Banh Mi Up: The new cafe bringing Vietnamese street food to Geraldton

Geraldton locals can now get their Banh Mi fix, with the opening of a new Vietnamese cafe in town. Located on 98 Marine Terrace, Banh Mi Up is the brainchild of Geraldton locals Sindi and Dylan Nguyen. Originally from Vietnam, the Nguyens arrived in Australia more than 20 years ago when they met at university in Perth. They moved to Geraldton and have had four children, aged four, six, 10 and 13. Serving up everything from Banh mi, noodle bowls, bao buns and Vietnamese iced coffee, locals can experience the tastes of Hanoi street food right here in the Mid West. Mrs Nguyen said it was always her dream to open a cafe and with the help of her husband she decided to make it a reality. “So having a cafe of my own has always been on my mind, I guess for the last six years, but due to the kids being quite young it just wasn’t possible,” she said. “The idea of having a Vietnamese cafe takeaway, it’s something different for Geraldton. “Geraldton has a lot of other multicultural cafes and restaurants but something was missing and I think that was Vietnamese food.” For Mr Nguyen, seeing the finished store was just reward for a month of hard work on the tiling and decor. “A fair bit of work went into it, we pretty much did a lot of things by ourselves. My husband Dylan is the main designer, he created the whole place,” she said. “He put a lot of time and effort into it. Now being our busiest time on the farm, we own a cucumber farm. So between the farm and renovating this little cafe he was putting a lot of hours in. “We transformed this place from a massage parlour to a nice little comfort place where everybody can enjoy a bit of Vietnam.”