I was expanding the horizon and expanding the parameters of my on and off sandwich obsession and found myself at Foumami, an “asian sandwich bar” on Franklin street. I had been thinking that the scallion pancake sandwiches at Mei Mei were the best thing since sliced bread, at least in the asian sandwich arena, but Foumami’s shao bing has given me something else to chew on, as it were.
I had the Braised Beef Brisket shao bing, with chilled braised beef brisket, scallions, kirby cucumber, and cilantro, for $7.95.
Foumami explains their bread thusly:
Shao Bings, the unleavened bread somewhere between focaccia and pita that makes all of our breakfast and lunch sandwiches special. Two separate sets of dough are combined and rolled out again to create a consistency that when baked at a high temperature is crisp and flaky on the outside, while soft and chewy on the inside.
Two different doughs? Color me impressed. As billed, the bing is flaky on the outside like phyllo and pancake chewy inside. The brisket was tender and not overcooked (though maybe a little overportioned) and nicely balanced with cool cucumber and scallions. The always-controversial cilantro, I could take it or leave it. The sandwich looks small in plan but it’s large in profile and quite satisfying. I will be back for more bing, that is certain.