Staff Meal 77

Today’s staff meal is a special edition.

We usually eat our staff meals at Yahata Sushi, but today we treated our hardworking young staff members to Vietnamese food.

And rather than eating at our own restaurant, we went out for a change—to the Vietnamese restaurant Lotus Palace at Tobu Department Store Ikebukuro.

It is a quite authentic Vietnamese restaurant, and whenever the fifth-generation owner starts missing Vietnam, he inevitably finds himself heading here.

I have visited before with my friends Thu and her husband, and it is so delicious that even they—who are very particular about food—give it their highest recommendation.

In the evening, they serve à la carte dishes, but at lunchtime they offer set meals, which is nice.

That day, we ordered the Vietnamese Basket Set, served in a basket.

With its colorful dishes, pho, and even dessert, this set lets you fully enjoy a taste of Vietnam.

It also includes the fifth-generation owner’s favorite: stir-fried vegetables.

The only slight drawback is that the rice is multigrain rice.

I do like multigrain rice, but when it comes to stir-fried vegetables, the ultimate pairing is Vietnamese jasmine rice—at least in my very subjective opinion.

The pho, too, had a gentle flavor, with a rich chicken broth.

Vietnamese food is generally not spicy, and the dishes are centered on vegetables, so it is wonderful to be able to enjoy it without any guilt!

The complimentary lotus tea was also refreshing and easy to drink.

For dessert, we had a sweet called chè.

The young staff members also fondly remembered Vietnam as they enjoyed their meal.

Thank you for the meal.

Cảm ơn!