Hoang Samuelson
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Writer. Storyteller. Amateur Baker. Features Editor at @chowhound
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Articles by Hoang Samuelson
What We Can Learn About Ourselves from Dr. Seuss
What We Can Learn About Ourselves from Dr. Seuss When my kids were younger, we read a lot of Dr. Seuss books. Prior to becoming a parent, I’d vaguely heard of Dr. Seuss, whose real name was Theodor Geisel and who wasn’t even a real doctor. But nonetheless, he played an important role in children’s fiction, so much so that I found myself bringing back endless amounts of his books to read to my own kids.
A Blessing in Disguise
The building rose above me like a monument — tall and looming, it took up an entire city block, spanning First and Main Street in downtown Portland. In all my years living here, I’d been downtown a handful of times, but not this particular corner. Across the street is the Portland Police Bureau’s central office, next to a small park, and on the other side is a government building. As a matter of fact, the building I was about to enter also housed two government entities — the IRS and the FBI.
Dress Me Up and Let Me Go
If you ever find yourself alone in your world, feeling lost and sad and uncertain, just put on the dress. You know, the frilly one with lace, the one that Mom made you wear when you were seven. You remember that, don't you? I know you do. I do, because I was there, next to you. The two of us were as thick as skin back then.
What No One Tells You About Traveling
Diners in front of a restaurant in Heidelberg, Germany's main town square. One of the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen. I hesitate to talk more about travel because part of me feels a slight tinge of guilt, coupled with a sense of privilege that I'm not sure I wholly deserve. Which is why, after I came back from my trip to Europe last year, I posted a small sliver of photos on social media and then promptly stopped.
The Sound of Joy Through My Son's Ears
Why it's good to live vicariously through another person's eyes sometimes It's a Monday and I'm inside an air conditioned building sitting on an IKEA Poang chair while my son is having his weekly piano lesson. Usually there are other parents sitting nearby waiting for their own kids, but today it's just me. I walk toward his room, Studio 4, where he's sitting on the piano bench next to his teacher, a twenty-something music college graduate who typically dons a baseball cap.
Whatever It Takes
Salutations, bibliophiles. Today, I’m very excited to bring you . Hoang writes , where she shares stories that illuminate her experience as a village girl who had (and still do) big dreams, through the lens of food, family, books, and experiences. Here, she shares the story of the book that made her — White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. — “How far would you go to achieve your dreams?” is a question that lingered in my mind after reading The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga.
The Memory Maker
By Hoang Samuelson A year later, my family and I meet up for dim sum at a local Chinese restaurant, where the only thing missing is my mother A very busy day at a Chinese restaurant. The first thing I notice is the lack of parking. On a recent Sunday morning, we enter a jam-packed parking lot, many spots taken by SUVs. My husband drives around for a few minutes, passing several confused drivers before saying...
A Scandinavian TV Show Makes Eating Trees Look Cool
By Hoang Samuelson Get ready for a new taste of Nordic cuisine filled with some questionable choices Nordic ceviche, courtesy of the hottest Scandinavian show you've probably never heard of As someone whose only connection to Scandinavian culture is through her husband and her adopted married name, I know next to nothing about Swedish food (except for IKEA, of course) and even less about Norwegian food. I knew about lefse, the...
What Three Weeks in Vietnam Feels Like
By Hoang Samuelson Visiting my home country left me with a sense of awe and privilege along with some complicated feelings One of the islets at Ha Long Bay, a place you should absolutely visit. You know you're in Vietnam when the first thing you feel as soon as you step outside is the humidity.
Shelter Among Sisters
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Shelter Among Sisters
Years ago, on the cusp of adulthood and grief, looking for a place to belong, I found solace and friendship amongst a group of young women. It all began with a toothache. *** In my tiny dorm room underneath my cotton candy pink striped blankets, I clutched my stomach and ground my teeth, wondering what I’d done to deserve such pain. This was no ordinary toothache. The pain felt like extra sharp knives jabbing my entire mouth for hours, but really, it was just one tooth—my right molar.
