5 spice, or nothing?
Iāve had decent banh mis here actually, and decent pho. (Both also confirmed as good by Vietnamese friends.) Donāt know what itās like in Kaohsiung.
Iām not sure how much of issue the bread is. In the ASEAN area of Taichung thereās a few places that make their own on a semi-industrial scale, and I assume thereās places selling it around Taiwan.
I donāt think itās exactly easy for many of those migrant workers to open businesses here, of course. Many of the Vietnamese restaurants Iāve seen seem to have happened after someone from Vietnam has married a Taiwanese person, which obviously makes things easier.
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A little sweet, a little salty, a little gloopy, not much flavor.
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Oh it was the government hospital in Chiang Mai, not one of the pricier international ones. It wasnāt exactly luxurious, but it wasnāt terrible either.
They told me it wasnāt good for my recovery/surgery to eat anything more flavorsome and substantial than rice porridge. I told them I couldnāt take rice porridge anymore and it wasnāt good for my recovery/surgery if I jumped out of the window.
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Do you recall where they are/ their names? Not being facetious. I crave good Vietnamese and might make a special journey to any place that can actually make a decent meal.
Never understood how the idea that wallpaper paste is somehow especially good for sick people holds such appeal for medical professionals. You get the exact same meme all over the world.
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mild and easy to digest so your body doesnāt have to expend energy breaking down something like a steak? I mean obviously there is a middle ground lmao
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I guess it is better for you than white bread which is what they normally recommend back home for a dodgy belly.
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It does work for me when Iām recovering from explosive diarrhea.
Basically just baked wallpaper paste though, innit.
Oatmeal slop is another British equivalent.
I donāt know all of them. My ex-girlfriend was Vietnamese and she would often just bring random Vietnamese food sheād picked up from somewhere.
This one (near Guting) Iāve been to quite a few times for banh mi and pho:
This one (near Houshanpi) was her favorite, but I donāt think we ever had banh mi there:
This one (near Taipei 101/Taipei Medical University Hospital) is a recent favorite of mine for pho and fried spring rolls (Iāve gone in a couple of times to order like 5 boxes of fried spring rolls for reheating over the next couple of days, then sat around while they made new ones to order - theyāre pretty friendly too):
Another pretty good one further down the same street that Iāve been to when that one is closed (Iāve only had pho there):
(No idea why my Google Maps links are now pasting as maps rather than the usual previews, but hopefully the places Iām talking about are visible.)
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You can add stuff to it. Fish, chicken etc
Obviously not if you are sick.
If you are sick, you can only add pork floss. 
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Whoa, where can you get that?
I thought this one in Shilin was better than the popular one in Tianmu (which I find salty AF), for whatever thatās worth. Not been to Vietnam
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Iāve recommended Funās Vietnamese in Beitou before; about 10 minutes walk from Beitou Station. I have no idea how āauthenticā it is (I dislike that word anyway), but itās the only place Iāve tried here that has that lighter taste I somehow associate with Vietnamese.
As I said in the thread linked below, if youāre in the area, I highly recommend it, but I wouldnāt suggest traveling across town for it.
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Yes, there are some very decent Vietnamese restaurants in Taiwan, you guys need to get around more. It really is true that if you see Vietnamese eating there itās a good sign.
Now there is a serious lack of fancy ass Vietnamese places, which is a pity.
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I agree, so please direct your āyou guysā at somebody else haha. I get around just fine. 
Yes , I meant those other guys.
Iām a fan of Taiwanese food, I spent a lot of time in Thailand recently and very happy to enjoy the range of cuisine that I can get in Taiwan again. Food in Taiwan is more diverse and not overly reliant on chili.
Also Thailand and China to a degree uses far too much MSG (weijin) but Taiwanās flavours are much cleaner and they very rarely add MSG anymore.
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This thread is amusing me. I suspect I agree with this - the breakfast chains are certainly the style of Taiwanese food I eat most often (by far) (i.e. 1-2 times a week). āBestā, however, doesnāt equal good. I also agree with other posts that most of the banh mi sandwiches here are subpar. However, I do think a subpar banh mi is better than a good MWD lunch!
So, yeah, the breakfast places arenāt great. But relatively? Theyāre good. Most banh mi here arenāt great. But relatively? Also good!
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I have come across a few surprisingly bad ones too. They were annoying to go to with the aforementioned Vietnamese ex-girlfriend, for it would often provoke a tantrum. 
Maybe theyād adjusted too much to the Taiwanese palate, and made the food shit. Who knows. 
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Whatās the name for that sweet ā¦ mayo? ā¦ that winds up slathered on sandwiches here? One banh mi place I initially liked in Danshui has started overdoing that. I dunno if normally thereās a small spread of that for flavor, and theyāre just making it sweeter to suit locals, or if itās entirely their own thing. But I need to add that to the ānoā list alongside xiangcai.