A Banh Mi for Two

By: Trinity Nguyen

Narrated by: Carolina Do, VyVy Nguyen

In this sweet sapphic romance about two foodies in love, Vivi meets Lan while studying abroad in Vietnam and they spend the semester unraveling their families' histories—and eating all the street food in Sài Gòn.

In Sài Gòn, Lan is always trying to be the perfect daughter, dependable and willing to care for her widowed mother and their bánh mì stall. Her secret passion, however, is A Bánh Mì for Two, the food blog she started with her father, but has stopped updating since his passing.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese American Vivi Huynh has never been to Việt Nam. Her parents rarely even talk about the homeland that clearly haunts them. So Vivi secretly goes to Vietnam for a study abroad program her freshman year of college. She’s determined to figure out why her parents left, and to try everything she’s seen on her favorite food blog, A Bánh Mì for Two.

When Vivi and Lan meet in Sài Gòn, they strike a deal. Lan will show Vivi around the city, helping her piece together her mother’s story through crumbling photographs and old memories. Vivi will help Lan start writing again so she can enter a food blogging contest. And slowly, as they explore the city and their pasts, Vivi and Lan fall in love.

A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt & Company.

©2024 Trinity Nguyen (P)2024 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“In A Bánh Mì for Two, Trinity Nguyen brings Sài Gòn to life on the page. The sights, the people, and, most importantly, the food, capture your heart just as much as the blossoming sapphic romance. A beautiful story of family, love, and home.” —Rachael Lippincott, New York Times–bestselling author of Five Feet Apart and She Gets the Girl

“Nguyen intricately weaves an exploration of Vietnamese American identity in this charming coming-of-age story. Readers will experience the exuberance of young love while taking a delicious trip through Sài Gòn.” —Julie Tieu, author of The Donut Trap

“A Bánh Mì for Two is a deliciously sweet read! I adored this emotional story about two girls finding love in each other and in the noisy city at the center of their families’ hearts.” —Trang Thanh Tran, New York Times-bestselling author of She Is a Haunting

Beautiful

This resonated with me so much as a Vietnamese American and child of immigrants from Vietnam. I want to read everything by the author now. Bravo!

Cute Story

I wasn’t sure to expect before listening to this story, but I love it! As an Asian American myself, I could relate to Vivi about wanting to know more about my parent’s history. I’m such a sucker for a good romance and I love it even more when it gets me to tear up just a little when reading. Overall, I think this is a great book and I would love to share this book to my niece when she’s old enough to read on her own.

Awesome Reas!

Loved the portrayal of food and family in this story. Appreciated the author highlighting Vietnam's history and culture.

This book will have you drooling for Báhn Mì

I only found this because it was on the Goodreads Choice 2024 list. It’s a sapphic YA romance, but not angsty in the usual YA way. The drama here is driven by family secrets, and expectations and none in the ways I would have expected.

It’s really a love letter to Saigon. The street food, the people and their resiliency and strength. It’s beautifully written.

I had to have Báhn Mì yesterday, because the street food descriptions had me salivating.

I’m bumping Saigon up my list of places to visit.

I totally recommend this book for fans of food blogging, learning about cities through food and a good romance.