Much like a grandmother who has prepared a feast for her family, Chef Nguyen Thi Thanh exudes a warm, loving presence as she looks over her bustling dining room. She is a long way from Saigon, where she ran a successful food stall, and with her she has brought her charismatic cooking to East Vancouver. The menu is endlessly enticing and inspires immediate decision paralysis. One could fill up fast on starters like fried black tiger prawns with fish sauce or beef carpaccio buried under a blanket of fresh herbs, pickled onions and lime vinaigrette. Garlic fried noodles are another big hit, but then will you still have room for the wagyu beef noodle soup? At the meal’s end, admirers are quick to approach and thank her like the local celebrity she is.