Joan was born in 1960 in Halong Bay, Vietnam.  She was caught in the Sino-Vietnamese War and in 1979, was forced into a Refugee camp in Hong Kong with her family.  When the opportunity to move to the United States arose, Joan and her family established a home in Los Angeles, California. In 1982, Joan’s mom opened her first restaurant, bringing authentic Vietnamese cuisine to the city of LA.  Joan was inspired by her mom’s cooking and adapted her homestyle cooking to open Little Saigon Cafe in 2001.  Today, Joan and her son, Michael Ly bring years of culinary expertise to St. Louis, where her menu of sharable Contemporary Vietnamese cuisine complements the restaurant’s selfless service, modern design, and exuberant Saigon spirit.