She\u2019s graced both Forbes\u2019 30 Under 30<\/a> list and the Food Network\u2019s 2025 Hotlist,.<\/a>\u00a0Her debut cookbook, \u201cDi An,\u201d released in September 2024, made the Best Cookbook lists at The New York Times<\/a>, LA Times<\/a>, and Esquire Magazine<\/a>. She also opened her own high-end Vietnamese restaurant, \u0110i\u0110i, in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n If you haven\u2019t already surmised, Chef Tu\u1ec7 Nguy\u1ec5n is kind of a big deal.<\/p>\n Now the internet-famous chef is headed to the Belly Laughs Comedy and Food Festival<\/a>, which spotlights Asian-American culture through food and stand-up comedy. More than 20 beloved Asian restaurants from Los Angeles will be featured.<\/p>\n L.A. favorites such as Bobapop, Feng Mao, Kolkata Chai Co, and more will set up shop at Peacock Place and Chick Hearn Plaza \u2013 the newly renovated space that connects Crypto.com Arena to L.A. Live on July 12 and 13. More than 30 stand-up Asian comedians, including Hasan Minhaj<\/a>, Kumail Nanjiani<\/a>, Margaret Cho<\/a>, a surprise guest, and two recent additions \u2014 Bobby Lee and Vickie Wang \u2014 will hit the stage concurrently at the Peacock Theater.<\/p>\n \u201cIt means a lot to me for them to even consider me to be a part of this,\u201d Nguy\u1ec5n said. \u201cHaving a festival that celebrates how incredible Asian food and culture are\u2014it\u2019s exciting, and I am really looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n Tu\u1ec7 Nguy\u1ec5n is among the chefs serving up tasty Asian cuisine at the Belly Laughs Comedy and Food Festival on July 12 and 13. (Photo by Victoria Stevens)\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Tu\u1ec7 Nguy\u1ec5n is among the chefs serving up tasty Asian cuisine at the Belly Laughs Comedy and Food Festival on July 12 and 13. (Photo by Roger McKenna)\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Tu\u1ec7 Nguy\u1ec5n is among the chefs serving up tasty Asian cuisine at the Belly Laughs Comedy and Food Festival on July 12 and 13. (Photo by Yoshi Eumura)\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Show Caption<\/p>\n 1 of 3<\/p>\n Tu\u1ec7 Nguy\u1ec5n is among the chefs serving up tasty Asian cuisine at the Belly Laughs Comedy and Food Festival on July 12 and 13. (Photo by Victoria Stevens)\n<\/p>\n Expand<\/a><\/p>\n When Nguy\u1ec5n\u2019s family immigrated to the States when she was eight years old, they landed in Oxnard, Calif., a predominantly Latino area where she had her first taste of Mexican food. At her elementary school, she found joy in sharing the Vietnamese dishes she packed for lunch with friends who were trying them for the first time. She was fascinated by the number of different restaurant options in America because, in Vietnam, most dining options adhered to the country\u2019s traditional staples, with the exception of slightly more refined Vietnamese cuisine.<\/p>\n Her family lived about two hours away from Orange County, a hub for Asian cuisine that generations of Vietnamese and Korean communities had developed into one of Southern California\u2019s vibrant and diverse food scenes<\/a>. Nguy\u1ec5n was excited to try some Vietnamese food outside of her home and country, but when she did, she said it tasted Americanized.<\/p>\n \u201cI just don\u2019t think that you can fully get Vietnamese food over here,\u201d she said. \u201cBut when I tried it, I found it to be a different version of Vietnamese food. That opened me up to a world of trying similar foods, like Cambodian food, and they have kuyteav, which reminded me a lot of pho. That made me start asking questions, and it turns out that they basically have almost the same origins. I started to really explore Thai food, and then my world opened up more, and my whole life changed when I had sushi for the first time. I had a lot of those experiences where I would have never been able to try these types of cuisines over in Vietnam.\u201d<\/p>\n Nguy\u1ec5n said that Vietnam\u2019s home customs operate in a very traditional manner. When a couple is married, the wife is expected to spend their life as the caretaker of the immediate and extended family. For the chef, that meant eating lots of her mom, auntie and grandma\u2019s dishes growing up.<\/p>\n Despite her fascination with food, she didn\u2019t know how to cook because her mother didn\u2019t like having other hands in her kitchen, and it was something her mother didn\u2019t want Nguy\u1ec5n to pursue. Her mother encouraged her to find a career with higher-paying wages, so during her pre-college years, she did everything possible to maintain good standing for nursing school. However, during her college applications, her gut was telling her to reconsider.<\/p>\n \u201cI really had a moment to reflect, and I was like, \u2018Wow, this is going to be you and your career for the rest of your life,\u2019 and it just hit me that that wasn\u2019t what I wanted to do,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, I thought about what I liked doing. Up until then, I was so engulfed in this mindset of getting into nursing school that I never really explored any other options. My hobby was going out to eat and exploring new places to try. I knew I loved to eat, but I didn\u2019t know how to make food, so I thought I\u2019d try culinary school to see where it took me.