Worcester’s ‘Egg Roll Lady’ shares gratitude and $1.75 eats
Cambridge’s Amba serves up Mediterranean-inspired breakfast dishes for $10
WORCESTER. ON THE SIDE OF A BUSY ROAD IN WORCESTER, COMFORT FOOD MADE WITH A LOT OF LOVE FOR A VERY LOW PRICE. SO THIS IS THE FAMOUS EGG ROLL. THIS IS PURE LOVE. $1.75 FOR PURE LOVE. I WANT TO DRINK THE SAUCE. YES. FUNG LAM AND HER HUSBAND BÃ BUI OWN THIS TINY HAPPY PLACE CALLED SIMPLY THE EGG ROLL LADY AND FISH SHACK. LAM IS THE EGG ROLL LADY. SHE GOT THE NICKNAME YEARS AGO AT LOCAL FAIRS. THEY SAY. WHERE’S THE EGG ROLL LADY? SO I TAKE THE EGG ROLL LADY NAME FROM THERE. LAM GREW UP IN SAIGON, VIETNAM. HER ABILITY TO DISCERN FLAVORS, BOTH GOOD AND BAD STARTED AT HOME WITH HER FATHER. MY FATHER? DON’T LIE. MY MOM COOKED IT. HE EAT A LITTLE AT HOME, BUT AT LUNCH AND DINNER, WE HAD TO GO OUT WITH HIM EVERY DAY. IN 1987, LAM AND HER BROTHER FLED VIETNAM AS REFUGEES. THEY EVENTUALLY ARRIVED IN OREGON, WHERE LAM MET BOWIE AT CHURCH. OH, THE LOVE START FROM THERE. A LOVING WELCOME TO THE U.S. SAT LAM ON HER PATH TO THIS RESTAURANT AT THE SALVATION ARMY IN OREGON. A WOMAN GAVE HER BREAD AND BUTTER TO EAT. AND A BIG, WARM HUG. I NEED THAT HUG. SHE LOOKED LIKE MY MOM, SO I NEVER FORGOT THAT HUG. YOUR HUG. FOLLOW ME FOR LIFE. SO I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO TO RETURN IT BECAUSE I DON’T REMEMBER HER NAME. BUT I WANT TO DO SOMETHING. BUT I DON’T HAVE MONEY. I DON’T HAVE ANYTHING. BUT I CAN GO. EVEN I DON’T COOK GOOD, BUT I CAN COOK. AFTER MOVING TO MASSACHUSETTS, LAM PERFECTED COOKING COMFORT FOOD. HER PLATES ARE PILED HIGH WITH THOSE DOLLAR 75 EGG ROLLS AND ALL KINDS OF SEAFOOD. EVERYTHING IS MADE FROM SCRATCH, INCLUDING THE SAUCES AND EVEN THE KIMCHI. A KOREAN SIDE DISH. JENNIFER BUI IS ONE OF LAM’S THREE DAUGHTERS. OUR SUMMER VACATIONS, STARTING FROM THIRD GRADE FOR ME, WAS HELPING OUT WITH MY PARENTS. I’VE ALWAYS GROWN UP WITH MY MOM FEEDING ME. AS HER LOVE LANGUAGE. SO THIS IS HER WAY OF SHARING THE LOVE TO EVERYONE ELSE AS WELL. TODAY, JENNIFER AND HER SISTERS CHRISTINA AND GWEN HAVE SUCCESSFUL CAREERS IN HEALTH CARE, PHARMACY, AND NURSING. THEY BUILT A LIFE FOR THEMSELVES AND SACRIFICED SO MUCH FOR MY SISTERS AND I. SO I DON’T TAKE THAT LIGHTLY. REALLY AMAZING. LIKE WHAT WE’VE BUILT UP. OUR CUSTOMERS ARE OUR FAMILY. THEY’RE NOT EVEN CUSTOMERS. THEY TRULY ARE OUR FAMILY MEMBERS HERE. I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU. YOU DON’T KNOW HOW MUCH I APPRECIATE THAT. GIVE ME THE LOVE. GIVE ME THE FREEDOM. THAT’S THE BIG ONE. LIM IS NEARING RETIREMENT AGE. I’M 63. HOW ARE YOU? 63. HOW ARE YOU? 63. YOU LOOK MAYBE 43. NO. TELL ME 23. BUT SHE’S UNDECIDED ABOUT RETIREMENT RIGHT NOW. THE EGG ROLL LADY SAYS IT’S HER MISSION TO COOK WITH LOVE. AND THANKS FOR HER CUSTOMERS IN WORCESTER AND BEYOND. EVERY TIME I PUT FOR YOU, I WANT TO MAKE SURE YOUR PLATE IS FULL. YOU HAVE ENOUGH FOR YOUR BELLY AND YOU. YES. AND NOT TOO MUCH MONEY. AND THAT’S THE WAY I FEEL. I CAN SAY THANK YOU TO PUT A THANK YOU. NOTE INSIDE THE PLATE. SUGAR AND SPICE TOAST WITH PISTACHIO. SOUPS AND PASTRIES, ALL AFFORDABLY PRICED AT ATSBHA AND CAMBRIDGE. THIS FAST CASUAL, MEDITERRANEAN INSPIRED EATERY IS FOR THE EVERYDAY CUSTOMER, SAYS CHEF ALEXIS BABINEAU. YOU CAN GET YOURSELF A BREAKFAST WRAP FOR $10. YOU GET YOUR SCHWARMA FRIES WHERE IF YOU WANT TO ADD SOME CHICKEN TO THAT, YOU COULD. OR YOU CAN JUST HAVE IT AS IS. IT’S DELICIOUS. AMBA IS THE LATEST ADDITION TO CHEF WILL GILSON’S CAMBRIDGE STREET HOSPITALITY GROUP, WHERE BABINEAU IS ASSISTANT CULINARY DIRECTOR. AMBA’S BREAKFAST MENU IS AROUND $10 AND SERVED ALL DAY. I REALLY ENJOY THE THE BREAKFAST SANDWICH IN