O Happy Bread continues to expand Vietnamese menu

O Happy Bread, a well-known French bakery and restaurant in Pahrump, was acquired by new owners John Nguyen and Helen Ta in April of this year. When the husband-and-wife duo took over the eatery, they introduced Vietnamese food to the menu.

“Business is going well,” Nguyen told the Pahrump Valley Times. “The Vietnamese food that we offer here is really taking off. We’ve got a lot of dishes that people really enjoy.”

Banh Mi (a traditional Vietnamese sandwich served on a French baguette), curry soups, spring rolls and Vietnamese iced coffee were a few of the new items Nguyen and his wife initially brought to the restaurant.

When asked about potentially introducing pho (the popular Vietnamese dish consisting of a savory broth, rice noodles and various meats that is often served with fresh garnishes such as bean sprouts, raw jalapenos or Thai basil) to the menu in his previous conversation with the Pahrump Valley Times, Nguyen said it was in the works.

“But people were wondering, ‘Are you going to have those [phos]? They were really challenging us, ‘Do you know how to make them?’ I mean, of course we do know,” Nguyen joked. “We couldn’t wait any longer, so we launched the Vietnamese rice noodle soup, and people love it.”

O Happy Bread currently offers four different variations of the dish: a steak and brisket pho, a steak and roast beef pho, a chicken pho and a vegetarian pho. Nguyen said the steak and roast beef pho is his personal favorite.

“We launched it [in late May], and we got a lot of good feedback,” Nguyen enthused.

The business’s well-known European offerings, such as its many freshly baked goods and French sandwiches are still sold at O Happy Bread. Nguyen explained that while French and Vietnamese cuisines served under the roof may appear to be a curious compound, serving both is synergistic, noting the over 100-year-long history between the two countries.

“So I try to connect the dots, letting people know, most of the [Vietnamese] dishes that we bring in have some of the French influence,” Nguyen elaborated.

Photos of the Saigon Opera House, Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon, Bẽn Thành Market and the Saigon Central Post Office were recently added to O Happy Bread’s walls. Each of the buildings located in Ho Chi Minh City were constructed during the French colonial period.

“I wanted to put it up here so people can see the connection between the French and the Vietnamese,” Nguyen said about the new decorations.

Art of fruits and vegetables has also been added to the O Happy Bread’s walls.

“We kind of put together the pictures to let people know that when they come here, they’re going to get served with a lot of fresh fruit and fresh ingredients,” Nguyen explained.

O Happy Bread is located at 1231 E. Basin Ave., Suite 7. The restaurant is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week. For more information about O Happy Bread, visit its Facebook page under O Happy Bread / French Bakery &Café.

Contact reporter Elijah Dulay at edulay@pvtimes.com