ITHACA, N.Y.—After a lifetime of work and nearly 33 years of owning and operating two different restaurants in the Ithaca area, Le My and Trung Lam are settling into retirement.
The Lams founded and operated Wok Village and Saigon Kitchen, both of which became very popular in the Ithaca food scene. The restaurants served Vietnamese cuisine, based on family recipes and quickly became a home for the Southeast Asian community in Ithaca. Le My and Trung sold Saigon Kitchen and retired in January following a long career that also included starting the first Chinese restaurant in Trumansburg and owning Asian Taste at the Ithaca Farmers Market.
The Lams arrived in the United States in 1980, having immigrated from Vietnam to escape the regime that took power following the end of the Vietnam War. Trung, Le My’s husband, had served in the South Vietnamese military for five years before being sent to re-education camps for three years, following the fall of South Vietnam.
After his release, the family migrated via boat, first to Malaysia, where they were turned away by the Malaysia Coast Guard, then to Indonesia where they were placed in a refugee camp. They stayed there for a year until being granted a visa to immigrate to America.
Trung’s father worked in the hospitality business back in Vietnam, owning and operating hotels with restaurants throughout the region. It was there Trung developed a passion for cooking, a passion that would sustain throughout his life. With that background and in need of a job in a new country, opening a restaurant was a no-brainer.
“Well, we gotta [have a] job anyway,” said Trung Lam. “Cooking is my interest.”
The road to opening was not easy. Trung studied at both BOCES and Tompkins Cortland Community College for a few years, before eventually opening Wok Village in 1990. The restaurant remained open for 21 years before closing in 2010 to make way for the Lam’s newest restaurant, Saigon Kitchen, which opened shortly thereafter in 2011. Tam-Marion Warren, the couple’s daughter, explained the family’s quick pivot to their restaurant that remains to this day.
“Southeast Asian food was becoming more popular and people wanted kind of a less heavy, more fresh, light food, so my brother was in-town around the time and they opened Saigon Kitchen,” Warren said.
The Lams used family recipes in both restaurants. The food is inspired by traditional Vietnamese dishes with a mix of Chinese influence, referencing the Lams’ Vietnamese and Chinese heritage.
Each restaurant quickly gained a following, earning a group of loyal customers over the years—even one who Trung proudly affirmed was 100 years old. The businesses became more than a place to eat, but rather a place to live and learn, particularly for the Southeast Asian community living in the city of Ithaca.
“My mom would take many of [her employees] under her wing and help them open bank accounts, buy their first house — it was very much a family type of business,” Warren said. “It wasn’t infrequent that they would hire someone, then their sister, their uncle and soon the entire family is working for them. And they would help them find housing — they would help build a foundation to live.”
To the Lams, the decision to retire was a difficult but logical choice.
“I am 70 and Mr. Lam is 75, so that’s why we said ‘It’s easy enough to retire,’” Le My said.
The Lams said maintaining the quality of service and food was a top priority while they determined who should take over the business next.
“The chef is the same and so are the recipes — what was really important was maintaining the same quality and experience customers are used to,” Warren said. “The [buyers] are nice people, which was important to my parents.”
Throughout their tenure, the Lams emphasized that the customer always came first, something Le My Lam said is the part of the work she misses most.
“Our customers were first, so please tell the customers, we miss them a lot,” Le My said.
Correction: Le My Lam’s name was initially misspelled in this story. The error has been corrected.