FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM SEPTEMBER 14, 2017 • BUZZ • THE QUEENS COURIER 59
dining out
Violet’s Bake Shoppe, 72-36 Austin Street, Forest Hills, 718-263-3839
Authentic Hanoi Hoagies
and Saigon Street Soup
on Austin Street
BY JOE DISTEFANO
Th e name might be Violet’s Bake
Shoppe, but this tiny storefront, which
opened last January has a claim to fame
besides the dainty dan tat—Hong Kong
style egg tarts—made by owner Chris
Tang. It has the distinction of being the
only Vietnamese restaurant in Forest Hills.
Aft er being open for about six month
Tang, whose family hails from Hong
Kong chose to focus on a very specific
Vietnamese specialty—the bánh mì,—
or Vietnamese sandwich, a glorious
combination of pickled vegetables, and
Vietnamese charcuterie layered into a
crusty baguette.
“Th ere was nothing like this around the
neighborhood and I really really like bánh
mì,” says the trained pastry chef who fell
in love with the sandwiches while living
in Philadelphia. Violet’s off ers 11 varieties,
including a house special ($6.95),
baked fi sh with lemongrass and turmeric
($6.95), and a pâté supreme ($6.95), and
a pork belly ($7.95). All are dressed with
the standard bánh mì fi xings—pickled
daikon and carrots, cucumbers, cilantro,
and a schmear of mayonnaise mixed with
umami-rich Maggi sauce—but the star is
the house special.
It’s quite simply the best old school
Vietnamese sandwich in Queens. Th e
Vietnamese ham, Vietnamese salami,
head cheese and crumbled red-tinged
roast pork layered into the demi-baguette
come together to create a sandwich
that’s far more than the sum its parts.
Frankly its a sandwich that this seasoned
food writer was pleasantly surprised
to fi nd in a neighborhood better
known for margarita mills and
Bareburger than authentic ethnic cuisine.
It took some work for Tang to start
off ering the sandwiches. First he head to
track down his Auntie Kim Nguyen, who
for many years made glorious bánh mì
at a shop on the fringes of Manhhatan’s
Chinatown. “My aunt had to go looking
for her,” Tang recalls.
Like many Vietnamese restaurants
Violet’s off er soup, but rather than the
classic pho, which takes hours and hours
to make Tang chose to off er bún riêu
($9.75), at the suggestion of Auntie Kim.
Billed as Saigon style street noodles, the
massive bowl is fi lled with noodles and
pinkish meatballs made from ground
pork, minced crab, dried shrimp and egg
fl oating in a ruddy chicken and tomato
broth. One bit of the unabashedly fi shy
irregular meatballs will put to rest any
question about whether Austin Street has
authentic Vietnamese food. Th ere’s also
blocks of tofu and some iceberg lettuce
that frankly we wish were mint or cilantro.
Despite the color of the broth, it’s not
so spicy, but that’s fi xed easily enough
with a few squirts of Sriracha.
Lighter bites include summer rolls (two
for $5.75) and pork belly buns (two for
$6.75). Th e former served with fi sh sauce
based dip are perfectly fi ne, but once
again some fresh herbs would be most
welcome. Th e pork bao, each cradling
a slab of mahogany colored belly, make
for a nice alternative to the heft y bánh
mì. To wash it all down there’s good
strong Vietnamese coff ee and some truly
refreshing fruit smoothies in such fl avors
as lychee and mango.
True to its roots Violet’s still off ers desserts,
including the classic egg tart, which
has a wonderfully fl aky crust, a decadent
green tea panna cotta, and what are surely
the largest macarons being made in
Queens.
Ask him what his favorite Vietnamese
sandwich is and Tang quickly responds,
“I like the classic. It’s got everything.”
Tip: If you see egg tarts in the case be
sure to grab one or two. Sandwiches keep
Tang so busy these that sometimes he
doesn’t have time to make dan tat.