I had dinner here with my husband and father-in-law. Overall, we really enjoyed it.
Chez Lam just opened up 6 weeks ago. They are where Fortune Express used to be. At the time of the writing of this review, they don't have a website nor an online menu, so I didn't really know what to expect going in, but I'm happy we took the chance.
I was getting over an epic sinus infection, so I didn't want to eat communally, so I got my own dish, but my husband and father-in-law shared their dishes. I got B13 "Bun Chez Lam's Signature." ($14.95) It's vermicelli noodles with grilled pork, beef, chicken and a spring roll. My husband and father-in-law shared the BX10 Sauteed beef with vegetables, comes with white rice ($13.95) and the MX5 Crispy egg noodles with shrimp, chicken and vegetables ($15.50).
My vermicelli bowl was HUGE! It had vermicelli, shredded lettuce, julienned pickled carrots, julienned pickled daikon radish, matchsticked cucumbers, beansprouts (which I picked out, I forgot to tell them to omit these), a spring roll, and so much meat (beef, chicken and pork)! It was topped with crushed peanuts and green onions. OMG, they were so generous with the meat. I love protein, so I was loving it. The meats were really flavourful and tasty (I loved the marinade that they used). My only complaint is that some pieces were not as lean as I would have liked. There were some pieces that were fatty and gristly, but most pieces were good. The spring roll was small, but it was full of ground meat, carrots and vermicelli, and it was crispy (and not too oily). Vegetables were fresh, and the vermicelli was perfect (not too mushy, not too dry). They brought me a small bowl of fish sauce, but when I told them they could bring it back to the kitchen as I don't eat fish sauce, they brought me a slightly sweet soy-based sauce which was delicious. I usually just eat my vermicelli dry, but this sauce was excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed my meal. Now I have a very large appetite but I had to tap out about 3/4 of the way through and bring home the leftovers. This has never happened to me at any restaurant when I order a vermicelli dish! So awesome! I would definitely order this again.
I didn't have any of the beef or noodle dishes, but both my husband and father-in-law said that they enjoyed it.
This place has a liquor license.
Staff were very nice. They were soft-spoken and so polite. The place is large and clean looking. I love the clouds and birds painted on the ceiling. Makes it feel like you are dining al fresco (without having to deal with UV radiation, precipitation, pollution, etc.).
You get a 10% discount if you pay cash.
The restaurant is in a strip mall on Hazeldean at Castlefrank (next to Popeye's the supplement store; same strip mall as Dollarama and Rockin' Johnny's). There's lots of free parking.
It wasn't too busy when we were there on a Saturday evening. Kanata needs more varied dining options, so I hope that they do well. I love supporting small local businesses like this one. I think they need to set up a website. They have a Facebook page, but there's not much on it. Their specialty is Vietnamese food, but they do have a few Thai dishes. They also have several vegetarian dishes.
If you like Vietnamese food and you happen to be in Kanata, you should check out Chez Lam :) read more