Lim Kee

I ordered the Vietnamese Phở and it was so bland and not that great. My mom makes better Vietnamese phở than this place! Would not recommend this place!

This café has its following within the neighbourhood.
I, however, am not one of them.

Tiny hole in the wall on Victoria where the street curves into Argyle. Lots of car traffic, but most people probably drive right by.
Parking is available directly in front on Victoria, as well as the side streets.
The place is quite plain, with 1980s style booths and tables. Looks like it hasn’t been renovated in 30 years, other than the fresh coat of paint.
Place looks like it’s run by a husband and wife team. Friendly service.
Sadly, the food here simply isn’t very good. Tried both the spring rolls and the phở were quite bland. It was missing that special something. I really couldn’t put my finger on it. I was hoping the spring roll would redeem the place, but sadly, it was not to be. The skin was nice and crispy, but the inside was also pretty bland.
Sadly, I cannot really recommend the place. It’ll fill you up, but you may not leave happy. Hopefully some of the other items are better.

I’ve been going to this restaurant since I was in highschool and it’s still on my regular rotation.
MUST TRIES:
French subs: the bread is softer than most subs and the filling is plentiful! Ask for fish sauce to dip it into… soo good!
Chicken with fried rice: really big portions and such a good deal!
I’m sure their other items are good as well but its just hard to steer away from what i like :)
Service is friendly and fast.
The décor is dated but if keeping the décor the same means keeping the prices the same then thats ok!

My regular neighborhood spot!
Love the French Subs. (Very similar to The viet sub). I always do a pick up. The portion is huge and it only costs 3.75.
Secondary item I get is chicken with fried rice. I enjoy the tasty crunch of the chicken. They don’t skimp out on the chicken either. Also, I always ask for extra sauce. It all goes together well.
On a cold day I get phở. They provide a good portion of meat.
I took off one star because they could use an upgrade, but it definitely doesn’t stop me from going to my favourite hidden gem.
By the way, they’re cash only.

Hole in the wall. Popular with school kids. this place is not the authentic Phở, it’s Chinese Phở. They render their soup base from loads of beef bones boiled for hours (I overheard them ordering the bones before) They shave their beef when you order from sirloin steak. You can ask for the rare beef on the side.
There is a mini set that’s good value including a pop and a mini phở for less than $ 6
Also good is there deep fried chicken wings and mini drumsticks.

Lim Kee is my neighbourhood hole-​in-​the-​wall phở place! We visit when we crave affordable phở and don’t want to go too far. The service is usually okay. Haven’t received bad service.
My go-​to order is always beef balls and sliced beef. I love ordering the beef on the side so I can soak it in the soup myself. Is the phở authentic? Probably not, but I still love it! It’s kind of like Chinese phở (hard to explain).
Other items I like include the spring rolls, Cream Soda floats, and banh mi sandwiches (soft bun, not toasted like Au Petit).
With regards to the ambience, there isn’t much of any. However, they recently just reupholstered their benches so no more torn/​taped up seats!
Like Louise says below, it’s a cash only joint.

This is a wonderful neighborhood Mom and Pop place with a good assortment of fresh Vietnamese and Chinese dishes. It’s definitely reflective of the local neighborhood with «Student Specials» and a constant rotation of people going to and coming from work. Friendly service, local, and inexpensive good food: my idea of heaven.

Inexpensive and tasty. *Cash Only*
A small, couple-​run café-​style restaurant. Clean and bright. The female half provides friendly service while the male half does the cooking.
We’ve been in this spot several times and each time we’ve been very pleased with the experience. We’ve been there when we were the only customers and on our most recent visit, many of the tables/​booths were full with a steady stream of people coming and going both for eat-​in, or take-​out.
I may have mentioned in my previous reviews that I love chicken wings. Here they come deep-​fried with little seasoning but they are just the way I like them. Crispy on the outside, and moist and meaty on the inside. I seem to be fixated on these and cannot resist ordering them every time. I just wished they photographed better, but ultimately it doesn’t matter what they look like because, as the saying goes, they are gonna end up in the same place. (Pic:
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A minute in my mouth,
An hour in my stomach,
A lifetime on my hips… ;-)
The ‘french sub’ is actually a Vietnamese sub. It is gigantic, and full of delicious ingredients. For a shockingly low price of $ 3.50 you get a long, toasted bun full of meat, pâté, pickled veg, and cilantro. Cut into 3-​pieces you should can share it but if you are sharing it with your honey, better think up some way to distract them so as to not have to fight over the third piece. (Pic:
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«Oh LOOK!!! is that Scarlet Johannson!!!»
Spring rolls and fried rice and steamed veggies. YUM. If you don’t see something on the menu, feel free to ask, they are very accommodating. On our last visit we tried the curry beef brisket with rice. Pleasantly mild curry seasoning with juicy and tender meat. Very decent. (Pic:
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Now before you jump to conclusions about the one-​star review, I used to come to Lim Kee a fair bit with my family, and, in fact, I can credit this place as having been my very first experience with Vietnamese phở noodles and spring rolls, and lovely experiences they indeed were.
That said, a few years later, I’ve returned to Lim Kee on two separate occasions, and both occasions prompted me to ask why we had bothered.
On our first return trip to Lim Kee, we went as a group of eight. Once we had placed our orders, and, to be sure, four of us had ordered the exact same thing, the phở special, the dishes came, essentially, one at a time, across a 40 minute period. Thankfully, those at the tail end of the wait had insisted that those whose dishes had arrived first begin eating, as, after 40 minutes of delay, the hot food certainly would’ve become luke-​warm, at best.
During our inexplicable return visit, it was just myself and another. The service was more prompt this time (then again, a 40-​minute delay for a dish shouldn’t be hard to beat), but the quality was sorely lacking. A pork chop with fried rice came out with the meat tough and flavourless, and the ‘fried rice’ was more akin to Uncle Ben’s, doused with dollar store soy sauce. Yes, it was actually as lovely as that sounds. Ahem…
Meanwhile, the ‘phở special’ offered a taste experience I had yet to have in a phở noodle: a mild, yet unmistakable note of… soapiness.
I let that dish be, and thought the better of finishing it. The best part of that meal there, without a doubt, was the Hong Kong-​style milk tea on ice, if, for nothing else, because there were so few ingredients that could have gone horrendously awry.
If you do decide to give the Lim Kee food roulette a whirl, I wish you good luck!