Bún Riêu Phương Nam — Restaurant in Burnaby

I love Vietnamese Cuisine, so I was really looking forward to trying @bun_rieu_phuong_nam in Burnaby.

When we entered we were directed to a table. This table is against the wall they share with the nail salon. You could smell a strong chemical odour that you find when walking into one of those nail salons, so right away that was off putting, but we managed.

We ordered a small 8, 9, & 11. My partner asked for extra meat in his & asked what the surcharge would be. The server replied nothing. Wow, first time I've seen extra meat being complementary, we thought how wonderful. We also opted to make our meals combos. We added an order of salad rolls & spring rolls. I asked if I could also add #42 Rainbow dessert as part of my combo, but I was informed no, it was either the rolls or the drink not both. Okay no worries, I wanted to try the Rainbow drink so we ordered it anyway.

Our food arrived & at first glance it looked like we received pretty good portions. However, once we dug in we noticed our pho was severely lacking in protein & was really heavy on the rice noodles, even the one with extra meat. We also felt that while the broth was tasty, we have definitely had better pho elsewhere. The salad rolls & spring rolls were good & the sauces that accompanied them were delicious. We also really enjoyed the rainbow dessert.

We also ordered the Lemongrass chicken w/Rice to go & our son said it was delicious.

Regarding Covid, tables are well spaced & everyone is wearing a mask & they ask those who are waiting for a table to wait outside. That being said & this may sound nit picky, but I noticed between guests they only wipe the table down. Since they have self-serve condiments, salt & pepper, etc at each table you think they would wipe those as well as the chairs down but nope. So if you use the sauces, do yourself a favour & hand sanitize after. We saw a customer grab a bottle put it down lick his hand (no joke) & then grab the bottle again.

I'm willing to give this place another try if I happen to be in the neighbourhood, but I wouldn't go out of my way. I'll think I'll stick to my goto...

---edit Jul 2025--- I like to come here for bun rieu instead od hoang yen. It is a smaller bowl and less crabby but hoang yen is so salty now. It's also nice that I can get a smaller bowl for cheaper instead of an expensive larger bowl where I am forced to take home and it does not taste good the next day.

Chicken wings came out piping hot but the meat was a bit tough. Their lemon sauce is nice and lemony now - I even drank the last drops. I like their butter garlic green onion sprinkles they put on top and wish they put more.

Spring roll also came out nice and hot. Kind of small. They should really fix their menu saying the combo comes with 2 summer rolls when actually it comes with 2 half rolls.

---May 2024--- Bun rieu - taste is good. Almost on par with hoang yen before hoang yen decided to make their soups saltier now. Not a lot of toppings in it though and bowls are definitely smaller compared to them.

Chicken wings - these wings are super plump! They came out piping hot. The lemon pepper juice was not very lemony - maybe not freshly made.

Prices are cheaper than hoang yen but it reflects the size of the bowls. So not a bad...

When they have the name of their specialty dish as their restaurant name, you know they're the real deal.

I ordered the Bun Rieu, Cha Ca (fried fish cake), and an order of spring rolls.

The bun rieu came out looking beautiful. It really reminded myself of my mom's cooking. The broth was rich and flavorful and they give plenty of toppings. The noodles were amazing too. Veggies were very fresh. There was absolutely nothing bad I can say about this bowl, or even anything else. The fish cakes were nice and chewy. The fried rolls were SO crunchy, and piping hot. It went really well with their fish sauce, which is probably the best I had so far.

I came in at 3pm with an almost full house, but they were able to seat me with a single seat that was available. The food all came out in just over 5 minutes.

The ladies were very polite and kind. The restaurant was very clean.

Overall, this is THE place to try bun rieu. Bun Rieu is my favorite homemade dish to make, and this restaurant does not disappoint. There is a reason they are so busy. I'll definitely be...