Ba-Le Sandwich Shop

Located between the mini food court and a partial side entrance to Sears, this place can be hard to find if you don’t walk inside. Once you find it, order your sandwich and watch the pro construct it from bread to meat.
Ordered a Lemongrass chicken ban mi. Chicken meat was moist and tender. No white meat, I hate white meat in a sandwich. The sauce reminded me of curry with almost a hint of lemongrass. Compared to other Ban mi place’s I’ve been, the size was a bit small, but the taste was great!

If you are in the area, I’d always pick this location over the Ward one.
It’s the McDonalds of Vietnamese food, yet it serves its purpose. Great for when you need something fast.
The phở is so-​so, they also have summer rolls, some noodle dishes, etc. but I come here for the banh mi. Ba-​Le is also a bakery, and they make decent french breads and croissants. I always have to get out of my car and shake off my clothes from all the wonderful little crumbs when I eat the bahn mi on the road. Yay for crusty bread!
My go — to order is the teriyaki chicken banh mi, no mayo or shoyu. I find the shoyu is really unnecessary and makes the dish way too salty. I’ve tried the lemongrass chicken too but prefer the teriyaki. I wish they would cut their chicken pieces a little smaller for the sandwiches. Especially the lemongrass chicken, it is like a HUGE breast and it is difficult to take a bite without the whole hunk coming out of the sandwich and hanging out of your mouth.
I used to order their coconut/​banana tapioca back in the day and remember it to be yummy.

Depending on which location you eat at, they will stuff the pickled veggies into the ban mi… or not. The Sears Ala Moana location does a moderate amount, not enough to make me jump for joy.
Their tofu ban mi is rather flavorless and dry but with the peanut or Shriracha, BOOM!
What I like to do is to take some Shriracha sauce and squirt it right into the middle of the creamy satay sauce until the little cup is filled to the brim. When I eat my shrimp summer roll (my favorite) I dip before each bite. Some bites are salty sweet, some bites are spicy hot.
My favorite sandwich would always be on crusty French/​Vietnamese rolls. I don’t like croissants to begin with and my sandwich has to be sturdy, crunchy with a great mouth feel.
The turkey pastrami would fool even a turkey farmer, it’s that good. It’s not spicy but it’s salty and peppery. I usually have to squirt a little Shriracha sauce on it but the flavors of the meat, sauce and pickles all together always make me wet my pants just a little.
On a hot summer day with an excursion you don’t necessarily want to go on, like with bratty kids or a smelly grandparent, this sandwich will cheer you up regardless. Get two so you can have one alone later. It’s a guiltless, healthy alternative to a heavy plate lunch.

cash only and seriously wat the heck. If I say no cilantro, no cilantro. I have no idea why she just looks at me then continues to make my sandwich with all this cilantro. And on top of that, she doesn’t ask if I want french bread or a croissant?
I love this place because it’s cheap, quick and i can guarantee the same taste everytime. I just hate coming her because that little lady never listens to me!
I also ordered a fried banana and it was super soggy. I dunno. it’s still a 4 to me because I like the taste but it still makes me mad that the service is kinda hit or miss.

If you’re in Sears on the lower level, go past the lawn mowers. If you’re in the garage side (Sears auto center side), enter through restaurant door entrance– there are 4 places here, btw (it’s a combo set-​up). We missed it the first few times we came to the Ala Moana, but now I know where it is (I’m pretty good at memorizing stores and such).
I’m a big fan of Ba-​Le sandwiches (my husband’s not big on vietnamese food and doesn’t quite like the veggies in the sandwiches, bahn mi, mmm), so when we came to Ala Moana (we usually go here 4x during the week we visit) to get lunch, I opted for this place (I already had Yummy’s that week), because it’s really good, fast (not fast food though) and super cheap eats (less than $ 10). I went in line, with another party in front of me, ordered my chicken sandwich, which was prepared right in front me, so it was fresh (she’s a pro, super fast, the lady was). Hot sauces are right there at the counter, if you want to take some to go with you, which I did (I love it spicy). My meal was good just like always, but I should’ve gotten the tapioca, too, ’cause their tapicoa is delicious.
There were lots of customers here, who looked to be more locals (as I’ve said before, we like those locals’ places), than tourists. I wasn’t here very long (went to the food court, to sit and eat with my husband), so I really can’t comment on anything else.

