Huong Lan Sandwiches

Huong Lan Sandwiches at 1655 Tully Road is one of San Jose’s longest-running bánh mì counters, a short hop from Story Road’s soup and cơm tấm houses inside East San Jose’s Little Saigon. Family lore that circulates with the brand points to sandwiches first made in a Kuala Lumpur refugee camp in 1978 before the Huong Lan name spread across California; treat that origin as soft family history. The Tully room was already a local reference by the early 2000s (PBS’s Sandwiches That You Will Like filmed here in 2002), and East Side regulars still call it among the city’s original bánh mì shops. Hours typically start early morning and run into evening; multiple California branches exist, but this page covers the Tully Road San Jose address.

Ordering is counter-fast: numbered sandwiches on house baguettes that crackle outside and stay soft inside. The #1 thịt nguội (ham, pâté, headcheese) is the classic cold-cut build; grilled pork, BBQ pork, sardine, and specials rotate beside spring rolls, bánh cuốn, roast duck rice plates, bakery sweets, and bubble tea. Portions and prices stay lunch-friendly. Expect a utilitarian strip-mall room, parking-lot energy, and lines that still form when school and work let out.

Come when you want a crusty San Jose bánh mì and can handle a busy deli floor. Pair with Cơm Tấm Thiên Hương or Bún Bò Huế An Nam when the same Little Saigon trip wants a rice plate or Central Vietnamese soup after the sandwich.

Regulars argue over the #1 cold-cut sandwich versus grilled pork, praise the Cap’n Crunch crust on the baguette, and treat Tully as the default East Side bánh mì stop. Spring rolls and cheap rice plates pad the order. Early arrivals dodge the worst lines.

Caveats are a bare strip-mall room, neighborhood street friction some diners mention outside, sodium that makes people thirsty, and a menu broad enough that first-timers can freeze at the board. People wanting a sit-down Oakland regional dinner usually book Tay Ho instead. Huong Lan is the Tully bánh mì counter.