Mia Stainsby
Sun
Plate of food Photograph by : Ian Smith, Vancouver Sun
VICTORIA TRAN
Owner, Chef
Mekong Vietnamese and Thai Cuisine
– – –
In Vietnam, my father had a fabric business. The government took away our business and house. They left us a few savings but took the rest away. They thought we had more and they had guards at our house.
Our background is Chinese. Our name was originally Chan. We were discriminated [against] so we changed it. My Dad realized we couldn’t survive there. We were registered as Chinese immigrants so we could leave. We were lucky that way.
My mom and dad and 11 brothers and sisters left Vietnam in 1980. There were 750 other refugees in a boat built for 350. Lots of people bribed to get on the boat. We were very tight. We cannot lay down. We were stacked. We spent one week in the open sea and the people with the boat didn’t know what they were doing. We were floating along. It was terrifying.
People were sick. There was no food for a week. We boiled water that was so dirty we could see things swimming in it. A government fishing boat came up and robbed what we had brought. They demanded everything. But they gave us water and told us what direction to go.
We landed in Malaysia but they turned us away because the boat was still floating. We had to sink the boat and then they rescued us and took us as refugees for a year and one month. UNICEF was really nice and gave us food and clothing. Very nice people, sponsored by the Canadian government. I was 12.
We applied to come [to Canada. The government] put us down as farmers because we raised some animals and so they sent us to Regina.
My father opened a restaurant. I was there to 1988 and then moved to Vancouver. I came for a vacation and loved the weather, the sea, the mountains. I love everything here. Freedom. The country. The people. You have a chance to grow if you work hard. As long as you want to learn, you can learn.
How has your past influenced you?
I give back to the community. Before I cooked food to take to the church to help them give food to the homeless. Now they have a kitchen so I give them supplies of rice, potatoes, meat. Every week, I deliver to them.
To tell you the truth, I don’t know what religion the church is. It doesn’t matter, as long as I’m helping people. I buy food from grocery stores and drive around and give food to the homeless. When I see them without family, without food, without a home… I’m going to cry right now.
Where did such compassion come from?
I guess my dad. He touched my heart. He taught me how to love people, feed people. He always gave us food and told us about people who don’t have. When we were on the island [in Malaysia], I was starving myself. Even a little bread gave us so much joy. Just a little rice on coconut shell. It was so good.
Where is your family now?
My dad died not long ago. He did everything. My mom’s very lonely. My dad did everything. She cannot cook or anything else. She was the most lucky woman.
My brothers and sisters have restaurants in Regina, about seven of them. They are all giving back. Maybe not to the homeless but they give money to the [Buddhist] temple which gives money to the poor in Vietnam, the ones who are rejected because of illness. I do that as well. And I give money to help them with the flood. Vietnam always has floods.
What does your restaurant mean to you?
I love to cook. I love to try new things. I oversee everything. I prepare all the sauces because of consistency. I learned to cook from my father and from cookbooks.
My passion is from my Dad. My family would gather and laugh and talk and it makes things taste better. We had a very happy family and every time families come into my restaurant, my heart come up with joy.
– – –
MEKONG VIETNAMESE AND THAI CUISINE
1414 Commercial Dr., 604-253-7088.
Take out or eat in.
Tran’s father taught her how to cook Vietnamese dishes such as pho and curries, and her uncle taught her Thai specialties such as Tom Kah Coconut soup and Pad Thai.
Most popular dish: Mekong Special Sizzling Plate (above) which comes to the table on a sizzling hot cast-iron platter.
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
