Their odyssey has not been easy. They fled Vietnam without their older brother, Minh, who survived a harrowing boat trip to be reunited with the family three years later. Another brother, Johnny, was shot and killed during the lean months soon after Saigon opened. This once middle-class family was so poor then, Duckie says, that they couldn't afford a funeral and cremated Johnny. Now, as their restaurant's 10th anniversary approaches this fall, the Nguyens have regained their economic status.
People clamor for Saigon.
Yet even the success of the restaurant is not the barometer that measures their success. It's knowing that you live in a place where you have rights, the right to vote, the right to have peace of mind.