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About Me An avid food lover and baker, I also consider myself a true Anglophile. Based in Portland, Oregon, a city known for food trucks, left wing politics, and plenty of rain. My biggest (literary) dream at the moment is to get my book published before I run out of energy and ideas. I love to try new things, and two things I love the most (aside from my family) are food and books! Please feel free to connect/reach out or check out my social media, where I may occassionally post a thing or two.
Profile: Asian American Author and Journalist Vanessa Hua
An Interview With Vanessa Hua, Author of Forbidden City Blog, Profiles, Represent The Former Power Journalist Writing Immigrant Stories Vanessa Hua is no stranger to writing about strong, resilient women. It’s what she did with A River of Stars, her debut novel published in 2019. It became a national bestseller, highly regarded by The Washington Post, NPR, and Real Simple magazine, and elevated her to an award-winning author.
Die finanziellen Lektionen, die mir meine kreditunsichtbare Einwanderermutter beigebracht hat
Unsere Experten wählen die besten Produkte und Dienstleistungen aus, um Ihnen zu helfen, kluge Entscheidungen mit Ihrem Geld zu treffen (so geht’s). In einigen Fällen erhalten wir eine Provision von unseren Partnern; Unsere Meinung ist jedoch unsere eigene. Die Bedingungen gelten für die auf dieser Seite aufgeführten Angebote. Als Immigrantin aus Vietnam hat meine Mutter keine Kreditwürdigkeit und hat auch nicht die Absicht, eine zu bekommen.
My immigrant mother doesn't have a credit score. I still used her lessons when I started building credit Original
As an immigrant from Vietnam, my mom doesn't have a credit score and has no intention of getting one. With no credit scoring system in Vietnam, people rely on their communities to borrow. When I wanted to build credit, I looked toward community-oriented resources like public libraries and local churches. As the matriarch in our family, my mom is no stranger to traditional ways of handling money.
Mixed Love: A Friendship That Changed Everything
As a nervous, immigrant kid guarded by both outside rules and my own internal hesitation, roller skating sounded like the craziest thing in the world. But the summer before seventh grade shifted everything: how I viewed my parents, how I viewed myself, and how I “fit in,” and I’m using that term lightly, in America. And it was all thanks to Sarah. Sarah, whose real name I’ve long forgotten, was the first friend I’d made outside of school.
Plant-Based Meat Is in Free Fall
Just over a decade ago, two new companies emerged with a mission to change the way consumers consume: Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, founded in 2009 and 2011, respectively. Greenhouse gas emissions from farming and livestock production were threatening our environment, and the global consumption of meat was beginning to look unsustainable in the long term.
How ChatGPT Can Help You in the Kitchen
Remember last year when everyone on Twitter was posting AI-generated art based on the wackiest queries they could think of? Well, the developer of that program, OpenAI, recently released its long anticipated chatbot. And it might just help you with your cooking. ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence tool that can respond to your questions in a conversational, highly human manner.
Hoang Samuelson
A new app is looking to change the way we shop and eat. Can it pull this off?
How a 70-Year-Old Business Rebrands Itself for Gen Z
On East 60th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues in New York City sits Serendipity3, a restaurant full of white tables and classic Victorian-era crown moldings, all lit by whimsically mismatched chandeliers. You can get yourself a hamburger, a sundae, or a Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, the signature menu item that has been a staple for locals, tourists, and celebrities alike since the restaurant’s founding in 1954.
What DoorDash Layoffs Mean for the Future of Food Delivery
On November 30, DoorDash’s co-founder and CEO, Tony Xu, made a grim announcement: The company would be laying off 1,250 employees, or 6% of its workforce.
