When he moved from Vietnam to the United States as a child, Kenneth Nguyen and his family settled in Los Angeles' Koreatown, a rough-and-tumble neighborhood in which he grew up around a variety of different cultures.
Later in life, as some of his family members married into Salvadorean families, Nguyen began experimenting with the two cultures' cuisines in order to keep both sides of the family happy, reports LAist.
When Nguyen took his creations – namely, the phở taco – outside the family, it was a hit. Rakken Tacos, his popular street food outfit, was such a success at the local 626 Night Market that one Food Republic writer dubbed Vietnamese tacos the new Korean tacos.
Now a known fixture of the 626 market, Rakken Tacos has opened a brick-and-mortar shop in the city and continues to sell its signature phở tacos and burritos as well as other Asian-Latin combinations, such as yuzu carne asada and lemongrass pork belly tacos.
The family-run business employs many of Nguyen's cousins and extended family.
[Photo via Yelp]