I love this Place! When I was working at Sears this would be my first choice for lunch. I never really knew Ba-​Le until eating here, was never a big fan of vietnamese food until here, never ate cilantro until here. This place has gotten be to be a little more open to a lot of things and I am so sad that not all Ba-Le’s are like this place.
My usual order is the chicken on croissant and chicken spring rolls. I love how they prepared their chicken, it is mixed with some spices that is so good. Unlike the other places you just get the plain chicken so you add the hot sauce. But this place it already has its own seasoning and the croissants are so fresh they don’t need to re-​toast for you. The Chicken Spring rolls are huge and larger than any other places and its still the same price. And I never came across a stale one, that is just the worst when a spring roll is stale and not crunchy!
The only thing that sets this place back is that they don’t have a full menu like the others. They only have sandwiches, pre-​packed lunch items, phở, spring rolls, banana rolls and tapioca desserts. Oh and sometimes they have that chicken rice soup dish which is simple but delish!
And another thing this place only accepts CASH! So make sure you have some greens or you can always go to the ATM’s upstairs and get some. :) I wish this place was at a more convenient location in the mall because it does get confusing and troublesome going up and down those escalators.

I love Ba-​Le. The banh mi, summer rolls, spring rolls, almond float… everything! Forget French-​Vietnamese fusion, this is like Awesome met Fantastic and they «fused» (a.k.a. «boned») and gave birth to Ba-​Le. It’s offical, Ba-​Le is now Fantawesome Fusion.
You can find this Ba-​Le in the foodcourt section of Sears on the 1^st level.
It’s weird, but while I usually enjoy strong flavors and organ meat, I can NOT get into the combo banh mi (the one with the pâté and the ham) because it’s too strong for me. My favorite is the chicken sandwich on french bread with lots of Sriracha.
Oh, I’m sorry… did I say Sriracha? I meant ambrosia of the gods. Yeah, you bet your sweet baguettes that the gods love Sriracha. They are just as happy as I am about the existence of Ba-​Le.
How do I know? They texted me. Yes, it happened.
Anyway, if you’re in Ala Moana you should DEFINITELY check out Ba-​Le. It’s fresh, a healthier alternative than most of the foods, a banh mi is only $ 4.50 AND there’s a 70% chance you’ll run into me there :)
OOH– watch out! I almost forgot to mention this location is cash only.

This place is the typical Vietnamese Phở and Sandwich chain restaurant. I usually only get the phở, and maybe the iced coffee.
The Phở itself is OK, Ive actually had better broth at non-​chain restaurants such as phở bistro, and the Vietnamese phở place in china town.
One of the major differences i recall is that they don’t have as many choices in phở. The beef phở only includes 1 or 2 different types of meats, usually a brisket and beef balls. On the other hand at non-​chain restaurants they provide more choices in their menu so you can get house specials which include not only beef brisket but muscle, tripe, and tendon. Which are great because they vary so much in texture!
SEATING: May be scarce on busier days, because their are other restaurants so seating is shared.
PRICING: Not pricey at all. perfect price for the meals offered.
*VIETNAMESE ICED COFFEE: Strong like Starbucks’ iced coffee but also much sweeter. Convenient to pick up prior to shopping through out the mall. highly recommended!

I really like Ba-​Le.
Sandwiches are my pretty much my favorite food so I’m always looking for an interesting twist. Ba-​Le is Vietnamese so like a lot of vietnamese food, there’s a heavy french influence. If you get a turkey sandwich you can get it on french bread which I recommend. I also suggest the BBQ chicken. Back to the Vietnamese side, they top it off with pickled carrots and cucumbers. YUM!

Great great sandwiches. I love their pickled carrots and radishes.

I love Bale (type) sandwiches hands down…
BBQ Chicken on Croissant FTW!!!
Bale locations do vary on consistency too…

of all the Ba-​Le locations, this imho is the best one. Parking might be a problem but the food is consistent at the very least.

Tasty chicken sandwich for $ 4.50 made to order.
The sandwiches are really fresh tasting with lots of veggies — they could use more cilantro though. The eggrolls also look really good.
Great lunch spot. Oh and it’s CASH ONLY.

