The Lunch Lady — Restaurant in Vancouver

High expectations that weren't met. We heard such great reviews about this place but we had a terrible experience, from service to food. It just got worse with every passing minute. This was the worst restaurant experience I've had in my life. 50 mins wait at the door when we were told 30 mins. We were sat at the bar (the host did not tell us that our seating would be the bar, instead of a table; it's okay that bar seating was what was available but that should be communicated to customers at the door. We could have left and went to a different restaurant with seating instead of waiting almost an hour for uncomfortable bar stools). So already there was some bumps, but we were still optimistic due to how many good reviews this place has.

When we were sat, the bartenders took 10 mins to take our order (one greeted us and said she would take our order, but then she started billing out a guest and we waited 5 mins. The other bartender did not take our order despite him being free, so we had to wait for her to finish and then we needed to remind her again to order). We ordered the carpaccio to start, and then Beef Wagyu Pho and Beef Luc Lac for our separate entrees. My friend's Beef Luc Lac came out at the same time as the carpaccio. My Beef Wagyu Pho did not come out for another 30 mins, despite the bar seat next to us being served the Beef Wagyu pho right after my friend got served her main dish. I don't think it's that hard to make another bowl of Pho at the same time. I don't understand how that person got their food and then I waited 30 mins for my main dish. We wanted to eat at the same time obviously but my friend had already finished her food by the time my meal came out. Also our carpaccio plate was never cleared off the table despite it being empty and pushed to the edge of the counter. The bartender/server was inattentive despite not having tasks to do (And I've worked FOH/BOH, I know when it's actually busy). But this is just the service.

The food itself: the carpaccio was good. I love the green onions in this one but it was a bit salty. We tried the same dish at Phnom Penh and we found that the beef here was a lot thinner and less in portions, despite both dishes being $24.

Beef Luc Lac - it was okay, for $34 we expected a lot more. I found that the beef was really chewy and not flavourful. However it was edible.

Beef Wagyu Pho - This was not good. The soup was served warm, not even hot enough to cook the Wagyu beef. The bone marrow was undercooked and did not even melt into the broth. Incredibly disappointing. More noodle than beef. The soup broth was fine but nothing spectacular. Not like the 24 hour broth that it touts in the menu. The soup needs to be boiled longer with more bones to intensify the flavour. I've eaten pho in Vietnam and in many world class cities and this was truly an embarrassment. And on top of that, this was a $34 bowl of Pho. I can't believe that a bowl of Pho would not only come out 30 mins late, but also not even be hot enough to melt the bone marrow or cook the beef that came on the side. And I know this was an anomaly since the man sitting next to us had a hot bowl of soup that cooked his meat perfectly.

However at this point, we were exhausted, having wasted so much time here. I ate what I could stomach and then we left. I always tip in a restaurant as a current BOH member but we truly could not tip for this experience.

Honestly, this whole restaurant just gives off gentrified overhyped Vietnamese food. The pho is literally 90% noodle barely any beef and there's nothing extra like Beef tripe and Beef tendon included in the Wagyu pho. The food was mediocre and overpriced. You're only paying for the decor and ambiance, no service. If the food can be so hit or miss between guests, I don't think it deserves a Michielin. I would skip this restaurant. Go to literally any other hole in the wall Vietnamese family restaurant that will serve you a proper ratio of beef to noodles and actually give you a soup boiling hot when...

Lunch in or Lunch out?

I tried out this place when it first opened and I certainly wasn’t too impressed with its PR and food. The food ranging from the bone marrow to fried rice to steak.., etc were as exciting as a group of guys watching My Little Pony on Sunday morning and over hyped by complimentary meal seekers. I gave my feedback during my experience, but words came back week later they weren’t so well accepted behind the scene, regardless certain things were refined and adjusted as addressed, you welcome! Fast forward it couple of years later, I am told that they had gotten better and should give it another try especially with their new dishes. Arrived for a late lunch, had name and number down for the waiting list and was told a short 15mins wait. After about 15mins of waiting, 2 groups of people (a group of 4 and a couple) came and registered on the wait list but were seated after a minute because a number of ppl finished and left. Hmmmm… interesting, here we were standing in the waiting lineup (which is just two of us and no one else was waiting) in the scorching sun and heat and got seated after all the new comers were seated first. So much for the Michelin service, that went out the window. Anyways, here were the food I ordered after being seated;

