Quỳnh Ngô

Interview with Quỳnh Ngô:

Quỳnh is the owner and chef of the Diamond Billiard Hall in New Orleans East. Ava, Henry, and Katie interviewed Quỳnh Ngô.

Ava Ehrlich: Can you tell us about the story about Diamond Billiard Hall, how it started, how long it's been open? 

Quỳnh: I started the business three years ago. It's for fun for the people, to play pool, watch shows, and football games during the season and we have all kinds of parties like birthdays and anniversaries. Everybody parties here. 

Ava: And you are the sole owner? 

Quỳnh: Yes. 

Henry Baird: What made you decide, three years ago, to open this?

Quỳnh: I opened this because I have cooked for twenty years already. I like to cook and I want to make good food for everyone.

Ava: What was your cooking experience like, at home, for your family, or did you work in a restaurant? 

Quỳnh: When the customer's order anything we cook it. There's fried rice and we change the food every week for customers. We fry fish, hot pots, customers will bring fish after they go fishing and I will cook it for them too. They bring big fish, red snapper or anything. 

Katie Schwartz: Do you always have the same regular customers? 

Quỳnh: Yes, the same customers and new customers…When someone comes they bring other people and they all come together. For the pool tables they need two people. They bring their own sticks, but I have the balls here. 

Ava: What's your favorite dish to cook for people and what's your favorite thing to eat?

Quỳnh: I like to cook vegetables, but when the customers request anything I can cook whatever they want… I don't have a menu. When I go to the farmers market it depends if they have shrimp, clam, or snail. On Fridays, they let me know and I go buy it. We have steamed chicken only on the weekend. 

Katie: Are you the only one who cooks?

Quỳnh: Yes, I'm the cook and I serve the tables too, everything. I can cook for one hundred people, too. For all of them it was a three year anniversary party and then only me, I covered the tables and served it like the buffet. 

Ava: How do you prepare for that?

Quỳnh: It depends on what they request, some people like fried rice, salads, beef, and shrimp. They will let me know. I set up the tables and the pool tables and served them there… If they want balloons I'll set them up.

Katie: Where did you learn how to cook?

Quỳnh: I went to school and I don't know how long I’ve liked to cook, but I cooked food for my children and I give food when I go to see others. People around here call me Master…I cook American food too. Steak and shepherd's pie are some of my favorite foods and mashed potatoes with ground beef on top with vegetables and cheese on top. 

Henry: What is your family like? 

Quỳnh: I have three kids, two girls and one boy. Mary lives in Atlanta, and the second one works in the east hospital here, and my younger boy works around here. 

Katie: When you're cooking for your family, what is your favorite meal to cook? 

Quỳnh: My children eat American food mostly, they don't eat a lot of Asian food. When they were young we lived in Arizona and when my husband and I worked we sent them to daycare and they didn’t eat Vietnamese food.  

Ava: When did you first arrive in Arizona and what was your first impression of it?

Quỳnh: I came to the United States in 1992, thirty two years ago already… I worked at Motor Corolla…. My husband liked the fishing here and my family moved over here and after Katrina I moved back to Arizona and stayed with a friend for a year. She let me live in her house without paying and after that I came back here. 

Ava: How did you originally go from Arizona to New Orleans? 

Quỳnh: We drove, my children were only three years old. Here my husband would work in fishing and I worked on shrimp boats. I was twenty three years old, but I'm a strong woman so I worked on the shrimp boats before Katrina. I did that for five years while my children went to school. 

Henry: After Katrina and you went to Arizona, what made you want to come back to New Orleans after that?

Quỳnh: We came back because my husband likes fishing. We went to Arizona together and came back together. Afterwards, the church gave us a trailer to live in for one year to look for a house. 

Henry: When did you feel like New Orleans truly started to feel like your home and a place that you could settle down with your family? 

Quỳnh: I liked New Orleans better than Arizona and there were many people who were really good to me after Katrina. They helped me with everything when I came back here. When I came back I didn't have to pay rent, my friend gave me a couple months to freely stay with her. 

Henry: What are some places in New Orleans East that hold special significance for you or are some of your favorite places?

Quỳnh: I go to church on Sunday if I have time. I like to read and I have a whole garden. Ten years ago, one of the magazines came to view my garden. I plant all the herbs and flowers… Before when I lived with my friend she had a garden and worked with me. We had around 20 different kinds of lettuce and I would cut it for my children… I have two cats, Penny and Nickel and I feed about fifty random cats when I’m home. 

Katie: What are some of the best things about owning the hall and running it?

Quỳnh: It’s work and I don't think I would have the income and fun somewhere else… My husband only helps clean the pool tables and the floor. Sometimes my son comes in and helps to clean… I want to run this place until I can’t. My children won’t take it over; they come over here a little bit but not a lot. 

Ava: Have you ever gone back and visited Vietnam?

Quỳnh: I visited Vietnam in 1993 one time. My children went with me. 

Henry: How do you think life in New Orleans compares to life in Vietnam?

Quỳnh: There is also a lot of community over here, when they have the fair on the New Year it looks similar to it in Vietnam.

Henry: Do you think the community is very alive here and feels nice and warm and welcoming? 

Quỳnh: Around here there’s warm and nice people. When you need help they help. I like to help people too. If people are good to me, I give to them. I'm always helping the homeless people here. In the cold season if they need a jacket, gloves, or blanket, I give it to them. Even customers give me old clothes and I put them in a bag and I give it to the homeless around here. It makes me happy. When I see the homeless people outside, if I don't feed them I feel so bad. If they're good, I feel happy. 

Henry: When you first went from Vietnam to Arizona, did you feel that there were any aspects of your Vietnamese culture that were hard to maintain in the early years after first coming here to the United States?  

Quỳnh: First coming to the U.S was easy for me because in Vietnam I went to school and I knew some English already. That was not difficult when I came here and I soon started working.  

Henry: When you guys throw parties here, they seem to be pretty wild.

Quỳnh: Yes, when people come it can be thirty people. They sing karaoke. My husband doesn't speak English well so I help with the music too… We hold everything, birthday parties, anniversaries, everything. They let me know a week in advance how many people and the food and I prepare everything. I like karaoke too. My favorite song is “Still Loving You,” when I come in they call me over to sing it. 

Ava: How did you learn how to cook dishes like shepherd's pie and more traditional American dishes?

Quỳnh: I believe God gave me the good hands to cook when I cook. I always buy good food, vegetables, meats, and everything and do good and feel better. Customers let me know what they want.  

Henry: What was your first impression of New Orleans? 

Quỳnh: I came into the Vietnamese community and it felt like family. When I go out, I don’t have the car, I work by myself and it's easy. 

Ava: Did you know there was a large Vietnamese community here in New Orleans? 

Quỳnh: Yes, in the area here and in the church. There are many old people, if you help them they will call you. They will call me to help them go to the doctor and if I have time I will drive for them…. The Mary Queen Church had the Moon Fest already last month. I’ve lived here over thirty years but I have gone to the festival only one time. All I have time for…. If I left and customers came, there would be no cook here… Customers come here and they really like it, it looks like a family, they come to enjoy and talk. 

Henry: What day are your most popular days?

Quỳnh: Popular days are Saturday night and Friday night. The customer will let me know, when they feel like fun they go.