Traci Nguyen

Signature dish: Vietnamese garlic noodles w/ dungeness crab. This dish is my life on a plate. I grew up in MD and learned crabs were steamed with Old Bay, beer and lemons. When I moved to San Francisco and found dungeness was boiled and served cold, I wasn't impressed. So I steamed them MD-style, and tossed with San Francisco's own Vietnamese garlic noodles — butter, garlic, oyster sauce, fish sauce. The result, perfection! Two coasts, two cultures, one bowl.

My inspiration lives in the familiar — a restaurant dish I can't stop thinking about, a flavor tied to a cherished memory. My passion is cracking the code: reverse-engineering great food and making it approachable at home. From Michelin-inspired seared scallops in champagne beurre blanc with caviar to a perfect banh mi, I cook across cultures and cuisines, always chasing that moment when someone takes a bite and says — "that's exactly it."

I'd take my family on a culinary journey through Vietnam — a send-off before my oldest leaves for college. We would travel from Hanoi's Old Quarter for morning pho and bún chả. Then to Huế's Imperial Citadel, then enjoy a lesser known crispy crepe with peanut sauce, bánh khoai. Next, Hội An's Ancient Town for thick, chewy noodles with pork (cao lầu) and Saigon's Ben Thanh Market, for my favs. Lastly, relaxing in Phú Quốc — white sand beaches, crystal water, and t