Hanoi (VNA) –An animated image of Vietnam’s “banhmi” (bread) was featured on Google’s homepage onMarch 24.

Google’s move has contributed to promoting Vietnam'sspecial snack to the world.

The name banh mi /ˈbɑːn miː/ is one of three Vietnamesewords in the Oxford English dictionary, together with pho /fə ː/ and ao dai/ˈaʊ ˌdʌɪ/, proving its fame and popularity.

The first baguette in Vietnamdates back 130 years to the time when Francecolonised the country between the 1880s and 1954. The French usually cut itinto small sections to serve with soup, curry or butter.

In 1970, wood-fired ovens were converted intolarger brick kilns to bake in bulk, which gave the bread its Vietnameseidentity.

From then on Vietnamese chefs began makingvariations. Instead of putting butter or jam on bread, they layered it withbacon, making it delicious and more convenient.

Banh mi has been developed across Vietnam. Theflavours of the modern banh mi vary by region in Vietnam. In Hanoiin the north, the fillings are more simple than the “original” found in Ho Chi Minh City in thesouth, and include high-quality cold cuts. In the central coastal city of Hoi An, the meat used isserved warm.

Vietnamese banh mi is present in countries where Vietnamesepeople live because it is easy to make and source ingredients.

It was ranked second in a storyrun by the Guardian about the World's Best Street Foods.

David Farley,a BBC writer specializing in travel and cuisine, praised banh mi as"the best sandwich in the world".

Meanwhile, late chef Anthony Bourdain, one of themost influential culinary experts in the world, complimented banh mi in his “NoReservation” programme on CNN. /.