GENERAL WITH THAT MALAWACH WRAP. IT’S GOT LIKE A SCALLION PANCAKE TEXTURE. I ALWAYS SAY SCALLION PANCAKES ARE MY DEATH ROW MEAL, LIKE MY LAST MEAL EVER, YOU KNOW? SO YOU PUT SOME CHEESY SCRAMBLED EGGS AND SOME PICKLED PEPPERS ON THAT. AS A TEEN CHEF, BABINEAU WORKED AT FRIENDLY’S AND AT DUNKIN AND GREW UP EATING HUMBLY. I DIDN’T GROW UP WITH YOUR TYPICAL, LIKE, STORIES OF GRANDMA MAKING FOOD. A LOT OF HAMBURGER HELPER AND BEEF STROGANOFF GROWING UP, AND PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICHES. BUT IT’S LIKE IT’S IT’S BEEN FUN TO LEARN AND LEARN FROM PEOPLE AND SURROUND YOURSELF WITH PEOPLE THAT ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT WHAT THEY DO. PASSIONATE ABOUT GOOD FOOD AT GOOD PRICES. WHETHER YOU EAT IN OR OUT, WE’VE GOT JUST WHOLE GOOD INGREDIENTS AND WHOLE FOOD THAT TASTES DELICIOUS, MADE WITH A LOT OF LOVE FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD, WHO ARE A FABRIC OF THIS COMMUNITY. MONEY IS TIGHT FOR ALL OF US. IF WE CAN GET SOMETHING FOR $10, IT’S GOING TO FILL YOU UP AND YOU’LL HAVE SOME LEFTOVERS TOO. AWESOME. AND BACK TO THE EGG ROLL, LADIES. SO CUTE. FOONG LAM AND HER HUSBAND. THEY WORKED A NUMBER OF VARIOUS JOBS FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS BEFORE THEY WERE ABLE TO OPEN THEIR EATERY. THAT WAS IN THE MID 2000. AND YOU HEARD HER SAY THAT WHEN SHE WAS A KID GROWING UP IN VIETNAM, SHE AND HER DAD WOULD EAT OUT A LOT. THAT WAS BECAUSE HER MOM’S COOKIN
Worcester’s ‘Egg Roll Lady’ shares gratitude and $1.75 eats
Cambridge’s Amba serves up Mediterranean-inspired breakfast dishes for $10
Updated: 11:15 AM EDT May 15, 2025
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Phuong Lam, known as “The Egg Roll Lady,” runs a beloved Worcester eatery with her husband, serving affordable comfort food, including $1.75 egg rolls. In the late 1980s, Lam fled Vietnam, eventually ending up in Worcester. She says she has long been driven by a desire to give back to her new home and to convey gratitude through her cooking.”I’ve always grown up with my mom feeding me as her love language, so this is her way of sharing the love to everyone else as well,” Phuong Lam’s daughter, Jennifer, said. Meanwhile, in Cambridge, Amba is a new, Mediterranean-inspired eatery featuring all-day breakfast that’s around $10.”We’ve got just whole good ingredients and whole food that tastes delicious, made with a lot of love from people who are in this neighborhood who are a fabric of this community. Money is tight for all of us. So it’s like if we can get something for $10, it’s going to fill you up for, and you’ll have some leftovers too, awesome,” Chef Alexis Babineau said.
Phuong Lam, known as “The Egg Roll Lady,” runs a beloved Worcester eatery with her husband, serving affordable comfort food, including $1.75 egg rolls. In the late 1980s, Lam fled Vietnam, eventually ending up in Worcester. She says she has long been driven by a desire to give back to her new home and to convey gratitude through her cooking.
“I’ve always grown up with my mom feeding me as her love language, so this is her way of sharing the love to everyone else as well,” Phuong Lam’s daughter, Jennifer, said.
Meanwhile, in Cambridge, Amba is a new, Mediterranean-inspired eatery featuring all-day breakfast that’s around $10.
“We’ve got just whole good ingredients and whole food that tastes delicious, made with a lot of love from people who are in this neighborhood who are a fabric of this community. Money is tight for all of us. So it’s like if we can get something for $10, it’s going to fill you up for, and you’ll have some leftovers too, awesome,” Chef Alexis Babineau said.