“Lunch Lady”, a sidewalk restaurant in Saigon, is a must-come destination for tourists visiting the city. The popularity of this humble joint is undeniable that visiting Saigon without stopping by this place is like you have never been to Saigon at all. Aside from serving delightful meals, the cheerfulness and humor of its 47-year-old owner Nguyen Thi Thanh is another reason why tourists are eager to dine here, despite the fierce heat of Saigon.

For nearly 20 years, Mrs. Thanh  ran this small restaurant for a living, yet never did she imagine the kind of publicity, and popularity, she has now. It all started when a writer of the AsiaLife magazine once stopped by her place to dine, had some friendly conversation with the owner, and took photos of her and the restaurant. He then published an article introducing the restaurant of "madam" Thanh in Saigon.

A popular American chef, author, and television personality, Anthony Michael Tony Bourdain came across the article which prompted him to take his crew to Saigon to shoot a film about this sidewalk restaurant. He named the restaurant as “Lunch Lady.”It was after that where many newspapers around the world such as New York Times, The Sydney Morning Herald, Asialife began writing about Mrs. Thanh’s sidewalk restaurant as well. Such publicity made her place famous among foreign visitors.The Lunch Lady HerselfMrs. Thanh is from the central province of Binh Tri Thien but grew up in Saigon. The youngest child from a large family of seven brothers and sisters, she and her sisters were taught how to cook as they were growing up.

At 20, she went to Germany to work. It was there where her cooking talent was discovered by her colleagues. She was then invited to cook for all parties of the Vietnamese community in Germany.Despite that, opening a restaurant never really crossed her mind. She got married in Germany and after her contact expired, returned to Vietnam with her husband. It was after giving birth to their first daughter when she decided to do small business to earn extra money. She started off by selling bread to locals. After that, she decided to open a sidewalk restaurant, offering various dishes like beef, fish and Thai vermicelli, beef and duck noodle, among many others. This is the same restaurant she is running now.

Authentic Vietnamese Flavor, Hospitality and CharmAfter nearly 20 years of operation, Lunch Lady is still small and a true sidewalk restaurant. The restaurant may have a western name, but the dishes it serves and how they are served are purely Vietnamese.The restaurant opens everyday at 11am and closes at 1pm catering purely lunch. But in those two hours, Mrs. Thanh offers genuine Vietnamese flavors and hospitality to its customers. After selling her food, she would have conversation with the diners, asking about their dining experience, and even welcome suggestions, all with a smile. Her constant interaction with foreigners improved her English remarkably over time. She also has a customer’s opinion book, which has comments in different languages. At the end of the day, she opens it to read the comments or asks her daughter to translate some of the comments for her.

Though her dishes may not be extraordinary, the hospitality and cheerfulness of Mrs. Than coupled with the comfort of the meals she serve makes the dining experience truly a delight. Because here place is always packed, there are days where she sells everything out within only an hour. Foreign diners, after finishing their lunch, makes sure they take a photo with the famous Lunch Lady to prove that they were in Saigon and have been to the famous sidewalk restaurant.Lunch Lady is located on the sidewalk of the Nguyen Dinh Chieu apartment block on Hoang Sa Street, Da Kao Ward, District 1, HCM City.