Thai Son

Yesterday for lunch, I had the pleasure of going to a Vietnamese place called Thai Bon.

I say pleasure because I'm not usually wild about Vietnamese; the last time I waxed poetic about Vietnamese was the time I had curry chicken phô at Phô Pasteur in Toronto.

Of all the Asian cuisines, Vietnamese and Korean (especially the latter) have failed to impress me. It's less a function of the relative quality of these cuisines but rather that my palate just isn't wired that way. De gustibus non est disputandum.

But Thai Bon was great! It's a little place in one of those endless nooks and crannies off Number 3 Road in Richmond (and they have a second location at Main & Kingsway in the Kingsgate Mall apparently).

The menu is pretty straightforward and what you'd expect at a Vietnamese place. I had one of the lunch specials, consisting of lemongrass pork chops and "broken rice", which seemed to be steamed rice that was fully cooked and yet still al dente like a good pasta. My lunch companion had the chicken version, and we shared a salad roll which was exceptionally tasty.

I've added it to my list of options for weekday work lunch places along with I Love Sushi (Japanese), the Moutai (Szechuan), Hon's (cheap Chinese), Risty's (classic diner), Curry Express (Indian), and Rooster's Quarters (Montreal style roast chicken and smoked meat sandwiches).

Lunch for two was $20 including a quite generous tip. Recommended.