I didn't realise Houston had such a large Asian population and we were staying in the west area which was conveniently where all these places were. The main reason was to try Vietnamese crawfish, but it was fortunate that it gave us the time and opportunity to look around the area. I searched for an Asian supermarket and came up with Hong Kong City Mall (and their Food Market). What I didn't expect was an enormous Asian grocer full of Vietnamese foods ready to eat including grilled meats and several varieties of che including some I hadn't seen before. Incredible.
The inside shops also were full of Vietnamese restaurants with the older (and younger accompanying) generations sitting around having a chat and a drink. Just like being transported to Asia (or the similar places in Melbourne).
A random banh mi place was USD3.5. The ladies spoke Vietnamese and we had our cold cuts and bbq pork. Overall much better (especially the bread) than the last offering in New Orleans's best (https://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/dong-phuong-restaurant-and-bakery-new-orleans-07-2021).