Nguyen Thi Thanh was a legendary street food figure in Saigon. Since 1995, she ran a humble sidewalk stall in bustling District 1, serving her daily rotating noodle soups to tourists and locals alike. Working rigorously, perhaps dreaming dreams of one day. And then…Anthony Bourdain sat in her stall and ordered the daily soup. He anointed her The Lunch Lady. Her soups were, "like discovering new neighborhoods every few mouthfuls," he enthused on his iconic show No Reservations. And just like that, a Star was born.
A few years later, Nguyin Thi Thanh had another interesting visitor: Michael Tran, a Vietnamese-Canadian entrepreneur from Vancouver. Her delicious rotating soups resonated with him to the point that in 2018 Tran was afforded the opportunity to bring the restaurant to Vancouver. Along with his mother, Victoria Tran, a seasoned restaurateur, they opened in 2020 and refined The Lunch Lady to such cutting-edge excellence that at this writing they have been recognized by Michelin Bib Gourmand for two consecutive years.
Not inclined to rest on their laurels, the Tran family secured a large, excellent space in Toronto that had previously been Boehmer, a top Toronto restaurant. There, at 93 Ossington, they transformed the space into The Lunch Lady.
Natural light shines through the dining room and along with the interior lighting, creates a romantic ambience, one reminiscent of a street side restaurant in Ho Chi Min City. An immediate feeling of authenticity embraces us as the colour scheme, youthful energy and aromatics transport us to another place and time. The stage is set.
Soft shell crab is a something to behold. The entire crab is edible and fried to addictive crunchiness in a jasmine rice lager. We wrap each piece in lettuce with a potpourri of herbs and drizzle of green chili aioli. The light salt and crunch of the crab combined with the cool crisp lettuce, a citric squeeze of lime and creamy heat of the aioli is a lush confluence of textures.
Skewers of baby octopus are grilled. Meaty, tender and charred, they’re accompanied by a piquant lemongrass chili satay that lavishes the charcoal essence with palate-popping sweet heat.
One might not initially think of ordering a ribeye at Vietnamese restaurant, but this is special. Sous vide for twenty-four hours, it is then scored and pan-fried for some Maillard effect and added depth of texture. Luxuriating in a peppercorn sauce, it is disarmingly tender and juicy. For a fresh take on steak and frites, a steaming handful of casava wedges are crisped and tossed in burnt scallion butter.
While not a traditional Vietnamese dish, the garlic-fried noodles represent tradition in evolution. The largest Vietnamese population outside Vietnam resides in California where a younger generation has relished this popular innovation. Tossed in XO garlic butter and sprinkled with a heap of Parmigiano cheese, we slice a slow-poached egg resting atop the noodles to emulsify the yolk, add a splash of lime and mix it all together for a zesty noodle dish that beckons for a pairing with a cool beer.
The main event for us is the Pho. That is the mark of a good Vietnamese chef. The quintessence of Vietnamese flavours is found in a bowl of Pho. However, there is a misconception with this soup. It’s not about the flavour of the broth as much as it is about the clarity. This requires virtuosity in the kitchen, and with it comes a pride in product. So much so that upon ordering the beef Pho, we are told the chef was not happy with the broth and so he took it off the menu for the evening. Clearly, this is a kitchen that cares about authenticity, and we are their happy beneficiaries.
Instead, we order the Vegan Pho, and oh my goodness is this ever nourishing. This is the kind of bowl you want to just pick up with both hands and slurp. Chock full of king oyster mushrooms, fried tofu, bean curd, gai lan, carrots and rice noodles the aromas alone are seductive. This is quite possibly the very best Pho in Toronto—wonderful to savour on a cool night, but equally flavourful and satisfying on a warm summer's evening.
Our dessert is a pandan sticky rice cake that we’re told is like pandan mochi dressed like French toast. The floral sweetness of pandan accents the mung bean streusel, encircled by a rich strawberry red bean puree and topped with a creamy coconut condensed-milk gelato.
If you’ve never tasted Vietnamese coffee. Run, don’t walk, to try this selection. There is Hanoi drip coffee for the purest, or we can enliven it with pandan coconut cream or even peanut butter foam! Coffee never had it so good.
These dishes are beyond imagination and we order far too much, silently making the excuse that we can always take the rest home.
The Lunch Lady - 647-748-9550 - 93 Ossington Ave