Graduated in finance, became a romantic noodle shop owner

Mr. Cyrus Nguyen (second from left) and his colleagues share a passion for cuisine - Photo: NHA CHAN

Step by step, he became a chef at several high-end restaurants in New York (USA) and even in Europe. But one day he became the owner of a chocolate shop and now Cyrus Nguyen is known by the nickname "the romantic noodle seller" in Ho Chi Minh City.

I have had a passion for noodles for a long time because when I was in school, whenever I was hungry, the first thing I thought of was noodles. But in Vietnam, there are many different types of noodles, but there are very few cold noodles. With the hot climate of our country, enjoying a portion of cold noodles is wonderful, suitable to eat at any time.

Mr. CYRUS NGUYEN

Pursue your passion for food

Originally from Hue, he has lived in the US since he was a child. In fact, after graduating from university with a degree in finance, Cyrus Nguyen (Vietnamese name Nguyen Thanh Cong) worked for a while in business administration. But he admitted that "I am not suitable for this job" after struggling with it for a while.

He recalled the happy memories of working as a kitchen assistant at a Japanese restaurant for most of his college years. Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind. "Why not create a new direction for myself? Pursue my passion for food, why not? Something that had been forgotten for a long time suddenly came back," Cyrus recalled.

So he quit his job. This time he was determined and started studying culinary arts systematically. The hard work paid off when he got a professional chef certificate from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Boston (USA).

Looking for a job, Cyrus was accepted and became a chef for a 3-star Michelin restaurant in New York. But the desire to explore and conquer cuisines in many places never stopped lingering in his mind.

Cyrus then held a number of different positions (sous chef, executive chef, chocolatier...) in the kitchens at Craft New York, Three Forks Chophouse, Montage Beverly Hills, Madame Chocolate Beverly Hills and Jacques Torres Chocolate New York...

However, in 2012, Cyrus decided to return to Vietnam to continue pursuing his passion for culinary arts. With his experience in making chocolate abroad, he founded his own chocolate brand in Ho Chi Minh City using clean cocoa as raw material and producing products that meet international standards. To many, Cyrus is considered a chocolate artisan.

Yet in 2024, Cyrus surprised many people when he and a few colleagues decided to open a mixed noodle restaurant in District 1 (HCMC). Some people wondered why a chef who had worked in 1, 2 and even 3 Michelin-starred restaurants abroad chose to sell mixed noodles, a seemingly quite popular dish.

Only he is confident that he is suitable and with many years of experience accumulated in the profession will create that dish in his own interesting way.

Grilled chicken mixed noodles is the most popular dish at the restaurant - Photo: NHA CHAN

Cheap noodles in open space

Ember Noodle Bar was born in late 2024. The restaurant has a European style design with an open space, somewhat luxurious but quite intimate. When coming here, diners can directly watch the chef prepare noodles and wait about 7 minutes to enjoy this meal.

"The most important ingredients of the mixed dish are of course the noodles and the sauce. The noodles need to be boiled for the right amount of time, so that when taken out, they still retain their chewy texture. Meanwhile, the sauce is refined to suit Vietnamese tastes without the need for any additional spices when eating," Cyrus said about the restaurant's main dish.

Even the chicken used to eat noodles at the restaurant is raised organically, without antibiotics to ensure the health of customers. Because it is an open space, customers can eat and chat with the chef at the same time.

The price of each portion varies depending on the type, the most expensive is the noodle dish with grilled wagu beef. While the most popular dish (best seller) here is the grilled chicken noodle dish.

Although it has not been open for long, this place has gradually become a well-known address. Therefore, to ensure no inconvenience, customers often call to make reservations before coming, especially during lunch time, which is almost always full, and there are even many regular customers who come for lunch two or three times a week.

Because it is a cold dish, customers can easily buy it to take away with the commitment that it can still be as delicious as eating at the restaurant for about three hours from the time the dish is prepared.

"I am calculating and choosing a few more suitable locations to expand this business model to other places. And I have also considered setting up kiosks so that people can conveniently buy and take away," the noodle shop owner plans.

The class of familiar dishes

Demanding highly of himself, Cyrus believes that he must bring customers something classy, ​​with every detail being perfect, even if it is just a bowl of noodles. And that can only be achieved when the steps of choosing ingredients, making noodles, boiling noodles, and preparing chicken, beef, vegetables, etc. must all follow the correct process and time requirements. Only then can delicious dishes with standard flavors be created.

That is the way that large Michelin-standard restaurants have applied, and it is also the lesson that Cyrus Nguyen has learned after working in many places like that. "I want to apply that process to a popular dish, close to Vietnamese people, and I hope that everyone can enjoy Michelin-standard food at an acceptable price," Cyrus confided.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tot-nghiep-nganh-tai-chinh-thanh-lang-tu-quan-mi-tron-20250304002935543.htm