Rainier Valley serves a royally good banh mi

I've been on a quest to find the best banh mi in Seattle since I moved here nearly a decade ago. If you don't know what that is, banh mi (pronounced "bahn mee") is a Vietnamese-French baguette filled with the signature fresh cilantro, pickled julienned carrots and daikon, sliced cucumber and jalapeņo peppers, and a mayonnaiselike sauce made of egg yolks and oil. Often, pate is spread in it.

The best part about banh mi: It's the ultimate cheap eat. You can usually find these sandwiches for less than $2.50. (My mom won't pay more than that.)

In San Jose, where I grew up, stiff competition weeds out mediocre joints and you're destined to find decent banh mi wherever you go. It's hit or miss in Seattle.

I have my standby favorites (namely Seattle Deli at 225 12th Ave. S.) and my friends have theirs (Saigon Deli, 1237 S. Jackson St. or Saigon Vietnam Deli, 1200 S. Jackson St.). I'm always willing to test out new ones, so I jumped at the chance to try one in Rainier Valley.

King Baguette isn't like other shops. For one thing, it's spacious, anchoring a large corner space in a strip mall, and it's got plenty of parking. You don't have to elbow crowds, and the interior is remarkably immaculate, the tile floors scrubbed to a military shine. The shop opened several months ago and does a side business making wedding and birthday cakes.

Unlike other places, King Baguette also makes its French baguettes on site and fresh daily. And they do it well. The airy, flaky rolls are unusually large, measuring 10 to 11 inches.

The deli offers a variety of sandwich fillings, including barbecue beef, barbecue pork, pate and, oddly, tuna and egg salad. The prices are a bit higher than elsewhere ($2.35 to $4) but still a bargain when you consider what you get.

The barbecue beef sandwich ($2.60) had the most flavor, infused with a sweet, sesame-soy marinade. Usually you get shredded boiled chicken or grilled chicken at other shops, but King Baguette does a delicious twist on it: crisp, fried chicken chunks with chopped peanuts ($2.60).

The crisp tofu sandwich was well-seasoned, though a touch on the sweet side ($2.60). You can add a cream puff and coffee for $1.75, or a cream puff and soda for $1.25.

On one occasion, the carrots and daikon weren't as crunchy as I would have liked. But all in all, the sandwiches were good. It won't end my quest for the best, but it's worth making return trips.

While the staff makes your sandwiches, browse the long counter filled with homemade sweets -- coconut macaroons, cream puffs, almond cookies and sweet rolls. Or explore what's in the refrigerator: flan, fresh coconut drinks, Vietnamese dessert drinks and banh bao (like a Chinese hum bow), steamed buns filled with ground pork, egg, onions and vegetables.