Many people always ask me “What is the cuisine of this restaurant?” he asks. I can never find the right answer because, for one, I don’t really like to be pigeonholed: “Okay, I’m a Vietnamese restaurant.” Because every Vietnamese will have the thought: “Oh, that doesn’t look like my aunt’s!”

I base everything on my travels because our recipes were not passed down when I was growing up. I am the first generation here. My parents went through refugee camps. When I went to college, I worked and traveled a lot in Hawaii, Europe, Asia, everywhere. Everything is influenced here and there by things I like or have experienced.

For example, we make homemade pasta. I use Vietnamese stew with pappardelle, stir and then add the pappardelle pasta. So the situation is very different. You won’t find it anywhere on the North Side, but we have authentic pasta. That’s how I mix and match things.

The restaurant was formerly Hops N Scotch: Why was this redesign important for future success? So will this idea resonate?

I feel like this is the first time the two of us (my husband and I) have truly created something together. Hops was his. We named our daughter Esmai.

Our landlady passed away in January and we would always bring him cookies because he needed nutrients. In the beginning, since we had a cafe in our restaurant, we used to put Esmai stickers on them. And he said: “You know, this is really funny. Esmai in Yiddish means ‘Eat more!’”

It was so sweet and so touching. And honestly my daughter can eat. So it made sense to us. For us, it carries a story close to our hearts.

Have you always wanted to be involved in the food world?

To be honest, the environment I grew up in didn’t give me many opportunities: “Hey, I want to be a doctor. Hello, I want to be a lawyer. “I want to be an engineer.” Such things did not actually exist. I’m from Dorchester and Hyde Park. My mother and father are immigrants. They really didn’t know some of the programs. I didn’t even go to kindergarten. I immediately moved to first grade. It was very different. I wasn’t exposed to other career options and to be honest I wasn’t planning on going to university.

But cooking came naturally because my parents worked late. I had been preparing family meals for them since I was 8-9 years old.

What would you do?

The classic thing to make in a Vietnamese household is braised meat with soy sauce because it keeps well and is a kind of soup and rice. My family expected me to buy the right jasmine rice: It couldn’t be too watery. It couldn’t have been too dry. My father was very strict, so I think I got my nature from that.

As I was preparing to graduate from high school, my advisor asked me, “What do you want to do? You need to apply to college.” “I really don’t want to go to college,” I said.

He asked me what I liked doing and suggested I check out Johnson and Wales. I was kind of thrown into it. I had no idea but I fell in love with it.

And you continued to travel around the world cooking. How did this happen?

When I went to Johnson and Wales on the weekends, I was actually going back to Boston because I was working at a nursing home. But after the first year of Johnson and Wales, I thought: “I’m going to get out of here.” It was the East Coast and I just wanted to get away.

Somehow I found myself in Hawaii. This was my first real cooking job and it was amazing. I was on my own. I was 18, turning 19, and they welcomed me with open arms. I worked at two restaurants: One was more of a fine dining place. One was more ordinary. One of the popular plates at the restaurant comes from Hawaii. It’s called Loco Moco. This is a Japanese hamburger.

Everything was super fresh. Literally, fishermen would harpoon a five-foot tuna into the water and I would have to fillet it myself. And I’m 6 feet tall, so it was a challenge.

I was in Southeast Asia for a program one summer. So I learned how to cook Thai food. I was in Singapore, then I went to visit Vietnam. Then I went to France for another semester and switched to the pastry department because I was a cook and pastry chef.

Later, you worked at a food company in Denver. What was this like? I have a friend who tried edible chocolate and didn’t portion it out. He remained glued to the couch for three hours.

This happens. Working there actually taught me how to divide everything properly. A typical person should start with 10 milligrams. If your tolerance is stronger you go to 20. You don’t want anything more than that. Like alcohol. It depends on how you digest things, your body size, your tolerance, and everything else. I was taught how to do this. They gave me a formula. It was like normal cooking, except a little more sciencey. It was probably one of the best jobs in one of the best cities.

What brought you back to Boston?

My brother called me. He was opening a bar and pool hall in Milford and wanted me to help him. I thought: “I really love Denver. I’m starting to kind of form a root here. I really enjoy it. It’s a very carefree place. I don’t want to go back to the East Coast. Everyone is so angry!”

But I came back, helped my brother, and that’s when I met David. … When I got home we got serious, so I stayed.

How would you describe the Boston restaurant scene compared to other places you’ve lived?

Boston restaurant scene? I want to say there’s almost no middle ground, and I think that’s where I want it to fit. To me, it’s either high-end restaurants like Abe & Louie’s—restaurants you can’t afford to buy every day—and there are other restaurants, say, dim sum, places you can afford more. This is on the bottom side. I wanted something in the middle where I could be a part of someone’s routine, but also had a little more of a welcoming atmosphere, a warm atmosphere.

Where do you like to eat outside of your own restaurant?

My destination is South Garden in Quincy. It is a traditional Chinese restaurant. I always get the garlic chicken and walnut mayonnaise shrimp. This is my favorite. I spread that mayonnaise over rice like there’s no tomorrow.

Did you ever eat out growing up, or did you mostly eat at home?

Growing up, the only places we really went out to eat were Chinese restaurants, like traditional Chinese restaurants, or a pho restaurant. We didn’t actually go to American restaurants. For Pho, we went to a place called Pho Hoa on Dorchester Street. It was one of Dorchester’s first pho restaurants. Until Quincy became more influenced by Asia, we used to go to a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown called Peach Farm.

I ask everyone: What are your pet’s foods? Are there things in restaurants that drive you crazy?

My god. Something I’ve noticed that’s popular that I don’t quite understand is the Korean fried corn dog. This is not a corn dog. I think there’s a hot dog in there and there’s mozzarella in it. It’s just a giant piece of fried stuff. I don’t understand you. And my biggest pet peeve in a restaurant is the smell of dirty doormats. … It’s crawling inside me. I can’t do this.

What do you eat if you are at home with your family?

If there’s one dish I can rely on forever, it’s chicken congee. This is just one of the items I remember from my childhood, and it’s one of those things we didn’t have very much. You eat what you have. It was comforting. It was cheap and the whole family enjoyed it. It just brought us together.

You’ve worked in pretty laid-back places like Denver and Hawaii. Isn’t Boston comfortable? What is the character of Boston compared to other places?

Boston is interesting. I wouldn’t call Bostonians rude. They’re not rude, but you should stay out of their way. I guess it’s a cleaner, smaller version of New York. Either way, you have a bad accent!

When I’m working anywhere on the East Coast, whether it’s Rhode Island, Boston, or New York, I know I’m in a rush because I want to get things done. I can’t slow down. Hawaii was very slow at first. I didn’t like it. I don’t understand. I felt the same way for the first week or two I was in Denver. I said: “This is too slow for me. Nobody moves. “Everyone is like molasses, but everyone is very happy.”

Then I realized that this is how life is here. They are not in a hurry, they are not angry, and there is beauty and nature everywhere. I didn’t fully understand this until at least a month ago.

The interview has been edited and condensed.

Kara Baskin can be reached at [email protected]. follow him @kcbaskin.