Chicken For Lunch

Amy’s crack chicken is awesome, different specials each day, breakfast is very good also

Rules for Chicken For Lunch — yes, it’s a food court, there need to be rules to maintain order!
1) They serve breakfast in the morning.
2) Line up EARLY FOR LUNCH. 11… or earlier — yup, I’ve done it.
3) Yes, there are people that jump the line… they *only* get that privilege on Amy’s say-​so. They aren’t disrespecting your wait time in line.
4) AMY ROCKS! Do not Question the Amy, accept what is given. You WILL love it!
5) Gluten free is always available, just not as much selection as what everyone else gets — and you will get plenty in that box!

Chicken For Lunch is probably the best fast food food court chinese food in Edmonton. This explains the crazy lineups you can find if you go here too late in the day (I recommend arriving around 11am to get your chicken fix on. I love the fact that I can come here once or twice a year ask for spicy food and get some delicious chicken options with my rice, chow mien and spring rolls. A medium is perfect as it has two options for chicken (large is far too much food) and while I don’t always finish my medium serving it provides amazing bang for the buck. Be warned that they only take cash here… but this is an iconic restaurant run by the family that runs the Lingnan and is well worth a visit.

5 stars all the way!
Why?
1. Amy is a sweetheart. And she’s not scary, just place your order.
2. Spring rolls are delicious.
3. Hot and Dry chicken.
4. Honey Garlic Chicken.
5. More chicken.

Co-​workers keep bringing me back there. I don’t know why. It isn’t really that good.

Amy will tell you what you need to eat. This is a unique place. Amy know the name of all her regulars. For ten dollars you will be filled up!

I have been going to CFL for over 10 years. I am amazed every time how Amy remembers what everybody’s favorite items are. I go by the name of BB according to her which is fine with me as she knows my favorite items and has them packed and ready to go before I even say anything. I will definitely be back soon.

She really packs your food in. Def a bang for your buck type of place.
Tho her food is quite salty. It still tastes good.
There is usually a long line but it moves super quick and she is super friendly.
Good place to hit up for a quick greasy salty lunch.

After months of intermittently trying, I finally managed to get to Scotia Place in time to try CFL. I had an exam early in the morning and managed to get downtown in time for 11am start of lunch service (although I did have to run to the bank for cash).
I had the medium combo with ginger chicken and hot-​and-​dry chicken. Each combo comes with rice noodles, rice, vegetables, and a spring roll on top. The small combo includes one meat item, the medium includes one or two, and the regular combo includes up to three. All were delicious and I hope to return soon when my schedule allows it.

So you should know by now that I’m not the biggest fan when it comes to going out for Chinese food. Edmonton just doesn’t have the quality. Anyways, I’ve heard about Chicken for Lunch for quite some time now and finally was able to try it out because I was actually downtown on a weekday for once. We went around 11:30am on a Friday and there already was a lineup by the time we arrived! It’s true, there is a VIP line for those people that clearly come too much to CFL (you’ll see them sneak up on the left side). I feel sorry for the other food vendors (Y-​Not Indian, really, that’s the best name you could come up with?)
Anyways, I ordered the regular ($ 9.50 including tax) which came with a pork spring roll, some vegetables, half rice and half singapore noodles, Korean chicken and hot and dry chicken. You can tell them exactly what you want and don’t want, they are very accommodating. Portions are very generous and the ladies working the counter are impressively fast and chatty. You also get a fortune cookie, if you’re into that kind of thing.
The korean chicken (3 spice levels) were laughably not spicy at all but tasty, with a Korean style rub/​glaze on the chicken pieces. The hot and dry chicken was also very good as it had just the right amount of crunch and flavour was spot on.
Great spot if you’re in the downtown area. The price is right (pun intended) but make sure you make it down there early or prepare to wait in line! Only open Monday to Friday (workdays yo) and cash only.

Don’t know what the fuss is about.
The two different dishes we had here were barely different — and it really wasn’t any better than any other food-​court chinese food.

I don’t know what it is about this place, but i’m hooked. This is some of the best fast food Chinese food I have ever had. You need to get there at 11:30 if you don’t want to stand in line.
Even with Amy’s lightning fast serving line that works like a fine tuned machine you can still get lineups all the way to the escalators for people waiting for this Chinese goodness.
There are pictures of items behind the counter but what you are really looking for is the daily specials they have right up front. The Hot and Dry and Ginger are my favorites.
Amy is quite amazing. She can usually remember a lot of peoples normal orders and also quite a few names even though there are hundreds of people going though her lineup every single day. It is quite amazing how this one food store does and even when the lineup gets to be 10 — 15 minutes long of a wait people still will resist going to the other places that are completely empty.
If your craving Chinese food and are downtown you need to come out to CFL and visit Amy.

