The day after watching (the hugely disappointing, in my humble opinion) Empire of Light film, I find myself strolling the streets of Margate.

It may look splendid on the silver screen, but on a miserable January weekend, the wind is whipping off the North Sea and the rain is joining in intermittently to make it all rather gloomy.

Which, coincidentally, was a good phrase to describe the Sam Mendes film which uses the town as its back drop and which a quick stroll around brings you face-to-face with pretty much all the key scenes. But as my mind thinks 'oh, that's where Olivia Colman's character had a coffee' or 'ah, this is where Michael Ward's was racially abused in the street', I remember I only live down the road and knew that anyway.

But I am not here on a sight-seeing visit. I'm here for something tasty to eat - and the good news is that the town is awash with places from which to choose.

And, given the weather, my only stipulation for some fast food is that the place is warm, the food not drenched in grease and, perhaps most importantly, I do not have to sit by a draughty door.

Having strolled up to the Turner Contemporary thinking I'd dip my uneducated artistic toe into its latest offerings, I am left out of luck as the place is shut (inbetween exhibitions, apparently). I tale solace by buying some whelks from the seafood stall next door before realising eating them with woollen gloves is a very bad idea if you don't want to stink of vinegar every time the temperature drops.

Such is the scale of the Eat My Words budget, I've actually reviewed the seafood stall in the past...so in search of something a little more filling (and fractionally more expensive than a dish of cockles) I trot across the road and take refuge from the elements in the Old Kent Market.

The former cinema site can be a bit hit and miss - sometimes you come in here and everywhere seems to be closed, other times it's lively and the choice is splendid. Fortunately, the latter is the case on my visit.

More importantly, the main food area is a long way from any drafts, the heating is on and there's plenty of folk - couples and families - milling around or perched on the communal seating tucking into something tasty.

Certainly you are spoilt for choice here.

You can have a little culinary jaunt around the world courtesy of stalls offering pizza, Greek food, South Indian or good old-fashioned British courtesy of a double-decker bus-cum restaurant parked by the entrance (albeit closed at 3pm on a Saturday).

Clearly Margate likes a double-decker bus (I've reviewed a splendid one at the other end of the town in the past).

There are tiny bars offering beers and cocktails, a delicious bakery, while take a stroll upstairs and there's a string of shops too. Although, sadly, a very tasty vegan burger joint near the entrance I reviewed last year has since bit the dust.

And there's clearly some thought been put into the place - the lighting is warm and there are colourful lanterns and bunting strung across the ceiling. Frankly, it's really rather splendid.

Tucked away in the corner though is my prey. The Thao Thao Vietnamese Street Food outlet. It occupies about the size of a large cupboard; there's room for a tight kitchen and a front desk to place your order.

But then its menu is similarly compact. Its winter offering consists of just four items. It may not sound much, but I'd rather a small menu where everything is done well than a sprawling one in which size trumps taste.

We order a fried tofu in tomato sauce (£8, generous portion, served on a bed of jasmin rice; tasty). But while my fellow diner enjoys it, I'm here for the main attraction and the focus of this review.

I'm drawn to this place because on the menu it has a banh mi. The last time I ate one was on the streets of the ancient and tourist honeypot which is Hoi An in central Vietnam, a few years ago.

It lived long in my memory as it was a. extraordinarily tasty and b. cost me the equivalent of 50p.

Back in the UK, during a period of relentless price hikes, waving a 50 pence piece about and demanding the same in Margate isn't, to be fair, going to get me very far.

Instead, I need to up my cash offering by some 1,600%. A banh mi here is going to set me back £8.50. It had, I think to myself, better be good.

A banh mi may sound exotic, but it is in fact just a fancy sandwich with a flourish. A relic of Vietnam's former French rulers, it's a modest baguette into which is then crammed your choice of meat or non-meat fillings, salad, sauces and, the not-so-secret ingredient, herbs which elevate the whole thing to another level. Or at least it should.

Thao Thao's offering offers me a choice of five-spice pork belly or five-spice tofu. I let the pig live to see another day. The Vietnamese, I remind myself, really know how to do tofu...let's see how it goes.

Firstly, it's not, truth be told, as jam-packed as my previous experience...but it's no less tastier - and certainly a lot less wasteful, as a consequence (no one wants a dollop of sauce dropping from banh mi to trouser leg if they can help it).

Inside are pickled carrots, white cabbage, cucumber, a sprinkle of spring onions and the impossible to dislike hoi sin sauce.

The tofu is, honestly, delicious. I fear about tofu every time I encounter it. It's either God-awful or spectacular. This has substance and the five-spice combo delivers beautifully in conjunction with the other ingredients. Nothing is just stuffed in for the sake of hungry eyes. You feel like a balance is being struck of tastes and textures.

The bread roll itself - or a "demi-baguette" to give it its official title - is just right too. Not too dense, there's none of this business of ending up eating a mouthful of doughy bread because the filling was too sparse or didn't reach the ends. The crust is thin and crispy.

A gentle drizzle of chilli sauce provides an undercurrent of heat which doesn't detract or leave you in need of necking a gallon of water to extinguish it.

But, of course, it is the coriander which is so key. It sparks the tastebuds with its fragrant lightness of touch and reminds me of hot days in faraway places.

And, even for £8.50, that seems a good deal on a gloomy January in Margate.

Ratings out of five:

Food: The banh mi was great, the fried tofu in tomato sauce nice enough but generous and beautiful presented ***

Staff: Only one staff member - any more would be a challenge given the space in which it operates - but they were friendly and helpful ****

Drink: You have the option of everything from the neighbouring traders so it ranks high. However, in the face of such choice (beer, wine, soft drinks, cocktails) we didn't have any. Take that common sense! ****

Decor: They really have done a good job at the Old Kent Market. It's warm, friendly and the lanterns and bunting creates an almost festival atmosphere above the communal seating areas *****

Price: If the banh mi was 50p then, frankly, I'd bust the star-rating to applaud it. £8.50 was, in truth, a little steep, but it was tasty and the size of the fried tofu in tomato sauce was great value for money ***