The Lunch Lady (Nguyen Thi Thanh) — Restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City

Lunch Lady?.. more like SCAM Lady! Let's start off by saying, going to this place was completely our fault - we should have read the many warning reviews on Google and TripAdvisor (thank you for those who posted, apologies for not reading ahead of time). Like many others, our judgement was clouded by excitement when we saw the Lunch Lady (cough Scam Lady) featured on Anthony Bourdain's show - filled with so much excitement, this was actually our first meal in Saigon! We were not only excited to taste her food, but to also support her business... We love supporting small / local businesses. However, we quickly discovered after our meal, it was a complete scam. She's using her fame to take advantage of the tourist who travel from far and wide to support her business (who does that? So much for being thankful - this is why we are sharing our story. Nothing grinds my gears more than people taking advantage of others). I'll get right to the point as you have probably read other posts if you are reading this.. everything is true. Plates of food are placed in front of you without ordering, to make it look like it's part of a lunch package. Once all and done, they will arbitrarily come up with a price when it's time to settle up, ours was 200K Dong. Random pricing aside, you don't even get the same food as the locals...If you don't believe anyone here, just quickly look around at the locals before sitting down (but why even waste your time to go down there...). In conclusion, please do not support this kind of behaviour. Your money is better severed supporting others who do not use their good fortunes to take advantage of others. Plus, you will have a much better trip as you will not feel deceived or taken advantage of....

Delicious! Here are the tips: Every day there is a different soup. So there may be a flavor you don’t like. Check the days and come when it is something you like. We came in on a Wednesday and had Vietnamese chicken noodle and OMGosh it was fantastic!!

Tip number 2: Yes, they charge if you eat the things they bring to your table; egg rolls and other things. If you eat them - of course they add it to the bill. Our bowls of soup were plentiful so when they brought the extras to the table we just said no thank you.

Tip 3: As in most Vietnamese food - it is YOU that have to add the spices, mints, garlics, etc.. to the bowl or plate.. so how delicious yours is depends on whether or not you used any condiments. John likes less spicy so I think his is boring. I like a lot of spice so he thinks mine is too spicy. Tip is - rate your food based on what YOU like and put in it.

Tip 4: Go early. She does get full fast after 12. Also, when her broth gigantic pot goes dry lunch is over.

We had the best time here. We had great food. Our total bill was 170VND which included 2 Saigon beers and 2 bowls of soup. That is a great value!

We ate every bite and left so full we did not eat again until late in the evening.

Anthony Bourdaine - so easy to see why this was one of your favorite restaurants in Saigon!

A very short walk to the end of the street takes you to a Pho shop that is Michelin star rated - in all honesty, The lunch lady was better!!

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Overrated and disgusting

I don’t know how great she might have been when Bourdain visited the Lunch Lady but when my friends and I went on the recommendation of several travel blogs... May I just say it was an awful experience!

Specifically:

1. Everyone working there was rude and obnoxious. After we spent $500K VN on lunch with the Lunch Lady, I asked if she knew where the sweet tofu cart is (blog said it was right next to Lunch Lady). Once she heard I was asking about another vendor, she completely ignored me and walked away.

2. The food: Soup was good BUT the plate of green vegetable to be added to the soup was soggy and smelled rotten. It was disgusting. And I noticed another customer had a plate of the same greens but it looked nice and crisp and fresh... probably not a coincidence that he was a local. Lunch Lady seems to think she can cut corners with tourists.

3. When Lunch Lady came to accept my payment ($25 for 5 people, whereas other street food vendors charge no more than $15 for same amount of food) and clear off the table, there was one untouched piece of fried shrimp on the plate. I saw her flick a piece of that rotten vegetable out of the shrimp plate, as if she plans to re-serve the untouched shrimp to another customer. That was the final straw. My friends and I walked away unhappy and sick to our stomachs thinking we might have eaten food that was on someone else’s...