LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — KTNV has continuing coverage celebrating Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Tina Nguyen is taking time to visit a Spring Mountain business scooping up a warm serving of home.
Chinatown delivers native flavors loved by many and foreign foods enjoyed by so many more.
I LIKE PHO
"Do you have a specific favorite one out of all these?" asks Tina.
"I like Pho. That's my favorite," says restaurant owner, Khoi Vu.
Pho is a favorite for Tina and many of the customers walking into Viet Noodle Bar on Spring Mountain Road near South Decatur Boulevard. Vu says his restaurant serves Vietnamese soup with beef, pork, chicken, shrimp, or even oxtail.
"Pho is a go-to dish. You can't go wrong. You can have it any time of the day, breakfast, lunch, or dinner," Vu said.
The popular spot has been open since 2015 and offers plenty of other options.
As a first-generation American born to Vietnamese parents, Tina is very familiar with this food, like this vermicelli with beef and shrimp or these spring rolls.
"I used to make it with my mom," Tina said.
"It's very easy to make," says Vu.
"Yes. You put the shrimp, the lettuce, and a little bit of the vermicelli noodles," Tina said.
He moved to the U.S. when he was just 8 years old and says his parents started a different restaurant which they still run in Chinatown today.
GROWING CHINATOWN
"When we first moved in '93 I don't think there was a Chinatown. It was just Spring Mountain. There were maybe, like, two Vietnamese restaurants in town," Vu said.
Today, he says Chinatown's growth is exploding.
"There are so many different ethnicities, so many different restaurants that you can have pretty much anything you want now," he said.
Following his parents into the family business and running his own restaurant wasn't always the goal.
"I went to school. I was thinking of being a police officer when I was younger. I graduated at UNLV with a degree in criminal justice, but somehow I just stuck with the restaurant business," he said.
He says it was his dad's work ethic that inspired him to follow in his footsteps, and he wouldn't trade it for the world.
"We've been in town for a long time and I would love to have the legacy go on for a while. Took over for my dad, yeah," says Vu.
"What has it been like for you to expose other ethnicities to our food?" Tina asked.
"Oh, it's very important for different ethnicities to try our food. I want to provide food for everybody. The whole community, not just Vietnamese people. But other people in the community as well," he said.
REACHING CUSTOMERS
To do that, Vu recently participated in the Business Select Program for local businesses hoping to earn a contract for next year's Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium.
While he's shooting for the stars and the chance to reach more customers, Vu says he doesn't take any of it for granted. Getting these dishes just right takes lots of practice and patience.
"It takes time to perfect it. There's no shortcut," he said.
"How long did it take you to perfect it?" asks Tina.
"I don't, I've been doing it, I don't think I've perfected it. I think I'm still learning," he said.
