At the wintry end of 2022, Emily Le, Kayla Bui and Khanh Tran launched their first restaurant together. Bacogai quickly became Alameda’s Vietnamese hotpot hotspot. But the small kitchen limited the variety of dishes they could make. The entrepreneurial trio decided to expand their culinary repertoire by opening a grab-and-go mini-mart called Mon Superette.
Smack dab in the middle of Piedmont Avenue, the modest, standing-room-only space is just big enough to accommodate an open refrigerator case and a warming oven. The open kitchen behind the front counter provides enough room for Tran to make egg salad sandwiches, spring rolls and noodle bowls.
At Bacogai, Tran prepared many of the non-hotpot dishes such as a colorful duck slaw salad and banh hoi, a woven noodle dish. She took the lead at Mon Superette, though her colleagues do drop by to help her prep the ingredients. In addition to the cold items on display, a small, secondary, hot-item menu is located on the front counter.
I dropped in after a lunch rush, which Tran said accounted for the empty food case. Since I’d arrived too late for spring rolls and sandos, I ordered three of the four hot-menu items. Tran, working alone, took my order before retreating to the kitchen to start cooking. She shielded herself from spills and the hot fryer with a securely tied apron.
After the first bite of a fried banana, I realized that Tran’s deep-frying skills were off the chart. I handed the rest of the banana to a friend and she finished it without pausing for air. We both gave each other that look, the one that says, “This place is a rare find.” Tran said the fried banana batter is gluten free, but made with a bit of coconut milk.
The egg rolls were even crunchier. With three to an order, I ate the first one quickly, shared the second and then greedily polished off the third one. We also split a container of garlic noodles, which, while also tasty, I imagined amping up with grilled shrimp and a pile of fresh herbs.
At Mon Superette, the chef has the opportunity to expand on the number of spring rolls available at Bacogai. In addition to tofu and shrimp, Tran makes a “fancy pork summer roll.” The filling includes a house-made pork patty with pickled cucumbers and carrots. A grilled-chicken summer roll comes with house-made aioli dressing.
Tran’s egg salad sandwich is inspired by the Japanese 7-Eleven egg sandwich. “I vividly remember the sando because that’s something I loved growing up,” she said. “I was hoping that it tastes similar and, surprisingly I’m actually getting really, really good feedback on it.”
One of her new customers already dropped by twice to try it. Without prompting, she told Tran it reminded her of similar ones she tried in Japan. “That means so much to me. It made my entire week,” Tran said.
Although the cold case sat empty of lunch items during my visit, several beverages remained. They included tiny “wellness” shots of carrot and orange juice and an eye-opening combination of ginger, lemon and honey. Larger bottles filled with Vietnamese iced coffee, green and red Thai teas, and a peach tea completed the choices.
“Peach iced tea is a big craze in Vietnam,” Tran said. When she and her business partners were composing the beverage menu, she insisted they had to serve it. They also included red Thai tea, “because everybody loves it.”
But she also wanted to introduce a new drink to the Bay Area. “Not a lot of people are familiar with green Thai tea,” she said. “It has a hint of pandan, jasmine and a little bit of mint, so it’s very fragrant and very floral.”
At Mon Superette, Tran’s connection with the public is more immediate than it is at Bacogai. “I just love chatting with people and seeing how people glow up once they take a bite of something that I made,” she said.
Mon Superette, 4060 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. Open 11am to 7pm. 510.907.3112. IG: @monsuperette.
