I think it is probably true for the most part around the world: The food that certain areas attempt to replicate that are originally from another part of the world is going to end up being a little less than fantastic at the far away location. This is certainly true of Da Nang or at least the part of Da Nang that I live in.
The thing about this dish is that it is actually one of the better ones even though it is kind of just the "best of the worst" when I refer to it in a positive sense. It is a chicken pesto panini and the taste of it was just kind of "meh."
It wasn't terrible but it also wasn't something I am going to be in a hurry to ever order again. I was full at the end of it but every bite was basically just a process of getting food in my belly because the alternative would be to remain hungry.
This is kind of a big problem in Da Nang as well as almost all other areas of Vietnam that I am aware of: The foreign food just isn't very good. I don't know why this is but it extends well beyond places that just serve sandwiches, it applies to virtually all pizza, burgers and salads as well. I don't know what it is about the staples of the west that the shops in Vietnam just can't seem to nail down but it does seem to be the case in a pretty widespread manner.
In the My An area that I live there are probably a hundred restaurants and unfortunately, most of them have more or less the same offerings on their menus and none of it is very good. There are a few exceptions and these places end up doing quite well for themselves but for the most part the dining experience around here on foreign dishes is going to be a bit of an exercise in being nonplussed.
I'm thinking that I will make it an objective of mine to find the outliers and reveal them so that people traveling here will understand the difference between something average and something that is exceptional all the while keeping in mind that this is going to be based on the region since almost all of it other than Vietnamese food is a poor facsimile of what the food would be like in the country of origin.
It might go without saying but generally I feel as though people should step outside of their comfort zone and order local dishes even if you aren't exactly sure what they are. At the end of it all even if you don't like the dish, it is only going to cost you a couple of dollars whereas this sandwich that I had, which wasn't even special and I just scarfed it down for the sake of having a meal, was about the same price as it would cost in the west.
I have intentionally not included the name of the establishment in question because they are nice people... they just have rather rubbish food and this is so common in this area that it isn't worth the trouble to shame them