Ok, this place gets one star after my last horrifying experience (s). The first experience didn’t really dissuade me from my combination sandwich with extra pâté. It was just the «fish sauce» sitting in open buckets on the floor. I figured I only get the sandwiches anyhow… whatever.
My most recent experience however has stopped me dead in my tracks from ever coming back. I tried to take a picture but the cashier was watching me too closely when I pulled out my phone. I ordered my sandwich as usual and happened to glance over at the sink. To my horror I saw the carrot/​daikon shredding machine (for the pickled veggies) shooting the cut veggies right into their kitchen sink with no liner. To make things worse, while transfering the cut veggies to a container on the dirty floor, the lady started scraping and picking the veggies that were stuck to the sides of the sink. Mmmm, wouldn’t want to miss any dirty veggies. I usually have an iron stomach, but seeing this made my stomach turn. I grabbed my sandwich and promptly walked next door to Mcdonalds and ordered some McNuggets.
How can this place stay open? ughhh.

Ate at the Ward Road locaton, by Sports Authority. The sandwich was good, but the place did not seem that clean.

I LOVE THIS PLACE! Make sure to go this location, in Ward by Sports Authority, if you want the good stuff. Each location is operated a little differently, and the food quality and selection varies as well!
I have nothing but good things to say about this place. If you order a plate, the portions are huge. They make all food to order except the lumpia, which are hot stuff anyway.
A sandwich on yummy bread with good pickled cucumber/​daikon/​carrot veggies and mayo is only $ 5 or so. Watch out because some of their cold cut meats aren’t the best quality. Stick with chicken in bbq, teriyaki, and lemongrass, or tofu, or roast beef. I hear the pâté is good, too, if you like that kind of thing (I hate it). Ask for your sandwich on a croissant for extra goodness!
All their plates are very good. If you order it, they’ll make it EXSTEAMILY hot and fresh for you. The portions are very good, too. I just had their pad thai, and while it tastes more like I imagine pad see ew to taste, it’s awesome! Just the right amount of flavor and ingredients. And the chicken was very flavorful. Seafood with mixed vegetables is also a winner.
Pretty much all the fresh stuff I’ve ordered has been awesome. And I come here a lot. It’s kind of my default standard place when I can’t think of what else to get in a hurry.
They also have ready-​made boxes ready to pick up and go! I prefer the lumpia and vermecelii noodles salad. Their jai (monk’s food) is also good when it’s fresh. Of course their bbq chicken is heaping with flavor as well. Yum! and Healthy, too!
They also have jin doi, steamed bao, baked bao, rainbow jello, orange bang, icees, thai ice tea, thai ice coffee, banana lumpia, and pretty much everything good that a fast place can have.
Their huge selection of tapioca flavors dazzles behind a glass display case. My favorite is the coconut. Some other flavors are less creamy and more starchyhard.
I really, really like the Ward Ba-​Le and it has never let me down. Thank you for being so tasty, cheap, reliable and so darn good, Ward Ba-​Le!

Not bad for $ 4.50 in the mall. A little smaller than Oakland chinatown sandwiches, but tasty. I tried the crossaint, it wasn’t flaky. I would choose this place over anything else in the food court

A happy smiley day consists of a chicken sandwich, chicken eggroll, soy drink, and some sweet potato tapioca. Mmm!
The sandwich is the best part: tasty chicken morsels sitting in a bed of tangy pickled daikon and carrots, which blends so well with the light spread of mayo, and the warm crusty french bread. It’s an explosion of texture and taste! Of course, the roof of my mouth gets totally torn apart from the crusty hard bread… but it’s okay!

Let’s face it, Vietnamese sandwiches are dynamite. You can’t screw it up either – unless you use stale French bread and soggy pickled vegetables. Mario Batali made a refined version of it with mango on Iron Chef America and the judges raved on and on about it – even that hefty, hard-​to-​please Harvard lawyer.
The point is, the assembling job is easy. What makes Ba-Le’s sandwich special is the pâté (consisting of liver, fat, and seasonings). The pâté here is better than the stuff in France and Quebec IMHO. When I’m lazy I get the Combination sandwich, but when I’m not I talk whoever’s working into selling me ½ pound of pâté so I can go home and make 25 sandwiches for myself.
Anyway, at $ 2-​$ 3 Ba-​Le sandwiches are a super deal. I’d give it 5 stars, but I went to go wash my hands in the back of the Chinatown location once – the bathroom was disgusting (!) and there was a cat in the kitchen (!!). I thought I was back in Vietnam for a sec.

I love love love the:
Lemon Grass Chicken Sandwich!
I always order that and it’s always consistently good.
Add a squirt of Shiracha sauce and I’m like super happy.
Order a side of Café Su Da (Vietnamese Coffee that I probably misspelled) too. It’s bitter sweet and delish.
Fast, cheap, and good!