EDMONDS — Have I written about bánh mì several times already?
Yes.
Am I still going to put bánh mì on this week’s Food & Drink cover?
Absolutely. Because when you bake your own bread fresh every morning — along with buns, turnovers and macarons — as Mai Tran does at Rise & Shine Bakery in Edmonds, you deserve a story devoted to your craft. (Plus, bánh mì is always worth the write-up).
Something you will notice about Rise & Shine’s bánh mì is that there is no stubby baguette end. This is my least favorite part of the sandwich because it is usually dry, hard and void of any meat. Tran cuts those off, ensuring you have a even smear of pâté, meat and pickled veggies in every bite.
On my first trip there, I ordered the vegetarian tofu stir fry bánh mì ($6.50). The tofu was beautifully marinated, spongy and meaty in texture and I wish it was sitting in front of me right now. I would not fault you for choosing the pork, chicken or lemongrass beef instead, as she grills every piece of meat (imagine fatty, chewy, salty, thinly sliced meat tucked into a fresh-baked baguette). I washed mine down with a Vietnamese iced coffee and several glasses of water after biting into some surprisingly spicy jalapeño slivers that had my salivary glands working in overtime. Don’t worry: There is enough pickled daikon, cucumber, carrot and fresh cilantro to calm your tongue.
If you came for the bánh mì (like I did), I highly recommend staying for Tran’s noodle soups. She usually has new specials every week, such as the crab meat noodle soup I keep hearing about from a few lovely readers. I hope the next time I stop in, I’ll be lucky enough to see it written on her board. If not, something else delicious is guaranteed, from her crunchy pork belly skin Vietnamese rice to her spicy veggie lemongrass soup. That’s part of the joy of walking into Rise & Shine: Some of the best meals here aren’t always on the menu.
Aside from being one of the kindest people I’ve met, Tran is an incredibly hard worker. You’ll notice a case full of colorful macarons, dreamy buttery-soft buns (I ordered the coffee and the pandan ones, but there were also black sesame, mango cream cheese, pineapple, Bavarian cream, pork sung onion…I could go on) and flaky turnovers. She made all of those that morning, likely while you were still sleeping. Did I mention she also offers made-to-order custom cakes?
Despite the long hours, Tran walks around her shop calmly, greeting every customer with a smile. She’s genuinely happy to see you, even if you’ve never met. After one hello, she is no longer a stranger.
This is likely because opening her own bakery and deli was a longtime dream of hers. She worked at other bakeries and factories over the years — including a Subway at one point — all of where she learned how to bake from the people she worked with. Tran opened her shop in Shoreline 12 years ago before moving to Edmonds in late 2021. She’s in a pastel yellow building on Highway 99. The Edmonds bakery is bigger than her previous location, boasting ample seating and enough open floor space to do a post-lunch happy dance.
Tran is a confident baker: I can imagine her up early in the morning, checking on her baguette dough after an overnight fermentation, shaping them into long loaves, scoring them before the final proof and then watching them rise and brown in the oven. And I can remember each bite of that sandwich, specifically the bread: how she nailed the balance between airy and sturdy, with a crusty outside that doesn’t scrape the roof of your mouth off and a light crumb that retains its flavor while complementing your chosen protein. And then how the bright green pandan and coconut bun practically melted in my mouth, one of those pastries I enjoyed pulling apart almost as much as eating. And the homemade Vietnamese coffee cream in the other bun, the many other reasons I need to come back (namely, I can’t eat everything on the menu in one trip).
I could go on, but I don’t want to distract you on your drive to Rise & Shine today.
If you go:
Rise & Shine Bakery
23030 Hwy 99, Edmonds, WA 98026
Contact: (206) 574-8330
Open Tuesdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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