05/10/2026
Dear Má
[clip of full video filmed and produced by the talented journalist thank you for capturing these memories for us, Maison and the essence of a mom’s love!]
Mẹ….Words can’t describe how much I love you, how much I am inspired by you, how much I aspire to be like you.
I originally thought I was writing a love letter to my heritage, to Vietnam with our cookbook, but I realized by the end of my journey writing it, that this book is a love letter to you. What a wild ride.
Everything I am, everything I embody is because of you. My roots stem from your love and all that you have taught me which includes being Vietnamese.
The love you pour into cooking for us, waking up at 5am to make us feasts. Not because you love to cook but because you love us and it’s how you show your love. The details that make a mom’s dish feel more delicious than anything we can recreate.
The times you’d drive all the way to Little Saigon to get groceries to give us a taste of home.
To give us a life that felt Vietnamese just as it did American. To fit in but to feel at home in between two worlds.
To make us feel it as a blessing to experience it all.
The sacrifices you made to cross the ocean in turbulent seas, risking your life.
The courage it took to leave home and start over.
To start over, with nothing.
in another country
in another language
with a 4 year old in your arms.
It was your determination. Your grit and resilience. Your patience. Even when times were tough, you kept going.
You worked and went back to school.
You had three kids while juggling it all.
On busy days, somehow you still made time.
You worked most of your life to give us the opportunities you never had.
We felt like we had it all. But not without the sacrifices you made to make it happen.
To give us a life to pursue our dreams.
To support us unconditionally.
You give so much of yourself.
But I also want you to know you don’t always have to be strong for us.
You can lean on us.
You deserve to put yourself first.
Thank you for being you.
We love you always.