markets then pop-ups, she eventually opened a store in Subiaco, before moving into the city onto St Georges Terrace, providing lunches for city workers. When Karrinyup Shopping Centre completed their renovations in October 2021, Baguette Me Not was one of the new outlets to appear on the West Deck. The selection on offer at Baguette Me Not includes tacos, bao buns, salad bowls and of course, baguettes. They are also adding some more typical cafe items to the choices available with the introduction of their new breakfast menu, from which we really enjoyed the Pimiento Bacon Stack – two poached eggs, bacon, avocado, chillies and roasted cherry tomatoes served on a slice of toasted sourdough – along with a delicious latte.

Luanne’s personal favourite dish is the lemongrass pork Egg Sheeran salad bowl, but the most popular dishes on the menu are the bao buns. We tried the Belly Bao, a soft bao bun filled with roasted pork belly and Asian slaw, perfectly matched with a glass of 2021 Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough, NZ). The Bao buns are made from scratch in-house and like all the ingredients, are really fresh. You can see why they are so popular. Another excellent dish was called the Three Amigos and consisted of three soft tacos filled with Asian slaw, Japanese mayonnaise, fried shallots, coriander, chilli and your choice of meat – in our case, lemongrass chicken. This also went very nicely with the Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc. You can order one taco, or two, three or four, depending on your appetite, or how many people are sharing the dish.

Naturally, we had to try a baguette as well. The Pow Wow was a large fresh crusty bread roll filled with pulled pork, sautéed onions, pickles, salad and more zingy chillies, and was accompanied by a glass of house Sangria. Vietnamese cuisine is typically full of fresh, healthy salads, spiced with lemongrass, coriander and the ubiquitous chillies, perfect for lunches or anytime you want a light meal. The prices at Baguette Me Not are very reasonable and you can choose to sit inside or out in the courtyard. You can BYO, however the venue is licensed and offers beer, wine and cocktails. They also provide an extensive array of coffee, teas and juices. You can order over the counter or online for home delivery, takeaway or dine in.

On A Roll...

By Georgina Goss

“Luanne and Tyrone requested we take their successful takeaway business and transform it into an upscale, casual, modern, licensed restaurant with takeaway. The outcome has been a fast service business built on delicious Vietnamese inspired style food.” Chris Arrell of Hospitality & Foodservice Consultants

Baguette Me Not The West Deck, Karrinyup Shopping Centre 200 Karrinyup Road, Karrinyup Ph: 0484 264 663 www.baguettemenot.com