Today we’d like to introduce you to Minh Do.
Minh, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve been in the restaurant business all of my life. Your name I’ve done every job you could imagine in the restaurant from busboy to waiter to cook. When I was 19, I opened up a business selling bubble teas inside a shopping mall in the Midwest. That business soon grows to multiple locations. In 2004 I traveled to South Florida for vacation and decided to move permanently to the Sunshine State. We started another restaurant concept selling smoothies, wraps, bubble teas called M&H Cafe with a location in Davie and Boca Raton. During this time, we had multiple businesses that we were running and the restaurants became too much. We sold both restaurants to focus on the other business venture.
While operating a successful salon chain called Toi Spa in South Florida. My heart has always been a restaurateur. The kitchen came calling me back in 2014 when my firstborn was only two years old and it was difficult for us to find good authentic Vietnamese food in South Florida. We would take trips to California just to enjoy authentic Vietnamese food. Part wanting to go back to the restaurant business part wanting to introduce our kids to the wonderful world of Vietnamese cuisine, we decided to open 545 Degrees Bánh Mì Café to introduce the many wonderful street food dishes famous to Vietnam. We teamed up with my mom to dig out all of the old family recipes and traditional cooking methods to come up with the dishes we have today. The process was very difficult since everything we have makes from scratch the labor was intensive.
The love for great food and tradition, we managed to struggle through the first year with much success. With our passion to share the love for Vietnamese cooking and the support of the local Vietnamese community, as well as the rest of South Florida, served as a huge motivation for us to keep on pushing forward. With the same pride and love, we’re also creating additional Vietnamese restaurant concepts for 2021. We’re creating a family-style dining Vietnamese restaurant in Davie called Pho Bar Vietnamese Kitchen. We want to showcase how wonderful Vietnamese food can be when it’s done correctly and sticking to traditions to bring the best authentic umami taste that encompasses all the senses.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road that we’ve taken is not easy. It’s easy when we try to do some fusion idea and call it a day, no disrespect to that concept; however, to do it right requires a tremendous amount of passion and commitment. We had to make everything from scratch so our prep process is tremendously tidiest and time-consuming. Our other big struggle was training our chefs to understand the cuisine and learning the authentic taste. We’ve been fortunate in a way where we have a wonderful staff. We’re firmly believed that it’s the people that make the business.
The other struggle was to introduce Bánh Mì (the famous Vietnamese sandwich) that combines French colonialism in Vietnam and Vietnamese ingredients. Most people in South Florida don’t know what the sandwich was in the beginning. It was funny when we have people asking us if they can have tomatoes with their sandwiches. We have to tell them this was not Subway. The only veggies in this sandwich are pickled carrots and daikon, cilantro, cucumbers, and fresh jalapeños. Then usually, the second question that came next was, what are pickled carrots and daikon. The education process of the cuisine was tough in the beginning but we expected that and we took our time to make it work.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about 545 Degrees Bánh Mì Café – what should we know?
We’re a true Vietnamese street food restaurant. We sell traditional Vietnamese street food starting with the most famous Vietnamese street food Bánh Mì a sandwich that makes from a Vietnamese baguette filled with usually pork, pâté, fresh mayo, pickled carrots and daikon, cilantros, cucumbers, and fresh jalapeños. We also have many grabs and go items like rice vermicelli with grilled pork along with various snacks and Vietnamese desserts called chè. The one thing that sets Vietnamese cuisine apart from everything else is the fresh ingredients and the traditional authentic flavor. The most ethnic restaurant often Americanize the pallet to adapt to mainstream taste; however, we stay clear from that. We stick to traditions and make sure things are done the way that has been done for hundreds of years. We have people who traveled to Vietnam came through to our restaurant and telling us when we eat your food, it brings us back to the streets of Saigon. We took things to the next level ever since opening to bake our own bread fresh daily to ensure the authenticity of our Bánh Mì.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My Mom is critical to our business. She is the toughest food critic. The five foot of fury woman will make sure that every detail was correct. In the words of our chefs, “momma don’t play.” Most of the recipes came from my Mom and her many decades of experience. She guided us through the traditional methods of cooking and how to make sure we understand the key to Vietnamese cooking witch is always multidimensional. Vietnamese cooking always involves balancing the sweet, salty, crunchy, and smooth flavor profile. It’s never one dimensional.
Pricing:
- We keep our pricing affordable pretty much all dishes are under $9
- Our sandwich is under $5
Contact Info:
- Address: 545 Degrees Banh Mi Cafe
6461 Stirling Rd.
Davie, FL 33314 - Website: www.545.cafe
- Phone: 954-5815048
- Email: 545banhmi@gmail.com
- Instagram: @545banhmicafe
- Facebook: Facebook.com/545banhmi
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