The SK Story

Saigon Kitchen’s humble beginnings started in 1985 when Chef/Restaurateur Nam ventured to open his restaurant in downtown Hartford.  From the beginning, Nam has utilized his creative spirit to establish and grow quite an impressive restaurant.

Saigon Kitchen is most well-known for the signature dishes, the Hot’n Spicy Chicken and Sesame Chicken, which is unparalleled to any food experience you will find in the Hartford area.

Born and raised in what was formerly known as Saigon, the capitol of Vietnam, and self-taught as a chef, Nam has been working in kitchens since the age of nine.  Nam’s inborn talent stems from his experience as a third generational chef in his family to work in the food and beverage industry.  Growing up as a child in a traditional Chinese household and living in Vietnam, helped expose Nam to an assortment of authentic pan-Asian flavors and fresh ingredients from both Chinese and Vietnamese cultures.  In the late 1970s, when Nam left his native country in attempt to escape communism, he arrived in the U.S. and began living in Connecticut.  During this time of adaptation to a new country and culture, Nam began his culinary experience in the U.S. by working in multiple Chinese restaurants as an apprentice and then quickly moving up to sous and executive chef positions.  Being in the company of, and working alongside top-notch Chinese chefs and restaurateurs was the only schooling for this self-taught chef.

Thereby, utilizing his gift to cook irresistibly great tasting food, Nam decided early on that he had to open his own restaurant specializing in Asian cuisine.  With the help of his business savvy wife named Minh, he had the confidence to build a restaurant that would serve fast, hot and fresh Asian food that would keep clients coming back for more. In August 1985, Saigon Kitchen was born and today it is a family owned and operated restaurant that continues to thrive because of Nam’s vision and passion, along with his wife Minh’s inspired leadership to maintain a restaurant set on serving fresh tasting Asian cuisine using quality ingredients at an excellent value.