Previous tough days of taking care of her mother in the hospital inspired 36-year-old Le Thanh Thao, a Da Nang native, to start a business to offer delicious, nutritious and convenient meals to customers. Thao’s great efforts were paid off as her Long Ban (Dish-Cover) Eatery, which specialises in providing healthy meal delivery services, has made it debut in a small alley on Tran Khanh Du Street, Ngu Hanh Son District.

Long Ban (Dish-Cover) Eatery offers healthy meal delivery services

At noon everyday, Ms Thao and Long Ban staff members are very busy preparing hundreds of portions of meals for their delivery to customers in the districts of Hai Chau, Thanh Khe and Ngu Hanh Son, and even Hoi An in the neighbouring provinces of Quang Nam.

The menu offers a wide range of daily-changed options with delicious main courses and diversified desserts with fruit. Each portion of meal costs only 45,000 VND. In addition, there are special meals dedicated to bodybuilders or vegetarians.

After more than 3 months of operation, up to now, the eatery has attracted a total of about 150 regular order makers.

During 3 consecutive weeks, none of the recipes are repeated, and all of them feature the scientific ratio of fat and protein, fat, fiber and starch.

Noticeably, if customers are allergic to any dish in the menu, Long Ban is willing to make immediate adjustments.

In 2014, when Thao was the Director of a graphic design studio in Da Nang, her mother was diagnosed with cancer.

Taking care of her sick mother in the hospital and witnessing her mother struggling with a series of tough chemotherapy sessions, Thao tried to elaborately cook appetizing-looking dishes which satisfy her mother’s taste.

“Whilst undergoing chemotherapy sessions, all cancer patients usually experience food aversions caused by nausea and vomiting”, said Thao.

This side effect some call “chemo mouth” and others “metal mouth,” can make favorite foods taste so bad that cancer patients are loath to eat at a time when they need nourishment to help with their recovery.

At that time, Thao realised that warm and loving family meals, themselves, with delicious food, not only give more strengths but also offer a source of great encouragement to cancer patients. That fact really inspired Thao to developing her own startup idea of launching “Long Ban – trays of family meal”.

Having a great passion for cooking since her childhood, every week Thao cooks new dishes and post them on Facebook. Thanks to this, Thao finds it easier to know more about in which factors customers usually show their more interest: processing methods, colour, nutrition and enjoyable ambience.

According to Ms Thao, Long Ban now employs 2 chefs, 3 assistants, and many hard-working and highly experienced staff members.

After a day of work, the Long Ban staff usually attends a short review meeting to remedy any shortcomings and discuss quality enhancement measures in an attempt to ensure better services to their customers. 

In the coming time, Thao is planning to open a system of food products meeting diversified tastes of different customer segments.