Edinburgh restaurant owner Keith Pham spoke about his escape from Vietnam by boat with his family 50 years ago on April 30, 1975, and how he has thrived since settling in Edinburgh in 1979.
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00:00I went along to the Saigon memoir restaurant in the city center to speak to
00:05Edinburgh entrepreneur Keith Pham who looked back on his escape when the
00:09Vietnam War ended 50 years ago on April 30th 1975. Keith escaped by boat with his
00:16Freedweathers and their parents. Keith is delighted that his homeland is now back on
00:44its feet and open to tourists and he hopes for a brighter future for Vietnam.
00:48I feel very happy the war is over, no more peace. Vietnam is a no more war and we live in a world that is peaceful now, hopefully, and we can move forward. I hope the Americans will clear all these bombs in Vietnam, all these bombs they left behind you know, everywhere, you know, Vietnam is full, but yeah, I hope they can clear you know.
01:14Since his family settled in Edinburgh in 1979, Keith has gone on to have a successful business career, owning at one time up to 30 Edinburgh restaurants.
01:24Scotland, Edinburgh, it's an amazing city, people are very friendly. I mean, it's a beautiful city and culture-wise, food is, haggis is fantastic. Yeah, yeah, I love Edinburgh.
01:38And what about your business adventures? My business, I think that we are doing Vietnamese food now, I think that the growing mark of Vietnamese cuisine is amazing.
01:47Vietnamese food was never known a few years ago, but now Vietnamese food is thriving, you know.
01:52Does that make you feel proud? Very proud, because Vietnamese food is healthy, and it's good for the health, and it's just health conscious, less oil. Yeah. Yeah, it's very popular at the moment.
02:05Yeah, for now.