Restaurants and Grocery Stores Fight For Customers’ Loyalty
As consumers budgets go down, opportunities for value are trending up. We may earn a commission from links on this page. Here at The Takeout, we’ve covered everything from the deaths of well-known foods (SnackWell’s, Choco Taco) to viral TikTok trends, but there’s one emerging phenomenon that is less splashy yet no less important: the fierce competition emerging between fast food restaurants and supermarkets.
Fast Food Is Paying Paltry Prices for Poultry
Poultry prices are going down. Should we all be eating chicken next year? We may earn a commission from links on this page. When it comes to food costs, there’s nothing more painful than seeing your favorite protein almost double in price at the supermarket. In August, Forbes reported that chicken prices have risen 13% since last year, compared to a 9% increase in consumer prices in general. Luckily for poultry lovers, the trend is changing.
These Frozen Thanksgiving Pies Taste Closest to Homemade
In our household, Thanksgiving is as much about dessert as the main course—either a fruit pie like apple, cherry, or raspberry, or a decadent option like pumpkin or key lime to round out that turkey and stuffing. Yet while baking delivers the most delicious smells throughout the house, it can also be exhausting, and potentially wasteful.
‘Flavrs’ Is TikTok Meets Instacart
For the past decade, we’ve been living in a creator economy, fueled in no small part by the rise of viral TikTok videos, YouTube tutorials, and podcasts. It takes the dedication of time and effort to create something that people might enjoy enough to come back for more—and a great piece of content has many of the same attributes as a great meal.
The World’s Most Mispronounced Foods
Cat got your tongue? Well, there’s a reason for that. Perhaps it’s the number of syllables or consonants or diacritics that makes it hard to pronounce a word correctly, but whatever the case, a recent report from online word search database WordTips reveals just how often we mispronounce the names of the food and drinks we consume on a regular basis.
The Rise and Fall of Instant Groceries
“Convenience at all costs” has been the norm for so long, it’s hard to remember what life was like before. Since the dawn of the smartphone, we’ve been living in a much more fast-paced world. We’re all busy, but we all still need groceries. GoPuff, an instant grocery delivery service, understands this sentiment well. “You’re busy, so we’ll keep this quick,” reads the introduction on GoPuff’s About page.
The Difference Between Homemade and Store-Bought Pasta Sauce
It’s no surprise that Americans love pasta—we eat a whole lot of it. According to Statista, about 55% of Americans reported eating pasta regularly in 2022, just behind Italians, who (unsurprisingly) clock in at 81%. Pasta is one of those dishes that’s easy to make and endlessly customizable, and given the variety of sauces available at the store, the average home cook might think that it’s best to just toss a jar of pasta sauce into the pan and simmer it along with some al-dente noodles.
Edition #5. The Long Road to Watch
Hoang Samuelson Hoang Samuelson Writer | Editor | Former Finance Professional Published Oct 28, 2022 Good morning! Welcome to Edition #5 of The Archetype. To learn more about this newsletter, click here. For the previous edition, click here. Video courtesy of MB&F. To say that the Swiss take their watches seriously is an understatement. In Switzerland, it's not uncommon to see lines out the door at watch retailers such as Rolex, Patek Phillippe, and Tag Heuer.
Edition #4. Me and You, Inc. - A Brand Story
Hoang Samuelson Hoang Samuelson Writer | Editor | Former Finance Professional Published Oct 27, 2022 Good morning! Welcome to edition #4 of The Archetype. To learn more about this newsletter, click here. For the previous edition, click here. Photo by Daria Salikova on Unsplash It may come as no surprise to you that worker wages have been stagnant for years.
Edition #3. The Driver(s) of Happiness
Hoang Samuelson Hoang Samuelson Writer | Editor | Former Finance Professional Published Oct 26, 2022 Good morning! Welcome to edition #3 of The Archetype. To learn more about this newsletter, click here. Image by Stephanie Lee for RICE Media. The image of five young men all wearing glasses, identical T-shirts and smiling looks like an advertisement for a public transit agency or perhaps a travel tour company.
