TP Banh Bao 3

This place is a fantastic hidden gem! You can get some of the best Banh Bao here. There’s an elderly lady who seems to make most of the dishes herself, and it’s clear she has deep knowledge and passion for what she does. They offer some unique items I had never tasted before. You can purchase them individually or in larger quantities, depending on your needs. While there isn’t a place to sit and eat inside, I was able to take the food home—and it was absolutely worth it. What truly impressed me was the customer service. My son has an egg allergy, and the lady was kind enough to make a separate batch just for him, carefully packed and labeled. Even though they don’t normally offer combination or sampler packs, she went out of her way to create one for me so I could try different varieties of buns. That kind of thoughtfulness is rare. There’s ample parking nearby, but if you’re placing a large order, I recommend calling ahead. All in all, this place offers excellent food and outstanding service—I highly recommend it!

Here's the thing, the lady at the cashier was pretty rude and gave poor customer service. The main problem I had with this restaurant is the fact that they claim to Accept EBT there's two separate stickers on door and window saying " WE ACCEPT EBT" however when I was there and tried to pay with my EBT the lady said that they don't have the "machine"? I consider this false advertisement and just an outright lie. I've had their buns before they're great but this was a terrible experience unfortunately!!!!!

UPDATES at bottom; photos added. ORIGINAL POST: Went there yesterday and today. While it's not a vegan eatery, they do have a selection of items of interest to vegans, and the owner (?) is a sweet lady who is herself accidentally vegan. She meditates 3 hrs/day, every day, and calls herself vegetarian (but does not eat meat, eggs, dairy, honey). (UPDATE: Apparently the whole family are vegan as far as their personal diet.) What I bought: accidentally vegan "meat" pie (delicious!); All Vegetarian Inc brand vegan jerky (very tasty, no bad aftertaste, great texture); All Veg brand vegan bacon slices (frozen, have not tried yet). They also had vegan duck and other items in the freezer section. I've not been able to find this style of vegan bacon anywhere else in the Mira Mesa area. Looking forward to a nice vegan BLT sandwich soon. I polished off the vegan pies both days, so no photo yet. UPDATE 1: I've been back several times and since my first two visits, they've added multiple new vegan items in the freezer and dry items. It's like a vegan paradise. Note that while the owners are vegans, they do sell non-vegan products. But they're such sweet people starting a new business. I've been buying the vegan bacon (All Vegetarian Inc. brand, from Los Angeles) like it's going out of style, making vegan BT (bacon, tomato) sandwiches with either mayo or guacamole, and sometimes hash browns and Just Egg vegan scramble. Can't get enough of this vegan - bought two packs earlier today. (Note: the price is going up to $9 per pack of 12 slices, but this brand is worth it, and I've not seen it anywhere else in Mira Mesa/ San Diego.) I just went by a few minutes ago and picked up some new items: utterly delicious vegan sausages, and some vegan chicken curry. (They'd catered a party of 100, so they had some left to sell me. I believe they used either Verisoy brand or another of vegan chicken. Haven't tasted it yet, but smells great.) If you're in San Diego, or visit, check out T.P. Banh Bao in Mira Mesa (north of SD).

Like this place more than I should, it's always tough finding good baby bao, traditionally they are on the floury/doughy side. But these were perfect in meat to dough ratio. A lot of good variety, good value, and friendly staff. Go try this!

I did not recommend this place. I will not return. I specifically drove here from La Jolla based on recommendations. I expected to enjoy an actual steamed bun. I ordered number three and number nine. It's very obvious that it was microwaved, the inside was still cold and the outside is dry. Which is typical when you microwave steam buns. actual steam buns are sticky and very hot and take a while to eat. This was garbage. Horrible experience. I think the people that support here are probably just locals for the heck of it.