Kim Sơn (

chữ Hán ( , ) are the Chinese characters that were used to write Literary Chinese in Vietnam, Literary Chinese (; ) and Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary in Vietnamese language, Vietnamese. They were officially used in Vietnam after the Red River Delta region ...

: , Sino-Vietnamese for "Gold Mountain"; ) is a family-owned chain of

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

s in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, that serves both

Vietnamese cuisine Vietnamese cuisine encompasses the foods and beverages originated from Vietnam. Meals feature a combination of five fundamental tastes (): sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and Piquant, spicy. The distinctive nature of each dish reflects one or more ...

and

Chinese cuisine Chinese cuisine comprises cuisines originating from Greater China, China, as well as from Overseas Chinese, Chinese people from other parts of the world. Because of the Chinese diaspora and the historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine ...

. As of 2009 Tri La is the owner of the restaurant group. The restaurant group headquarters is in its

East Downtown East Downtown Houston (EaDo) is a district in Houston, Texas. The East Downtown Management District (EDMD), manages the area with offices headquartered at START Houston, a co-working space 1121 Delano Street. The community is located east of Do ...

restaurant. The restaurant Kim Sơn was originally founded in

Vinh Long Vinh () is the capital of Nghệ An province and an economic and cultural center of North-Central Vietnam. A key point in the East–West economic corridor linking Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, the city is situated in the Southeast of ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, by the Kim Su Tran La. Following the

Fall of Saigon The fall of Saigon, known in Vietnam as Reunification Day (), was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by North Vietnam on 30 April 1975. As part of the 1975 spring offensive, this decisive event led to the collapse of the So ...

, when

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...

conquered

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

, Kim and her family fled Vietnam in 1979 to Malaysia. In 1980, the family joined relatives already in the United States. On August 16, 1980, the family arrived in the United States by boat; pirates had attacked their group in the

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

during their voyage. The family re-established the restaurant in Houston's Downtown

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

in 1982. Kim and her husband Son oversaw all the restaurants with their seven children. Kim received vocational training at

Houston Community College Houston Community College (HCC), also known as the Houston Community College System (HCCS), is a community college that operates community colleges in Houston, Texas, Houston, Missouri City, Texas, Missouri City, Greater Katy, and Stafford, Texas ...

after arriving as a refugee.

History

The restaurant has an extensive menu of Chinese and Vietnamese dishes and serves weekend

dim sum Dim sum () is a large range of small Chinese dishes that are traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for brunch. Most modern dim sum dishes are commonly associated with Cantonese cuisine, although dim sum dishes also exist in other Chinese cu ...

. In 1993, the La family opened a new $2 million, restaurant and banquet facility diagonally across from the original location. At the time it was the largest Chinese restaurant in the state of Texas. A location existed at 7531 Westheimer at Hillcroft, but it has closed. The success of the restaurant has led to the opening of two additional full-service restaurants; one located in

Stafford, Texas Stafford is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in the metropolitan area. The city is mostly in Fort Bend County, Texas, Fort Bend County, with a small part in Harris County, Texas, Harris County. As of the 2020 census, Stafford's population was ...

, and the new restaurant and ballroom at Bellaire and Wilcrest Boulevards in Houston. Both new locations are in southwest suburbs that have thriving Asian communities. The company has also opened as several smaller outlets in Houston with limited menus called "Little Kim Sơn.". The chain has become one of the best known restaurants in the state of Texas and has received accolades from magazines such as ''

Bon Appetit Bon or Bön (), also known as Yungdrung Bon (, ), is the indigenous Tibetan religion which shares many similarities and influences with Tibetan Buddhism.Samuel 2012, pp. 220–221. It initially developed in the tenth and eleventh centuries but ...

'', ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'', and ''

Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and sea ...

''. The September 1995 issue of ''

'' featured Kim Sơn in an article about ethnic restaurants in the United States. The October 1998 issue of ''

Gourmet Gourmet (, ) is a cultural idea associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterized by their high level of refined and elaborate food preparation techniques and displays of balanced meals that have ...

'''s reader's choice restaurant awards ranked Kim Sơn as having the "Best Value" in the Houston and New Orleans areas. (The New Orleans-area restaurant, established in Gretna on the West Bank of the Mississippi River in 1988 by Tina Dieu, closed in 2018.) In 2003 Kim Sơn was ranked as the "best other ethnic restaurant" in the ''

Houston Business Journal American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes ''The Business Journals'', which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States with each market ...

''. In 2002 the same restaurant took second place in the ''Houston Business Journals rankings of the best

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

restaurants. In 2005, the La family opened ''Asia'' in conjunction with the new L’Auberge du Lac Hotel & Casino in

Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, fifth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the county seat, parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles (Louisiana), Lake Char ...

. In 2008, the family opened another ''Asia'' in conjunction with

Boomtown New Orleans Boomtown New Orleans (formerly Boomtown Westbank) is a casino hotel located on the West Bank of Jefferson Parish in Harvey, Louisiana. It is on a site. It is owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by Penn Entertainment. Casino Boomt ...

Harvey, Louisiana Harvey is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States. Harvey is on the south side (referred to as the "West Bank") of the Mississippi River, within the New Orleans– Metairie– Kenner metropolitan sta ...

. In 1995 Allison Cook of the ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown Houston, Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely ...

'' described Kim Sơn as the most prominent "success story as the Great Houston Restaurant Parable." On September 24, 2023, the restaurant in Stafford closed. Sometime in 2025, the location in East Downtown is scheduled to close as the facility will need to be cleared for more lanes for

Interstate 45 Interstate 45 (I-45) is a major Interstate Highway located entirely within the U.S. state of Texas. While most primary Interstate routes which have numbers ending in "5" are cross-country north–south routes, I-45 is comparatively short, ...

References

External links

Kim Sơn corporate web site

Kim Sơn Restaurants

Kim Sơn Cafe

Kim Sơn Catering
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim Son (Restaurant) Asian-American culture in Houston Regional restaurant chains in the United States Chinese restaurants in the United States Asian restaurants in Texas Asian restaurants in Houston Vietnamese restaurants in the United States Vietnamese-American culture in Texas Restaurants established in 1982 1982 establishments in Texas

History

See also

References

External links