A New Way to Think About Innovative Ideas
Hoang Samuelson Hoang Samuelson Writer | Editor | Former Finance Professional Published Oct 25, 2022 Welcome to The Archetype. It's been a while. My apologies for the radio silence for the past six months, but now I'm back. If you're new here, let me give you the rundown. The Archetype is a highly curated daily selection of the most innovative ideas and/or concepts designed to change the way you think or learn and (hopefully) make your day.
‘Healthy’ Cereals, Ranked Worst to Best
If you’re a parent in the 21st century, you are well aware of the multiple holidays on which sugar consumption is at its peak—and Halloween is among the worst culprits. Speaking from experience, I can tell you that spending hundreds out of pocket for your children’s fillings is slightly less fun than trick-or-treating. A nice way to offset the sugar rush is to feed your young ones better, healthier cereals at the start of each day. But what exactly are “healthy” cereals, anyway?
Canned Chili, Ranked Worst to Best
While looking for a last-minute dinner idea last week, I rummaged through my pantry and discovered several cans of chili that had been sitting pretty for the past two years. Would my kids like it? I heated some up on the stove and served it with avocado, chips, sour cream, and shredded cheese on top, holding my breath as I awaited their reaction. Turns out, they loved it. Perhaps canned chili has more redeeming qualities than I gave it credit for.
5 Major Gas Station Coffees, Ranked
Almost everyone I know has a distaste for 7-Eleven coffee, but I love it. Or loved. Years before we had kids, my partner and I often took day trips to Government Camp, the “town” closest to Mount Hood, the famous year-round ski covered mountain unique to the Pacific Northwest. On many occasions, we’d stop by a 7-Eleven to grab a cup of coffee. Ever since, I’ve had a special fondness for gas station and convenience store coffees.
Frozen Waffles, Ranked From Worst to Best
Image credit: Hoang Samuelson (via Dropbox) As a teenager, I ate a lot of frozen waffles, the easiest food option my mind could handle. This is because my mom, being a Vietnamese mother, did not know how to make pancakes, and she hardly had time to make me eggs. Most mornings, my parents were heading out the door to work by the time I trundled down the stairs. These days, as a working mom, I alternate between serving cereal, waffles, and toast.
The Future of Foraged Foods
The pros and cons of buying ingredients found in the wild. Aside from being a restaurant owner with one of the most progressive wage policies in the country, Bonnie Morales is also into foraging with local chef and foraging enthusiast Karl Holl. In an episode of The Migrant Kitchen, a food documentary series, Holl and Morales, along with her father, are shown foraging for wild mushrooms. “Some of the foraged ingredients of Portland are the best in the world,” she gushes.
On going back to the real world
The other night, I was helping my daughter with her homework when I had a realization. My daughter Lily is enrolled in a Vietnamese Immersion Program at a local elementary here in Portland1, and has been since kindergarten. As a fourth grader this year, she gets homework, which are booklets of stories in Vietnamese. She has to translate them to the best of her ability and answer some basic questions about the story.
5 Foods With Dubious Origin Stories
Bubble gum In 2018, Serious Eats wrote that bubble gum’s roots can be traced back to 1928 when a man named Walter Diemer, an employee of Frank Fleer (whose company began making chewing gum in the late 1800s), landed on the formula for Dubble Bubble. Diemer is also given credit for the pink hue we associate with bubble gum—but some newspaper archives suggest otherwise, such as this New York Times obituary from February 1939.
How Restaurants Can Do Away With Tipping for Good
On Labor Day this year, California governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill called the FAST Recovery Act. Also known as Assembly Bill 257, it’s the first step toward more equitable wages for fast food employees across the state and could potentially raise the minimum wage from $15 to $22 per hour. Not everyone was happy; many believe the FAST Recovery Act could have a detrimental effect on business owners.
