Q: How long has On a Roll been at The Market?  

A: Since the beginning of The Market 8 years ago! We built our entire restaurant; it was a lot of work but worth the effort. 

Q: Describe your restaurant in a few words: 

A: Vietnamese. Fusion. We use a lot of lemongrass sauce and marinated meat in our recipes- our cuisine influences are Vietnamese and Thai.  

Q: What is your favorite dish you make? 

A: I like the Salmon mainly because of the sauce I created for it. There are two tamarind sauces, one savory one sweet, to give it a very unique “sweet and sour” flavor that tastes so good. I make sure the salmon caramelizes to bring out the richness of flavor. I have never seen any restaurant that has combined salmon with a tamarind sauce, so it is unique to On a Roll.  

Q: What is the inspiration behind most of your recipes? 

A: Growing up in Vietnam I learned a lot from my mom’s authentic cooking- her food was so tasty. We had lots of fresh fish caught from our boats. I would also observe how restaurants would cook their food. When I was creating my recipes, I would make sure they tasted better than those restaurants. I would get my favorite dish, then ask myself “how can I make this better?” and cook it at home. That was a fun competitive thing I would do to make sure I’m making the highest quality dishes.  

Q: What is an interesting cooking technique you use? 

A: With my recipes, It’s all about the flavor from the sauce. For stir-frying, the pan must be high heat to flash fry the ingredients to retain the freshness. At first I heat the oil, then add ingredients such as vegetables, then add the sauce. The whole process takes about one minute.  

Q: What led up to you starting your restaurant? 

A: At a young age I left Vietnam. When I got here, I worked hard to learn restaurants because I took an interest and I knew pursuing it would make me happy. Now this is my third restaurant. I had one in Texas then another in Oakland. 

Q: What is your favorite part about San Pedro Square? 

A: The history is what makes this place special, such as the Peralta Adobe and Thomas and Carmel Castro Fallon House where the mayor used to live a long time ago. This street is also very safe for families to enjoy the food, especially in The Market’s plazas.  

Q: What is the most fun thing you’ve done in Downtown San Jose?  

A: We went to our first ice hockey game at the SAP Center- front row seats! I love taking my son and wife as a family to family-friendly events they have going on at SAP, such as Disney On Ice.  

Q: Give us a few fun facts about yourself:  

A: I love the outdoors and ocean fishing is my hobby. We take a boat out almost every week and recently have been catching Halibut in Berkeley and San Francisco. I also am big on sports such as basketball- I'm a Lakers fan.