For Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month this May, SideDish is highlighting someone of AAPI heritage within Dallas’ food industry. The goal is to introduce you to the people behind the scenes.
Last week we featured Vi Henderson, the owner of a McKinney macaron pop-up shop called Mac & Cream. This week, we’re putting the spotlight on a Dallas food content creator named Violet Huynh. Huynh, who is Vietnamese, is widely known as @hangryviolet, an Instagram account that features recipes while highlighting restaurants and dishes across North Texas. Her carefully curated feed is filled with shots of noodles, soups, dumplings, and pastries, most of which come from Asian restaurants or are inspired by Asian cuisine. Get a glimpse of it here.
This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.
When and why did you start this Instagram account?
Violet Huynh: I have been running @hangryviolet for three years now. My mom owns a small business and I saw her struggle a lot growing up. During the pandemic, I saw small businesses struggling and I essentially wanted to help. I’ve taken photos before and I always wanted to operate a food blog. During the pandemic, I finally had a purpose and the courage to do so. I felt like it was a calling almost, and my hope is that I’ve been able to encourage people to try these restaurants and open their minds to different foods and support those businesses.
Huynh’s mother owns Quốc Bảo Bakery in Garland, which supplies bread for bánh mì shop Sandwich Hag.
What ties do you have to the AAPI community?
VH: A lot of the businesses I like to help are within the AAPI community. I feel that a lot of businesses don’t necessarily know how to market themselves. They’ve created food for a long time, whether it be egg tarts or pho, but they don’t have the technological knowledge. I felt that I could close that gap by visiting restaurants, supporting the businesses, and sharing about them.
During high school and college, I felt like I was disconnected from my culture a little bit. Sometimes I felt too Americanized and I didn’t really understand the traditions that my mom had instilled within me. I joined the Asian Creative Network, and I saw a lot of people expressing their voice and their culture through their art. I felt like it really empowered me to grow as a creative and to learn more about my culture and the different traditions and to keep them alive.
How do you connect your Vietnamese heritage and culture with what you do?
VH: With my recipe videos, I essentially want to share my perception of the world. I credit a lot of what I do to my mom because she taught me a lot of things, she’s made a lot of sacrifices for me. I have been able to go to college because of her, but I also recognize that me and my mom have experienced life completely differently. I wanted to share Vietnamese food through my lens honoring the foods she made for me growing up but also experimenting with different ingredients and flavors that I appreciate.
What’s your favorite part of what you do?
VH: That’s really tough. I think the best thing, honestly, is the connections that I’ve made. There are certain businesses where I’ll keep going back because, you know, the food is good. But I fell in love with meeting people at these businesses. At Crépes For U, Paul is just the sweetest person. I’ve been eating at his place since I was eight.
Lilis at Sugar Pine [Creamery]—she’s the sweetest person ever, and I try my best to go back and see her. I started going to her ice cream shop when I was in college, and she’s gotten to see me through so many different phases of my life, like graduating college, getting a job. If I get married in the future, I’m sure that she’ll be a part of that, too. So I’m just really happy meeting people.
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