Chef Thanh Nguyen of Oishii is a man of few words. Or so it seems from the other side of the sushi bar as I watch him swiftly yet meticulously craft, roll, torch, slice, shred and garnish raw fish with an eye for detail. People flock to this longstanding neighborhood gem not only for the food, but the people behind it.
It all starts in a village miles from Saigon, Vietnam in June Thanh Nguyen was born in the Year of the Ox, which to most comes as an unlucky sign. The youngest of eight, Thanh worked in the rice fields of Vietnam with his five sisters, two brothers and their mother. After taking a year off between high school and college to work and travel with the Fishing Company of Alaska, Thanh entered The University of Texas at Dallas, where he graduated in with a Bachelor of Computer Science.
He is the first member of his family to graduate from college. Moving on to work in technical support at Alcatel and Budget Rent-a-Car, Thanh found comfort in working nights at different restaurants.
While there, Thanh discovered a Vietnamese buffet off Wycliff Avenue where he could enjoy the flavors he missed from back home. Then one day, the owner of this buffet told Thanh she was looking to sell. State Highway , Grapevine, Texas Our Story. His Story. Our Menu. Our Team Meet Our Team.
