Who We Are

The theme of the column, ‘Who We Are’, is to shine a light on yourself and others doing food in our county and to blur the lines between ‘us’ and ‘them’. We are a family of dedicated workers and I encourage you to celebrate the connection rather than look for the differences. We are all an important part of the world-renowned culinary scene in Portland and it’s time we see who we are.

Please contact us at mcfoodsafety@multco.us if you would like to be featured. Dare to see and be seen.

LE

Type of food service: Vietnamese

Originally from: Vietnam

How you got here: My mom had a restaurant when I was 8 years old in Vietnam and I would help her. It was a Pho house. I came to the U.S. because communist took over in 1975 and took my mom’s business. We had nothing and so we came here. When we got here, we had no money and so we applied for jobs cooking. We ate chicken and eggs 365 days a year to save money. My mom bought a restaurant and I began cooking in it. This was in Salt Lake City because our sponsor was there. We bought some more restaurants in Utah. We moved in 2003 and open Green Papaya and The Bistro and some others in Portland.

Biggest challenge with food code: Vietnamese food is different and we like to keep food at warmer temperature. We use a Timing Rule to do this.

Favorite thing about the business: I like to see the customer love all my food. I am passionate about making food good. I love to see the customer drink all the Pho soup and the smile they have.

Hours worked daily: 14 - 18 hours a day. Even on my day off, I come to the restaurant.

Favorite food: Steak, medium rare.