NHA TRANG, Vietnam -- The street-side seafood restaurant -- long metal tables, plastic chairs, beer girls in short skirts -- is the last place one would expect a classically trained French chef to give a cooking lesson. But there was the unassuming Bay Area-based Khai Duong, one of America's most acclaimed Asian chefs, giving intricate instructions. For one dish, … [Read more...] about Bay Area-based Chef Khai Duong Is On Mission To Elevate Vietnamese Cooking
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An-My Lê Wins MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship
The MacArthur Fellowship is kind of a prestigious thing. You get $500,000 doled out over the course of 5 years, with no strings attached. It's meant to provide the financial freedom for people who "show exceptional creativity in their work and the prospect for still more in the future"--an artistic and scientific license of sorts. You can't apply for a MacArthur Fellowship, the … [Read more...] about An-My Lê Wins MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship
Olympic Silver Medalist Marcel Nguyen, and Me
From diaCRITICS comes this piece by diaCRITIC Jade Hidle , who gives us an Olympic take on Vietnamese identity using Marcel Nguyen, the Olympic silver medalist in gymnastics, as the launching point. At the same time, Hidle turns inward and and gives us a beautiful reflection on her own struggles as a mixed Vietnamese. diaCRITICS is the leading blog on Vietnamese diasporic arts … [Read more...] about Olympic Silver Medalist Marcel Nguyen, and Me
What Do You Do? Identity vs. Work, East vs. West
A while back, when I was visiting my mother's ancestral village in Thai Binh province in northern Vietnam, it occurred to me that, after a barrage of questions from distant relatives, not once did anyone ask that common question in America: "So, what do you do?" Instead the questions were familial and personal: "How is your mother?" "Do you own a car?" "Are you married?" When … [Read more...] about What Do You Do? Identity vs. Work, East vs. West
The Len Duong Experience: A Perspective
Camp Len Duong is a program that cultivates leadership, diversity and tolerance for young Vietnamese who are curious and passionate about bettering our community, our world. That was the impression I left the retreat with in 2010, the first time I attended Len Duong as a panelist. I wish I had known or been exposed to Len Duong, or other similar programs with leadership … [Read more...] about The Len Duong Experience: A Perspective