Banh Mi Near Me in LA Chinatown: My Dung Behind the Banana Crates

My Dung Sandwich Shop looks like a fruit stand from the sidewalk: bananas hang from the awning and boxes of green onions, mangoes, rambutans and Thai peppers are stacked at the door, with the sandwich counter behind them. It sits at 314 Ord St, Los Angeles, CA 90012, at the corner of Broadway in Chinatown. It opens Monday to Saturday from 7:30 am to 6 pm, closes Sunday and takes cash only. For banh mi near me downtown, this is the closest old-school counter.

The easiest way in is Metro. Chinatown station is the elevated A Line stop on North Spring Street above College Street, one stop north of Union Station, and Google Maps puts the walk to the shop at about nine minutes and 0.4 mile, most directly by heading down North Broadway. The route is flat, which matters if you plan to carry a bag of sandwiches back to the platform for an office lunch.

Drivers have fewer good options on these narrow Chinatown blocks. The nearest large lot belongs to Los Angeles State Historic Park, just north of Chinatown, where the main lot on North Spring Street charges $2 an hour up to $8 a day according to California State Parks. The park also notes free street parking nearby but warns about anti-gridlock zones between 4 and 6 pm, exactly when an after-work sandwich run tends to happen.

The name on the sign is older than the people behind the counter. Culinary Backstreets reported in October 2024 that Mỹ Dung, a Vietnamese woman's name meaning "perfect beauty," was left over from the previous owners. Chinh Le's extended family had already run the shop for more than 30 years before retiring, and his younger brother worked there first. When the rest of the family settled in the United States in 2010, Chinh and his sister learned the trade from him.

Today Chinh is the manager and the face of the place, while his sister prepares the sandwiches in a small area in the far back corner. He told Culinary Backstreets that three generations of his large extended family have worked at My Dung, and his young son has started taking orders while his father watches. Chinh speaks Vietnamese, English, Chinese, French and Spanish, which is useful on a block where customers switch languages mid-order.

The Infatuation's November 2025 guide to the best banh mi in Los Angeles counts eight fillings, from charred marinated pork to shredded soy-seasoned tofu, and admits its writers come back for a baguette smeared thick with pâté. Every sandwich gets the same supporting cast, which Culinary Backstreets lists as mayonnaise, pickled daikon, carrot, cucumber, cilantro and a hint of jalapeño, all tucked into warm French bread.

First-timers should order the number one, the đặc biệt special, which layers Vietnamese cold cuts and chả lụa, the steamed pork loaf, and which Wanderlog's digest of Google reviews singles out for its smoky notes. A November 2025 reviewer on Trip.com called the special packed with flavor, and a January 2026 reviewer praised crisp pickled vegetables and clean-tasting pâté. A May 2026 visitor wrote that the bread was perfectly crispy outside and soft inside.

The Infatuation also warns that the sandwiches are usually a little misshapen, a fair note if you want something photogenic. The care goes into the fillings, not the wrapping. Beyond banh mi, Culinary Backstreets points to sweetened condensed milk iced coffee as the drink locals pick up with their sandwich, and the produce in front is for sale too, so a bag of rambutans or a bunch of Thai peppers can go home with lunch.

My Dung fits no more than about ten people at once, and many of them are not in a hurry. Culinary Backstreets describes local Chinese community members coming in to gossip and spend time away from home, with Saturday morning Catholic mass, European soccer matches and Vietnamese soap operas playing on the television between orders. The same writer noted that Chinh lets people stay as long as they like, whether they buy anything or not.

The lunch crowd is different. Since social media spread the word, office workers from downtown and visitors from as far as the beach cities and the Valley fill the room around midday. Chinh carries finished sandwiches to people eating inside, standing out front or waiting in their cars for curbside pickup. He also likes to joke, offering to sell a whole case of fruit when you ask for one mango, so expect some ribbing with your order.

Do not plan a Sunday banh mi crawl around this counter, because My Dung is closed all day Sunday and the shutters on Ord Street will be down. The honest second warning is about seating: with room for roughly ten people and a television already holding court, this is not the place to bring a group of six expecting a table. Order to go and eat elsewhere if you are more than two.

Bring cash, because the counter does not take cards, and expect the busiest stretch around the downtown lunch hour. If the room is packed or it is Sunday, walk a few minutes along Broadway to Thien Huong inside Far East Plaza. Time Out describes it as a daytime Vietnamese spot with budget-friendly banh mi and pho that now accepts credit cards, open Tuesday through Sunday from 9 am, so it covers My Dung's day off.

For a sandwich-history detour, walk east toward Alameda Street to Philippe the Original, which has fed Los Angeles since 1908 and moved to its current Alameda location in 1951. Philippe Mathieu claimed to have invented the French dipped sandwich in 1918 after dropping a sliced roll into the roasting pan. Ten carvers still stand at a long counter with ten lines, so comparing its roll with My Dung's baguette makes a fine two-sandwich afternoon.

If you would rather eat outdoors, carry your wrapped banh mi north to Los Angeles State Historic Park, the urban state park directly beside Chinatown. California State Parks lists it as open daily from 8 am until sunset, with leashed dogs allowed and pathways that give a view of the downtown skyline. Its lawns are the nearest open space where a group can spread out and split a stack of pâté sandwiches.

My Dung Sandwich Shop, 314 Ord St, Los Angeles, CA 90012, at the corner of Ord Street and Broadway in Chinatown; Google lists it inside Yue Wa Market. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 7:30 am to 6 pm, and it is closed on Sunday. Cash only. There is room for about ten people inside, and staff will bring sandwiches out to cars for curbside pickup. The nearest train is the Metro A Line at Chinatown station, about a nine-minute walk.