Not A Lunch Lady To Be Afraid Of

March 29, 2022

This week, I visited a restaurant in Vancouver called "Lunch Lady". They serve Vietnamese cuisine with a modern twist - "World Famous Vietnamese Street Food". If you have been in a typical Vietnamese restaurant, you would hear cultural music, holsters with plentiful utensils such as chopsticks, spoons, and a sauce plate along with an array of sauces from which you may choose according to your preferences. Lunch Lady provides the same authentic Vietnamese cuisine you crave, but the atmosphere is much more modernized.

This week's guest star is Ly Vu! She is also a BCIT marketing student like myself. She is also Vietnamese, what a coincidence! I knew immediately she would be the perfect guest to come along this journey with me. She moved here in 2016 and lived the majority of her life back in her home country of Vietnam. She has had the most authentic and traditional Vietnamese cuisine and knows exactly what a proper bowl of Pho should look and tastes like. It was amazing to have her come along with me and I can't wait to share more about our experience with you below!

Socials:

You can find Lunch Lady on Commercial Drive in Vancouver -1046 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC V5L 3W9. To begin our journey, we must always begin with the parking. If you have never been to commercial drive, it is an extremely busy street. Block after block, you will see restaurants, stores, and shops lined up beside one another. Especially during the lunch rush, the entire area along with the street gets bustling. Lunch Lady does not provide designated parking for customers. Unfortunately, you will have to find street parking or find parking in residential areas which are thin roads and are two-way lanes that have room for one car to pass by at a time. For someone who isn't the biggest fan of parallel parking, this was a complete NIGHTMARE. Overall it was extremely difficult to find parking in the afternoon, and it took me around 15 minutes to circle the block until I finally found a spot that was one block away.

COVID-19 Precautions: As a customer, I felt extremely safe visiting their establishment. They had all the necessary precautions, checking for vaccine passports and ID right as you enter through the door. Their menus are distributed through QR codes to minimize physically sharing menus to decrease the chance of spreading germs during the pandemic. Another extra unique precaution that Lunch Lady takes is, that they have transparent plastic walls that separate you from other parties nearby. Some of their tables which would normally seat four customers, are split into tables that seat parties of two and have a plastic wall separating in between. If you are concerned and are still uncomfortable with dining in public due to COVID-19 reasons, I highly recommend you to begin here as they take safety extremely seriously and are a good way for you to introduce yourself back to the norm of public dining indoors.

The first thing that hits you when you walk into the restaurant is the exquisite aroma of Vietnamese cuisine. The restaurant's dining area is quite small. When you enter through the door, you can see the entire seating area in your peripheral. The front-of-the-house staff immediately approach you about seating. There is the option of booking reservations over the phone and online through their website to reduce wait times, however, I walked in and was able to get a table for two in a matter of eight minutes.

Their menu includes a wide variety of drinks from nonalcoholics, such as traditional Vietnamese coffee, to alcoholic drinks such as cocktails, wines, and beer served throughout the day. They have a Lunch menu served from 11 AM - 3 PM and a dinner menu available only after 5 PM until closing. Another unique component of their menu is that they offer different specials, depending on the day of the week. These specials cost $18 and are offered every day of the week excluding Mondays. Click on the image below to view the full menu on their website!

My Order:

PHỞ BÒ - BEEF NOODLE SOUP (GF) $16 (Large)

brisket, AAA Canadian rare beef, short plate, rice noodles, 24-hour beef broth

Ly's Order: PHỞ GÀ (GF) $18 (Large)

free-range chicken, rice noodles, light chicken broth

MANGO MAI TAI (2oz) $15 Crafted with Appleton 8 yr rum, Cointreau, orgeat, lime, and mango juice, this fresh, balanced, and rum-forward twist on the classic tiki cocktail is perfect for the summer season. Appleton 8yr Rum, Cointreau, Lime, Orgeat, Mango juice

Ly's final scores and thoughts:

Chicken PHO: 9/10

Mango Mai Tai: 5/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 10/10

Ryan's final scores and thoughts:

Beef PHO: 9/10

Service: 9/10

Environment: 10/10

Like traditional Vietnamese restaurants, you are served your meal with a plate of fresh beansprouts. The beansprouts are added into noodle soup to give an added texture of chew to the...

Overall the experience at Lunch Lady was incredible. The food tasted amazing, honestly one of the best bowls of Pho that I have ever had. The soup tastes authentic and you can taste the effort and time put into creating the deep beefy both, it is smooth, delicious, and packed with flavour. With a fresh batch of noodles swimming in the broth, a spoonful of a unified bite of noodles and soup at the Lunch Lady will make your week! Although a bit pricey, the experience is 100% worth the price and I highly recommend you bring a friend! Share your experience with me in the forums!

Lunch Lady Official Website: https://thelunchlady.com/

Lunch Lady Phone Number: (604) 559-5938

Address:1046 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC V5L 3W9

---

Ryan Ng BCIT Bachelor of Business Administration |