Having read the super-​exciting reviews on Unilocal,we always wanted to try this place. Today we were in the area and did it. It was good but not that special at all.
Perhaps something is wrong with us, as there are many positive reviews and there was a very long line which means many people love this place. But I don’t understand the hype. I got the Korean chicken and my wife got ginger, both were OK. The UofA Hub Mall, has maybe 5 fast foods at least as good as this one. But if I was working in the downtown I would NEVER EVER wait in such a long line to get this food! Again nothing wrong with this place. I just don’t understand the hype.
Anyways, to be fair food was OK, prices are great and the person taking your order is super nice and friendly (apparently she knew everyone in front of us and even knew their order!!).

After no longer working downtown. I have gone thru 5 stages of CFL withdrawal.
You must witness the horde of poor souls that are willing to lineup for such an amazing meal every day. During chinese new year, it can be lined up all the way out to the LRT station.
CFL is a horrible addiction of unstoppable proportions.
HotnDry and Ginger chicken were my vices. So delicious a simple Unilocal review cannot communicate. Easily the best americanized chinese food I have ever had.
Tip: Get to know Amy and you get VIP status to skip the line!
(figure it out yourself, I cannot give away this secret)
Bring at least 5L of water to wash this salt encrusted meal. Don’t be a hero.

I don’t really understand what all the fuss around this place is about. The food was fine but I was expecting more for a place you wait In line 20 minutes for.
I will say that the value is great, for what you pay you get a ton of food.

I hate to be the voice of dissent, but I walked ten blocks and spent fifteen minutes staring at the bald spot of the businessman in front of me to get my hands on this chicken, and it wasn’t really all that great.
Don’t get me wrong, the price is good and the lady behind the counter is a sweetheart and probably a savant when it comes to both chicken dishes of the orient and customer nicknames. But the Thai curry was a few sad pieces of boiled chicken swimming around in a pool of sallow coconut milk, begging for spice. The dry and spicy chicken delivered on the dry half, but fell short as well.
When someone tells a pepperhead that yellow coconut broth and miniature chicken nuggets are hot and fails to deliver, it wounds me. Their contempt for my ability to tolerate capsaicin delivers the same punch to my gut that they think I’d experience if I actually tried spicy food. «Do they think I’m a coward?» I wonder. «Do I look too frail to handle the real stuff?»
Amy, you have to tell me: is it me, or is it you?

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I’m a fan of this place. I’ve honestly never really cared for the Lingnan, but total opposite for this place. The food is definitely more westernized Chinese then totally authentic, yet still is good. I won’t say it’s the best Chinese food, but it’s about a million miles ahead of the usual nasty food court Chinese selection (I’m looking at you WEM foodcourt). You get an absolute heap of food for the price. The hot & dry chicken is by far their signature, but all the stuff is usually good. Their selection changes a little for each day of the week.
Amy largely makes the place. She’s very colourful and entertaining. I usually end up getting something «better» then what I order, but that’s part of this place’s charm. Chicken for Lunch can be a bit intimidating for someone going their first time. The line can get huge, but is also very fast moving. There’s a menu in the back display that’s only there to confuse newbies (I doubt they’ve ever made the burger that’s listed on there). You only can really pick from the small sign above the food. They also only take cash (for speed).
The lines can get wicked long, so it’s best to go a little bit early for lunch if you can.

It just doesn’t get any better than Chicken for Lunch! We LOVE love LOVE the Lingnan in downtown Edmonton and the NEW Lingnan Express in St. Albert. We had never had reason to venture to Scotia Place before (Chicken for Lunch is located in the Basement of Scotia Place).
Chicken for Lunch is open M-​F for breakfast hours and lunch. They are closed for dinner; you’ll have to venture downtown or to St. Albert for express :-) Amy told us on our last visit that she comes in at 4AM M-​F! You will never meet a friendlier or more passionate woman. It’s impossible to come to Chicken for Lunch and leave without feeling all warm and fuzzy after talking to Amy.
I cannot wait to go for lunch next time we are visiting!
On our lsat visit we were only there for breakfast hours. We had her breakfast «Egg Thing» and her «Spicy Breakfast Tortilla Wrap.» I highly recommend the Spicy breakfast tortilla wrap — Spicy and sweet — a perfect 10!
If they build it, we will follow…

I love Chicken for Lunch. I don’t get to go often enough because it’s a pain to park near Scotia Place unless you want to pay a lot of money.
The lineup is usually long unless you get there between 11 — 11:45, then the line quite short. The lineup does move very fast even at the busiest times and they keep things moving by only accepting cash, but it’s always worth the wait. The hot and dry chicken is amazing and comes with rice and veggies, Amy will even throw in a spring roll for you all for a great price. It kind of feels like being at the soup episode of Seinfeld, but a lot friendlier. You wait in this long line and when you get to the front you have to order fast to keep everyone behind you happy, lol.

Great service (even when there’s a very long queue, which is always), terrific food. What else does one need to say. Chicken for Lunch is a mainstay of the downtown fast food landscape. You don’t even have to know what you want to order. The folks who take your order will put something suitable together for you, quickly and for a great price.
Whether you work downtown every day or are just visiting, pop by for some of the best Chinese fast food in Edmonton!