The name banh mi is one of three Vietnamese words in the Oxford English dictionary, together with pho /fə ː/ and ao dai /ˈaʊ ˌdʌɪ/, proving its fame and popularity.

The first baguette in Vietnam dates back 130 years to the time when France colonised the country between the 1880s and 1954. The French usually cut it into small sections to serve with soup, curry or butter.

In 1970, wood-fired ovens were converted into larger brick kilns to bake in bulk, which gave the bread its Vietnamese identity.

From then on Vietnamese chefs began making variations. Instead of putting butter or jam on bread, they layered it with bacon, makin♏g it delicious and more convenient./.