One of my favorite books of all time is the Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Japanese author Haruki Murakami. In it there’s a quote I love that reads:
“The point is, not to resist the flow. You go up when you're supposed to go up and down when you're supposed to go down. When you're supposed to go up, find the highest tower and climb to the top. When you're supposed to go down, find the deepest well and go down to the bottom. When there's no flow, stay still. If you resist the flow, everything dries up. If everything dries up, the world is darkness.”
When I met up with Minh Tâm for coffee at Cokernut Cafe in District 1, I kept thinking about that quote throughout our conversation. If there was ever a time that a book quote perfectly summed up someone’s decade long journey in the kitchen, Murakami did that for Minh Tâm. Now at 30 years old, Minh Tâm is head chef at Mita 274 Sake & Smoke Cuisine, as well as part of Loi Choi, a crew of four dedicated to food catering for both private and public events. It was at one of Neo-’s events that Đức, head chef at Adau and fellow Loi Choi crew member, introduced me to Minh Tâm. Not too long after we finally got to meet at which point I learned about all the ups and downs of Minh Tâm’s story.
When Minh Tâm finished high school he had no idea what he wanted to do. However, unlike many of his peers who were born and raised in Saigon like he was, he decided not to go to college. In his eyes, he didn’t want to waste his time investing in a degree that he didn’t care about. Instead, he took a different path. He got to work right away.
Minh Tâm’s first job was at the Tokyo Deli in District 7. Being a fresh, young, degreeless teenager, he joined the service staff first before working his way up to a manager over the span of a year. This was a time when he never uttered the word, “No”. Minh Tâm did anything and everything management asked of him, and it wasn’t long before the kitchen staff took notice of his positive, supportive energy. If you ever stop by one of the restaurants he works at or drop by one of Loi Choi’s pop up events you’ll see exactly what they noticed nearly a decade ago. Minh Tâm exuberates a contagious positive energy towards his work and the people around him. The Tokyo Deli kitchen staff kept beckoning him to join their motley crew, yet it wasn’t until his second job at Hai Con Bò that he began working in a kitchen.
Although he started as supervisor at the steak restaurant on Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai, he was soon being called in by the kitchen to join the ranks. Eventually, he relented. Despite being a complete newbie, he was willing to pay attention and eager to learn. So, his induction included peeling and chopping onions—up to 15kg a day sometimes. Later on, he graduated to mixing salads and dunking fries into the fryer. After another year he left. He was just 19 years old. However, something had changed within him. This was when he knew what he was meant to do: he wanted to be in the kitchen.
After Hai Con Bò, Minh Tâm was eager to keep learning. He went to work at a local nhậu spot for two months where he mostly cooked snails, but he wanted to broaden his knowledge beyond his native cuisine. He got his first sous chef gig at RuNam D’Or. It was the ideal role in large part thanks to the chefs he worked under. First was Chef Roland who’s Italian heritage taught Minh Tâm how to make lots of types of pasta, as well as dishes like carpaccio and tiramisu. Besides Chef Roland, there was the restaurant's new chef from Singapore, Danny. Minh Tâm recalled how quickly they became friends given that they were the same age and felt comfortable to talk about anything. It was then he had the realization of how powerful it is to have friends in the kitchen. Point in case, RuNam D’or was also where Minh Tâm met Kim Ngan, future fellow member of Loi Choi. More than that though, Minh Tâm felt appreciative to work with Danny as a friend, but also grateful to observe how willing he was to help the team develop skills and solve problems. Having soaked up as much information as he could, after a year and a half Minh Tâm was hungry to learn more and decided to leave RuNam D’Or for somewhere new.
It was at this point in listening to Minh Tâm’s story that my ears perked up. In any career, the default path that many aspire to is to climb the mountain. Many will chase the prestige of a promotion over the power of a demotion. However, Minh Tâm understood that because he’s already worked up to the sous chef level, if he goes to another restaurant to work as a sous chef there, the expectation would be that upon arrival he would already know everything he needed to know. Knowing this, he instead chose to take a step back. Many of his peers questioned him on his decision, but he says if you want to learn, sometimes you need to go down. For him, he wanted to learn French cuisine so he got a job as a commis chef at La Villa Saigon in Thủ Đức. He worked there for chef-owner Thierry Mounan. During that time he learned a lot about cooking, but more than that about professionalism, presentation, and the ends of his physical limits. He used to drive from District 7 to Thủ Đức, work for four hours in the morning, drive back home, sleep, drive back to the restaurant, work for four more hours in the evening, and then drive back home again to sleep. After four exhausting months, Minh Tâm left to work at another new restaurant, Kiba.
Now having experienced what it means to take a step down to learn, many will use that as an excuse to take two steps ahead. But, once again, Minh Tâm chose to do something different. He got a job at Kiba Restaurant as a commis chef so that he could continue to broaden his knowledge in the kitchen. This time he would be learning about Spanish fusion cuisine under his boss, Chef Perro, A year and a half later Minh Tâm was promoted to sous Chef. It was also around that time he made another friend in the kitchen: Minh Đức, the chef who would end up becoming his partner for Loi Choi. The two worked alongside each other, learning as much as they could before Kiba eventually closed due to COVID. Following COVID, Minh Tâm got another sous chef job at LYND kitchen, further expanding his expertise and love of Spanish cuisine. Then, after his time at LYND, it was the second time listening to Minh Tâm’s story that my ears perked up.
