From My Mom's Kitchen to Mine

As a kid, I was always in the kitchen helping my mom prep for family parties - and if you know the typical spread at a Vietnamese party, you know exactly what I mean. We're talking 9am until guests started arriving at 7pm. It was a lot of work, but I loved every second of it.

Growing up, I was obsessed with the Food Network and couldn't get enough of food game shows - especially Chopped. That love of food and cooking followed me right into adulthood.

After college, my husband and I started with the basics - Hello Fresh subscriptions and fun at-home date nights cooking together. Eventually we didn't need the recipes or the delivered groceries anymore. We'd figured it out.

In January 2021, we packed up and moved from Northern Virginia to Austin, TX. My biggest concern? The lack of Asian food. So I got to work recreating the dishes I was craving most: phở, bún riêu, thịt kho trứng. Those early attempts at traditional Vietnamese cooking opened the door to making more elaborate meals across all cuisines, and late-night grocery runs became our new favorite date night.

Naturally, I started posting everything we were making on Instagram because the food was just too good not to share. After so many friends started asking for recipes and restaurant recs, I realized I needed a better way to keep track of it all - because I love sharing good food just as much as I love eating it.

I'd been wanting to start a food blog for a long time. I finally bit the bullet and created a platform for myself and all of you to keep up with all my noms ✨