Clash of Cultures Ends Sweetly in Orange County’s Little Saigon

It’s just a line from the Yellow Pages, but it sums up more than a century of colonization, culture and cuisine, and proves at the same time that what is past is pastry: “ Banh Sinh Nhat dung toan Creme au Buerre va Creme Chantilly .”

For those unversed in the languages--and intertwined histories--of France and its one-time colony, Vietnam, that translates into about 500 calories per slice of “birthday cake filled with butter creme or Chantilly creme.”

At Van’s Bakery in Orange County’s burgeoning Vietnamese business district, banh sinh nhat struggle for shelf space with delicate napoleons, choux a la creme (creme puffs), moon cakes and banh khoai mi (fried cassava cakes), making the tiny Westminster shop at once an emblem of clashing cultures and a haven for the hungry.

Nearly 10 Vietnamese-French bakeries operate within an eclair’s throw of Van’s, which advertises in three local Vietnamese newspapers and the Vietnamese Business Directory to stay competitive.

Little Saigon is home to about a score such bakeries, making it one of the highest concentrations of continental carbohydrates this side of Maxim’s.

“Most of the bakeries (in Little Saigon) have a French flavor,” said Loc T. Nguyen, executive director of the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce in Orange County. “The staple offering is the French croissant. Every store now is offering the croissant. . . . We’re banking on our past association with the French, and we’re not just catering to the Vietnamese community. We’re catering to the larger American market.”

Which is a good thing for the bakers of Bolsa Strip, Little Saigon’s main drag. Their hours are long; their pace is quick, and their competition is growing. Between 1985 and 1988, the number of Vietnamese bakeries in Orange County jumped from 11 to 18, according to the Vietnamese Business Directory.

“We have the first bakery that opened here,” said Diep Tran, the Cordon Bleu-trained baker who opened Song Long Bakery on Bolsa Avenue in 1981. “People look at our business and see that it is a good business, and everyone wants to open a bakery.”

In the latter half of the 19th Century, France conquered Vietnam, controlling it as a colony from 1883 to 1945. That year, Communists and other nationalists, led by Ho Chi Minh, declared the country’s independence.

It was an action that led to seven years of guerrilla warfare with France, was capped by a Communist victory and set the scene for U.S. intervention. When the French left Vietnam in 1954, an indelible mark remained.

That French flavor was later brought to the United States by 500,000 refugees who fled their homeland after Saigon fell in 1975. The largest concentration eventually landed in Orange County.

Anyone who eats an epi (a jagged yardstick of French bread) at the Center Club or buys a baguette at the Price Club has Soi Tran to thank for their feast. Tran, 40, owns Baron’s French Bakery, the largest and most lucrative in Little Saigon.

Tran specializes in French bread and croissants and wholesales his wares to sandwich shops, restaurants, hotels and grocery stores throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties. His 5,000-square-foot bakery rolls out $100,000 worth of baked goods every month, he said.

Tran started business in 1984 in a small retail bakery just a few blocks from his current location on Weststate Street in Westminster. After two years, he said, his landlord realized how well he was doing, refused to renew his lease and took over the location himself.

Tran then took his earnings from his first bakery and opened Baron’s, which now employs 22 and bakes 24 hours a day.

“When I start business (in 1984), I have $30,000,” Tran said. “Now I have $700,000 in equipment and building. I bought the building. I don’t like to rent. I put all my money back into the business.”

Tran also sinks most of his time into Baron’s, often spending 20 hours a day in the warm, fragrant plant. While most of his baked goods go wholesale to American businesses, the Vietnamese community also breakfasts on Baron’s breads.

“We are near the Vietnamese town,” Tran said, “The Vietnamese like this bread. Ten thousand loaves per day go just to market, sandwich shops, restaurants here. All my bread.”