How the Recipe on the Back of the Box Came to Be Original
The next time you’re perusing the aisles at the grocery store, take a look at the back of each box. Chances are you’ll stumble upon a goldmine of dinner recipes and ideas in very small print. Each one has a good chance of being both delectable and adaptable, tailored specifically to the buyer—that’s you—courtesy of a corporate test kitchen.
This ‘Milk’ Is Real Dairy Made Without Any Animals
How Nestlé is teaming up with food tech companies to disrupt the milk market. Climate change is more than just a hot topic of conversation; it’s an increasingly urgent rallying cry. There’s a palpable awareness among the general population that it’s becoming more costly (in every sense of the word) to raise livestock and transport it thousands of miles to where consumers will pay for it.
7 Influential Food Mascots (and the Stories Behind Them)
Anyone who has grown up in America at any point over the past century has some familiarity with Betty Crocker, Little Debbie, and Ronald McDonald, as well as dozens of others whose faces smile at us from packages of food. The relationship we form to these familiar figures is real, even if they’re the faces of people who never existed. I’ve always admired my beloved Betty Crocker’s baking mixes and cookbooks—she reminds me of the kind of grandmother that I never had.
On traveling and perspective
Hi friends, I just came back from a short “investigative vacation” to Houston, TX with my husband and two kids. Let me explain what that means. An investigative vacation is where you visit a place that you’re thinking about relocating to see if it has what you’re looking for. You go there to have fun, yes, but you’re also scoping out neighborhoods, people, places, resources and the like to see if it matches what you’ve found online.
Breakfast Sausages, Ranked From Worst to Best
Ask anyone who lives with me, and they’ll tell you that I’m extremely low maintenance when it comes to breakfast. Usually eggs or oatmeal with fruit will do. Sometimes I’ll spice it up with a bagel and cream cheese or pancakes. To me, sausages are usually reserved for a special breakfast outing. That might sound ridiculous, but that’s just me. Little did I know that breakfast sausages, like Lunchables, are somewhat of a monopoly.
Why It’s Illegal to Grow Water Spinach in the South
Upon first glance, the bushy bundle that is water spinach lies quietly and neatly tucked in the produce aisle at my local Asian supermarket. This vegetable, known as rau muong in Vietnamese, is great in a stir fry with some shallots, eaten with rice and soy sauce or used in a soup. Its tastiness and affordability (a bundle usually costs around $1.50 and lasts through several meals) has made it quite common in many Asian households in America, including mine.
How to Trick Your Brain Into Enjoying Plain Water
I love sparkling water, so I’m always on the lookout for a sale at my local grocery store. The many flavors of LaCroix, Polar, Spindrift, and AHA always excite me, making me feel like I’m choosing a healthy alternative to juice, flavored water, and soda while still getting my flavor fix in the canned beverages aisle.
Do Parents Really Have Time to Make Kids' Lunches Every Day?
In 2020, Jennifer Gaddis, school lunch expert and author of The Labor of Lunch: Why We Need Real Food and Real Jobs in American Public Schools, penned an opinion piece for The New York Times arguing against parents packing their child’s school lunches. According to Gaddis, parents, especially upper middle class women, feel the pressure to pack the most nutritious lunch for their child. “Women spend more than twice as much time per day preparing family meals as men,” she wrote.
Are School Lunches Really Better Than They Used to Be?
The many challenges of feeding the future of America. A defining moment of my high school dining experience was the taco bowl. A giant heaping of ground meat, lettuce, tomato, onions, and sour cream topped with generous amounts of shredded cheese, all encased in a flower-shaped taco shell bigger than my hand. Taco bowls arrived at my school cafeteria several times a month, almost always doled out by grim-faced lunch ladies all clad in white.
Free School Lunch Is About More Than Money
In high school, it never occurred to me that school lunch had a cost. Many days, my friends and I simply waltzed through the cafeteria’s lunch line without so much as a sneeze or a dollar expelled. My family had immigrated to Oregon when I was ten years old. For years, we hovered below the federal poverty line, a fact that I was painfully aware of but did not fully understand.
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