A giant banh mi served with 150 complementary dishes made from local specialties at the 2nd Vietnam banh mi festival in HCM city. (Photo: Ty Huynh)

The event at Le Van Tam Park in District 1 features some 130 booths of renowned banh mi brands aged 50 and above, restaurants, bakeries, and suppliers of materials and bread-making tools.

Visitors will have the opportunity to experience a variety of exciting activities including demonstrations of banh mi making.

There are a gate made of banh mi shaped like a dragon, an area showcasing the history of bánh mì, and a fairy-tale corner for children with animals made from banh mi. There is also a giant banh mi served with 150 complementary dishes made from local specialties.

Tran Thi Hien Minh, a member of the organizing board, said that there are many interactive activities for the public. Modern ovens have been brought in for visitors to witness and experience the banh mi making process, with free banh mi giveaways, she said, adding that there is an area for children, where they can learn to shape their own loaves of banh mi from clay.

Banh mi is a type of Vietnamese baguette sandwich filled with pâté, cold meats, and vegetables. Although they vary greatly between cities and between individual vendors, pork of some kind is usually used.

The Vietnamese banh mi was ranked first in the list of the top 100 sandwiches in the world by international food website TasteAtlas.

It also has had it name defined in reputable dictionaries like Oxford, Cambridge, and Merriam-Webster.