Thinh Ngo loves baking. Always has. Always will. Baking brings him joy. He can combine flour, eggs, and sugar into the most delicious pastries that make people happy. Baking has brought Thinh from the busy streets of Ho Chi Minh City to the quiet suburbs of Odense. Now he has opened a bakery in the heart of Hanoi, where he mixes his Danish love of baking with his Vietnamese roots.
Denmark was cold, even in July, Thinh thought, when he landed at Copenhagen Airport in 1988. His father had fled Vietnam with Thinh’s older brother years prior, and the two of them had ended up in Denmark. In the summer of 1988, when Thinh was 11 years old, he, his mom, and his four other siblings joined them in the small suburb of Sanderum just outside Odense. This is where Thinh would grow up, in a small house on the forest’s edge, far from the bustling streets of Ho Chi Minh City, which had marked his early childhood. Whether in Odense or Saigon, one thing remained constant.
Baking has always been a part of Thinh’s family. His father baked and sold bread when the family lived in Vietnam, but his older sister was the real star of the show.
“My sister would bake beautiful cakes. She could make everything look pretty with buttercream,” Thinh remembers.
She inspired Thinh’s love of making pastries. When his sister was decorating, Thinh would help out. Since the age of six, he was right by her side, churning butter and learning all he could. Even after the family moved to Denmark, his sister kept baking. She would bake for the local Vietnamese community in and around Fyn, and her loyal assistant would be right by her side, taking notes.
After finishing ninth grade, Thinh became an apprentice at a bakery. He studied hard until his childhood dream of becoming a professional pastry chef finally became a reality. After finishing his training, Thinh started working at some of the most well-known and beloved bakeries in Odense at the time, such as From and Bæk, where he baked goods for the whole city.
In 2014, Thinh felt he needed a change and moved back to Vietnam. Here he opened a café and bakery in downtown Hanoi, Hakyo Fusion Bakery, just a couple of blocks from the tourist hotspots of Hanoi Train Street and Old Quarter.
Thinh remembers that when he arrived back in Vietnam, there was no established culture for pastries. Baking in Vietnam was to a large extent limited to bread. Thinh decided he wanted to change that.
At Hakyo, Thinh combines classic Danish recipes he has worked with for years with Vietnamese flavors and ingredients that come from his roots.
“Vietnam has a lot to offer. There are many flavors I can use and mix in. It’s also good to use local fruits and ingredients.”
On the shelves of Hakyo, one can find Danish classics like rye bread snacks and frøsnapper, alongside yuzu- and durian-flavored pastries.
To Thinh, it is important that his love and knowledge of baking benefit the Vietnamese people. When he decided to settle back in Vietnam all those years ago, Vietnam was still a very poor country. Thinh has helped out by recruiting young people from poorer families and neighborhoods, and giving them a chance to become pastry chefs, gain skills, and make careers for themselves.
This approach has worked well. Thinh enjoys teaching, and he is proud to see his employees flourish with their new skills as pastry chefs.
“I love seeing them enjoy baking,” Thinh says. “It’s about giving them opportunities and helping them out in the best way I know how.”
Thinh is doing well in Vietnam; Hakyo Fusion Bakery has been a success, and he is looking to expand by opening another Hakyo in his hometown of Ho Chi Minh City.
His whole family still lives in Odense. The sister who planted the seed of his love for baking has hung up her apron and has become a translator. Thinh is the last one left in the family to carry on their baking legacy, from the other side of the world.
Despite his success in Vietnam, Denmark is still home to Thinh.
“Vietnam has a place in my heart; I want to work; I want to help; I want to share my knowledge with the Vietnamese people. But Denmark is home,” Thinh says with a big smile.
