No, it’s not in Vietnam.
The Lunch Lady quickly became one of Vancouver’s most popular restaurants after it opened in 2020.
Focusing on Vietnamese street eats, the restaurant was famously inspired by Chef Nguyen Thi Thanh’s own place in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Michael Tran and Benedict Lim brought the concept to Commercial Drive (with advice from Nguyen, herself) and have had a successful run over the past six years, opening a second location in Toronto and making the local Michelin Bib Gourmand list.
Now The Lunch Lady is headed to Asia, with plans for a location in Manila, Philippines. It’ll be located in Forbes Town City inside the Bonifacio Global City region in the megacity’s metro area (which has about 14 million people).
The new location has started seeking staff in the island nation’s capital. Plans for the new restaurant have been underway for a while, and it’s expected to open this fall.
“From Saigon to Vancouver, Toronto, and now Manila, The Lunch Lady has redefined Vietnamese cuisine on the global stage,” reads the job listing post on Instagram. “We are now assembling our founding Front-of-House team for our new location in BGC.”
The new restaurant is currently seeking bartenders, servers, hosts, busters [sic], food runners and cooks. Applicants are asked to send resumes to [email protected].