It was 2022. Minh Tâm got a job offer to become head chef for the first time. It would be for a kitchen just opening up featuring a modern Spanish cuisine menu, Feliz Restaurant in Hanoi. It would be a big move. Different restaurant. Different city. Different culture. All of his family said don’t go. All of his friends said don’t go. And yet, he went. As Minh Tâm says, if you want to learn, sometimes you need to go somewhere new. Work in a different restaurant. Live in a different city. Embrace a different culture. On top of that, this move meant taking on his first head chef role, which gave him his first taste of the other side of the coin—there are times when you need to go down and there times when you need to go up. This was one such time.
Embracing a different culture, living in a different city, and working in a new kitchen, one newly opened with you at the helm can feel like a bit of shellshock. Minh Tâm says it was interesting, but it wasn’t easy. He had a few friends in Hanoi, but during that time he lived alone which coming from the community he’s grown up with in Saigon means he had to adjust. Not only that, he laughed reflecting on how he had to get used to wearing lip balm because of how cold and hot Hanoi can sway between. “Another thing to learn,” he says.
Then there was the work itself. His first time as head chef was difficult. The building wasn’t even finished at first. He was tasked with going out to find the necessary equipment in a city he’s not used to. He also had to go find people to join his staff which he says was challenging to find people who work like him, specifically those who have a combination of knowledge across different types of cuisines. Frustrated as he was, he understood that the reason he has a unique combination of knowledge was that he was trained well by his former bosses. Thus, he concluded that if he wants good staff, it’s on him to train people well, just as he’d been. Furthermore, Minh Tâm understood the training process included making a lot of mistakes, but on nights out drinking and eating with staff he would always remind them—it’s okay to make mistakes. It’s important to share our lessons with one another. That’s how you learn. That’s how you get better. That’s how you grow both individually and as a team. “Sometimes the best thing to do is just listen,” Minh Tâm says, “Make them feel safe. Everything can be fixed if you’re willing to share and to learn.”
After a year working at Feliz, Minh Tâm was missing home. He wanted to move back to Saigon, but one of his friends was opening a Spanish fusion restaurant in Hanoi called Vamos. It would be another moment to go up—Not only would he be head chef, he’d also be co-founder. Recognizing how much he grew in the past year living and working in Hanoi, taking on this opportunity would be another big move for him. He accepted, and once again, learned a lot.
Although the restaurant was only open for six months, he says he got the chance to develop more of his own style. For example, one of their signature dishes he helped create was the Bánh tráng taco featuring fish shrimp paste, turmeric, garlic fish sauce all grilled on a charcoal BBQ before being finished with a touch of sweet potato and spicy aioli on top. Beyond that he got to learn a Spanish tradition he’s come to love—breaking apart a pig into smaller pieces using a plate to smash with instead of a knife and then tossing the plate on the ground to celebrate. Despite the great experiences, Vamos closed at the end of 2023 and Minh Tâm made his way back to Saigon. Once again it was time for something new—a new year meant a new chapter in his old home.
Back in Saigon, Minh Tâms’s journey has continued. First he got a head chef role at a Singaporean restaurant called Arteastiq / The Sanctuary where he worked for a year. Then, at the beginning of 2025, he took on a sous chef role at Mamacita, a Latin Restaurant on Xuân Thủy in Thảo Điền. He says it’s a fun atmosphere—selling tacos, hosting parties every month, attracting an overall lively crowd. A few months after joining, Mamacita opened up a sister restaurant called La Lola which specializes in Mediterranean cuisine. For a short period of time, Minh Tâm was a sous chef in both kitchens—three days at Mamacita, three at La Lola. However, as it stands now, Minh Tâm recently accepted the head chef role at Mita 274 Sake & Smoked Cuisine on Nguyễn Cửu Vân.
Last but not least, Minh Tâm also makes time and energy for Loi Choi—a pop up group that does catering for public and private parties. Alongside Minh Tâm is Chef Minh Đức, and Kim Ngan. Together, they have hosted over half a dozen events at places including Neo-, Mita 274 Sake & Smoke Cuisine, as well as an event in Singapore where Minh Tâm got to team up with his old friend Danny from RuNam D’Or. Minh Tâm tells me Loi Choi has two meanings: one, to be fun, friendly, and a little crazy, and two, it is an invitation to come and play with the team and enjoy some food together. Just like how it sounds, Loi Choi is a great learning opportunity to understand how to pair different food with different drinks, cater to different people and places, as well as learn from other chefs in other kitchens.
After listening to Minh Tâm tell me all the ups and downs of the last decade, he’s right where he’s supposed to be. Going up when he’s supposed to go up. Down when he’s supposed to go down. Never resisting the flow. Always learning. Always growing. Always happy to take on what’s next.
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