\u201d<\/p>\n During her time in culinary school, she realized that there was also a set of expectations that students brought with them and followed to try to succeed in the restaurant business. She, like many students, believed that she would complete her studies and then begin working in a restaurant that would eventually turn into a full-time gig. Nguy\u1ec5n landed a staging position after culinary school, working at Wolfgang Puck\u2019s Spago restaurant in Beverly Hills, but she didn\u2019t find it as fulfilling as she had hoped.<\/p>\n Then, in 2020, the coronavirus pandemic<\/a> halted the traditional flow of people to restaurants, asking them to stay home, which meant fewer opportunities for people to try the next trending eatery. Another result was the TikTok food boom, where those who stayed at home sought recipes to try and watched DIY cooking videos.<\/p>\n Nguy\u1ec5n moved back home with her mom, and with lots of time on their hands, they began cooking together, which inspired her to document the process on social media and share simple recipes with others to try. Her first recipe video, on how to cook fried rice<\/a>, racked up millions of views.<\/p>\n \n @twaydabae<\/a> <\/p>\n Quick and easy #friedrice<\/a> #recipe<\/a> #easyrecipe<\/a> #foodie<\/a> #food<\/a> #homecook<\/a> #howto<\/a> #howtocook<\/a><\/p>\n \u266c original sound \u2013 twaydabae<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cAt first, I was uncomfortable sharing that I cooked online, because in my head, it just wasn\u2019t something glamorous,\u201d she said. \u201cI felt like I still needed to learn more things in the kitchen, and needed more experience. I was scared of judgment, but then, when the pandemic happened and everything shut down, it forced everybody inside and to cook at home. \u00a0I was like, \u2018Well, I can\u2019t go out to eat, but I can make content.\u2019 It started as something fun. I didn\u2019t realize it was going to blow up the way it did.\u201d<\/p>\n As restaurants began to re-open and social distancing eased, Nguy\u1ec5n\u2019s online following began to translate into real capital. Her followers, although able to cook some of her recipes on their own, were eager to try her food in person, leading to sold-out pop-up restaurants with The H.wood Group, Family Style Festival, ComplexCon, Madame Vo in New York and chef Roy Choi<\/a> in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was the first time in my culinary career where I felt like this is another path,\u201d she said. \u201cI was excited about it and the opportunities that I was getting because it not only allowed me to cook, create menus and recipes, but it also let me be creative in how I shoot my videos and create this community.\u201d<\/p>\n In July 2023, Nguy\u1ec5n secured a permanent home for her food at \u0110i\u0110i, a high-end Vietnamese restaurant in Los Angeles, located on La Cienega Blvd. The restaurant serves Bo Tai Chanh, pho, and a whole fried Thai snapper accompanied by a signature Tway Ploy sauce. She has found community with other chefs in the city, who have given her advice and help when she needed it, and described the city\u2019s food scene as strong and nurturing. Despite the support, she said there have been some challenges, including balancing costs, creating a steady flow of returning customers, and remaining true to herself.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes I question if it is authentic enough, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cIs it like what my grandma makes? It\u2019s a tricky line to walk because, on one hand, I want to keep the flavors familiar, but on the other, I also want to be authentic to myself. As a Vietnamese girl, a lot of my life was spent there, but then the other half of my life was spent in America. There are a lot of influences that raised me to be this person I am today, and as long as I feel like I\u2019m being authentic to myself and my food is telling my story, I cannot let anybody else tell me otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n Belly Laughs Comedy and Food Festival<\/p>\n When:<\/strong> Noon \u2013 11 p.m., Saturday, July 12, and Sunday, July 13.<\/p>\n Where:<\/strong> Peacock Palace, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles.<\/p>\n Admission:<\/strong> Single-day general admission tickets are $129, and VIP single-day tickets are $199. Weekend general admission passes are $217, and VIP weekend passes are $342.98. Tickets for Mama\u2019s Nightmarket, excluding access to the comedy performances, are $50. All tickets are available via AXS.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Originally Published: July 3, 2025 at 8:30 AM PDT<\/p>\n\n
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