“One
time I recommended a dish that had fish sauce,” he said of a friend who had
never tried Vietnamese food. “So I made sure to tell her to try a little first
before she went full on into it. I looked kind of scared when she started
eating it — but she loved it.”
“I
underestimated her palate and her sense of smell,” said Nguyen, who was born in
Vietnam and came to the United States at age 13. “What I learned is that you
can never underestimate people’s ability to explore or their willingness to try
things.”
Organizer Stefan Nguyen, third from left, speaks with Viet Taste Buds meetup group members at Nguyen's Kitchen in Costa Mesa. (Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer)
Every
Friday night, Nguyen organizes a dinner at one of the many Vietnamese or
Vietnamese fusion restaurants in Orange County’s Little Saigon as a way to
introduce non-Vietnamese residents to the cuisine — and to give Vietnamese and
Vietnamese Americans an opportunity to reconnect with their heritage.
The
idea for the group, called Viet Taste Buds, came about because Nguyen himself
wanted to learn more. Growing up in Tennessee, he said that he didn’t have much
connection to his roots, so when he moved to Orange County he wanted to take
advantage of living near the largest Vietnamese population in the United
States.
He
first started a cultural club that focused on Vietnamese American film and
literature, but it didn’t get much traction. Nguyen realized a bigger draw
would be food, so he started planning Friday night dinners at Vietnamese
restaurants, and the concept took off.
“There’s
very little barrier to entry with food,” said Nguyen.
Now
between 25 and 40 people show up to his weekly dinners, and he also expanded
the events to include a Saturday afternoon boba tea and dessert crawl.
And
no matter what a person’s background, he said that there’s something to learn.
Tim
Le said that growing up in Riverside, he didn’t know many other Vietnamese
Americans — but Viet Taste Buds gives him that opportunity now.
“As
you grow older, at least for me, you kind of think about your roots,” said Le,
a mechanical engineer. “And so I wanted to start searching for a way to
reconnect.”
Meanwhile,
for Trinh Nguyen, who grew up in Vietnam and now works as a mechanical engineer
in Anaheim, Viet Taste Buds is a way for her to introduce others to her
culture.
“Americans
are used to hamburgers, which have a soft bun — then they try the Vietnamese
sandwich with the French baguette, which is hard and crunchy,” she said. “They
say, ‘How long has it been sitting there? They must have left it outside for a
few days.’ And I’ll say, ‘It’s fresh!’ And after a few tries they say, ‘It’s
good.’”
“When
I introduce them to things and they like it, I feel happy. I feel proud.”
Shaun
Nguyen Ly, co-owner of the restaurant Nguyen’s Kitchen, which has locations in
Orange and Costa Mesa, said that he’s “not at all” surprised that Vietnamese
food is now gaining popularity among Orange County’s non-Vietnamese residents.
(Viet Taste Buds held a dinner at Nguyen’s Kitchen on Sept. 1.)
“Our
flavors are very bold,” said Ly. “But they’re not heavy — we don’t use so much
oil or batter. We emphasize the ingredients, the vegetables, the fresh meat, the
fish sauce.”
Stefan
Nguyen has also seen a growing interest in Vietnamese food, something he
attributes to the emergence of innovative Vietnamese fusion eateries — such as
Afters Ice Cream and the Loop Handcrafted Churros — that aren’t overtly ethnic.
This gives newcomers an easier entry into a new type of cuisine.
“It
makes it less intimidating,” said Nguyen. “So it draws all kinds of people.”
By Los
Angeles Times