Vietnamese iced coffee. It was okay, pretty average. Vietnamese egg coffee. Pretty good and tasty. Prawn fritters. It’s okay when wrapped with herbs and lettuce to eat it. Lobster pomelo salad. Absolutely great! A generous amount of juicy lobster meats, the pomelo meat were juicy and sweet, the sauce and ingredients were well put together. Mixing and eating it with the soft deep fried crackers were delicious. If this is a consistent dish then it is a must order. Wagyu pho bo. The broth was pretty tasty, the wagyu beef was tender, and the actual slice of bone marrow added was a nice little touch to it. For $32 might sound a little pricey to some but I would order it again. Steak luc lac on rice. I remember ordering this during my first visit here and it ended in a doggy bag home. This time around, the steak quality was a lot better and nicely grilled to a medium rare, the sauce was light and didn’t over powered the taste of the steak. The only thing was, the raw watercress?!? I know eating raw watercress is good for your health, etc, but I personally find the light bitter taste of the watercress just doesn’t compliment the steak too well. I should’ve bag it home for mom to cook some watercress soup.

Thank goodness I was the first in line when arrived but unfortunately the last to be seated when tables became available. This needed to be a bit more organized to avoid future complaints, it’s not as if we were seated on a chair sipping on a glass of our favourite cold drink while waiting in the scorching sun and heat. And seeing people who were freshly arrived without reservation and seated first is a bit frustrating. Nevertheless, the staffs were friendly and attentive to our needs and empty dishes. The atmosphere was quite casual and could use a bit of AC during the hot weather. As for the food, glad to see and taste a big improvement on them. IMHO, I think their prices are well justified compared to similar fusion restaurants. Overall, besides the little waiting thing, I am quite happy with the experience this time around. About 2 years ago I would have given this place a goose egg rating especially compared to Anh and Chi. Now, I can honestly say this place has risen and Anh and Chi has boiled itself down to nothing more than an overly salty bowl of pho. I hope this place will continue to strive and innovate itself and not be consumed by arrogance and lost its mission statement along the way. A solid 3.5 and will be a lunch in...

Took my dad out for dinner tonight for our second time at Lunch Lady. The first time, we had the set menu for two which was a nice way to try things off the menu. This time, we came knowing what we liked but also wanted to try other things. We didn’t have a reservation as it was difficult to get one so we showed up at 4:45 and were first in line. We were seated at the bar which wasn’t bad but the space is fairly cramped as it is so busy. The breakdown:

Tropic Thunder Cocktail - fruity, strong, can we stop charging more than $10 for cocktails? This was $17…. I don’t understand how it can be $17 and the dessert was only $12. Bizarre market we live in.

BẠCH TUỘC NƯỚNG SATẾ - OCTOPUS SKEWERS We had this the first time we came here and decided we needed to have it again, this time as a double order. Delicious charcoal flavour, tender octopus, addictive sweet green chili sauce. As a Vietnamese man from Da Nang, it’s not my dad’s seal of approval. The satay marinade on the octopus was very spicy to me though.

CUA CHIÊN - SOFT SHELL CRAB Crispy and perfectly fried. The white sauce resembles ranch which felt really heavy for a dish that was fried. Would be better if it had a lighter fish sauce or vinaigrette like the other dishes so it would have more tanginess to cut the heaviness of the dish. I was impressed at how crispy the crab was as other places usually have a soggy soft shell crab.

MÌ XÀO BÒ - STIR FRIED INSTANT NOODLES Crispy noodles, tender beef, sauce was a bit salty.

SƯỜN NƯỚNG - PORK TOMAHAWK So good. The most tender and juicy piece of pork I’ve ever eaten. Perfectly marinated and grilled with charcoal, paired with a herb vinaigrette which paired so well with the richness of the pork. The shishito peppers were a bit weird though, I felt like it didn’t pair well in this dish.

CHÈ BA MÀU - THREE LAYER DESSERT What can I say? This is the best dessert in Vancouver in my opinion. It touches on so many of my senses and the flavours all complement one another perfectly. The coconut condensed milk gelato is so rich, on top of the strawberry redbean purée which helps cut the rich flavours of the dish with its tartness, all on top of two fried pandan sticky rice sticks. I loved eating pandan sticky rice as a kid but never thought it would be even better fried. This dish is refreshing, tart, rich, crispy, crunchy, and soft all in one. It’s simply the perfect dessert, whoever created this dish deserves the Nobel tbh.

Bill came out to be...