I, Helen Nguyen, have a confession to make. I cannot cook, not until very recently. I grew up in a family where education was first. My parents had always wanted me and my sisters to study, to do our school works. They worked very hard, but they never required us to cook, or do any other household chores. I was extremely sheltered. It was not until I married my husband David that I did my own laundry, cleaned my own house, and eventually made my own dinner.

David expanded my view in life through food and travel. He introduced me to new food and ingredients, many I have never even heard of before, much less tasted. He showed me the world through trips and vacations. He dared me to be adventurous, to experiment, to be bold. My love for food grew over the years. I have eaten almost everything from foie gras to wild snake congee. I have dine in the same room with powerful New York executives at Thomas Keller’s Per Se to eating frog legs on the side street vendor of Vietnam, praying my Pepto Bismo will pull through later on.

Cooking lesson #1: If you can read and follow instructions, you can cook! Read instructions and follow. Repeat, repeat, repeat until you perfect the dish.

This is my journey through my own culinary course, in cooking and traveling, and I’d like to share it with you.

THANK YOU

I’d like to send my most sincere gratitude to Phuong Ngac, for designing this blog. It would not have been this professional looking without you. I’d like to thank my husband David, for your unending support in everything that I do. Thank you for being so very patient before every meal waiting for me to finish taking pictures. To my friends, I cannot thank you enough for your constructive feedbacks and your continued encouragements. You inspired this blog. I’m dedicating it all to you!

XOXO

Helen