When two of Vancouver's most beloved Vietnamese restaurants join forces, expect the unexpected. DD Mau's Feast & Friends series returned for its third volume, pairing chef Tyler Hoang with chef Benedict Lim of Michelin Bib Gourmand-awarded The Lunch Lady for a one-night collaboration that pushed Vietnamese cuisine into delightfully uncharted territory.
The premise was simple and a little chaotic in the best way: two Vietnamese kitchens, one dining room, and zero interest in playing it safe. The result was a multi-course menu that took comfort food on detours nobody saw coming.
"When two Vietnamese restaurants join forces, we want to create something that's so unexpected, something that takes our creativity to the next level," shares Kim Tran of DD Mau Chinatown. "We couldn't think of any better collaborator than Chef Ben and his team at Lunch Lady."
The menu leaned playful without losing the essence of Vietnamese dining. Guests experienced oysters two ways with fish sauce-cured salmon roe and chả giò, spot prawn carpaccio, and a bánh xèo tostada that reimagined the classic crispy pancake. Mains kept the remix energy going with a bún bò Huế lasagna—yes, lasagna—layered with Laughing Cow cheese béchamel, and a Vietnamese chicken curry served pot pie-style.
Dessert closed things out with Vietnamese coffee sticky toffee pudding and chilled silken tofu, bridging tradition and innovation with every bite.
Behind the bar, Wayne Chou and his team from newly opened Nomo Nomo mixed Japanese izakaya-inspired cocktails designed to keep pace with the bold flavors—drinks that were bright, crushable, and dangerously easy to order twice.
The Feast & Friends series exemplifies Chinatown's continuing evolution as Vancouver's most exciting culinary neighborhood. What began as a pandemic-era collaboration has grown into one of the city's most anticipated dining events, proving that creativity flourishes when talented chefs choose partnership over competition.
For those who missed this volume, DD Mau's collaboration dinners have become hot tickets worth watching for.