Photograph by Paul Myers

The Green Papaya, owned and operated by Hong Ngo and Paul Huynh, offers new menu selections including an appetizer, Banh Khot, of rice cakes with sautéed prawns and scallions.

Green Papaya celebrates second year in business

By Suzanne Cristallo

Start-ups are nothing new for Hong Ngo and Paul Huynh. Huynh works with them every day as a start-up engineer. Ngo, also an engineer, designs chips for them. Two years ago, with only their engineering experience behind them, the husband-and-wife team plunged into a different kind of startup together. They opened a Vietnamese restaurant--The Green Papaya--in Los Gatos. That same year, they also plunged into parenthood when their baby daughter Catherine was born.

"That was the hardest year of my life," reflects Ngo. Not only was she carrying on her chip design work; she was also doing the cooking in the restaurant while juggling time for her new baby. At first, she says service was slow as they learned timing and struggled with an insufficient wait staff.

Relatives pitched in. Huynh's sister, Anna Shepley, a Napa wine consultant, came down to help manage the place. She loaned her expertise to the wine list. Ngo's sister Christina, a lawyer, helped with the menu and serving. Another sister, Genevive Boxberger, also served.

Now, the two-year period regarded as the proving time for making or breaking a restaurant is over, and the elegant little eatery on N. Santa Cruz Avenue is thriving. The service is improved. Ngo oversees five chefs in the kitchen, and the wine list has been compared to those of several upscale restaurants, like the Slanted Door, in San Francisco. "My sister-in-law has incorporated local wines with several from Caymus Winery in Napa," Ngo notes. A private label is planned soon.

"Our customers are incredible," she says. "Without them we wouldn't be here today." She's planning a special tribute party for them in conjunction with Catherine's second birthday next month.

Some of her Los Gatos and Saratoga regulars come in as many as three and four times a week. Hong talks with them regularly, finding out what dishes they like best. But rather than finding items to eliminate, the menu keeps growing. There are currently more than 25 entree items in the $12 to $25 range.

A new addition this week is the rack of lamb, marinated in the Vietnamese way with soy sauce, olive oil, pepper, garlic and herbs and served with basil-flavored fried rice and steamed cauliflower, carrots and broccoli.

Ngo calls her menu a combination of her Vietnamese heritage with dishes reminiscent of the Hue (central) region, where her family--descended from Ming Dynasty royalty--lived, combined with dishes of her own creation. There's lots of seafood.

"We get our catfish delivered live," she says, describing the delivery truck with a tank full of squirming fish. They don't come any fresher, she adds. The fish are cleaned and prepared right away, marinated in pepper, olive oil and ginger, lightly floured and fried to a tasty crisp.

Still popular since the restaurant's opening are the sea bass and the Royal Tiger Prawns--jumbo prawns served with garlic noodles. Another favorite, cracked crab, is usually sold out before the weekend is over. "In the beginning, people were hesitant to order, because they weren't sure how to eat them," she recalls, chuckling. "So now we serve it with the greater percentage of the cracking already done, and let them do the rest."

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The Green Papaya, 137 N. Santa Cruz Ave., Los Gatos. Open for lunch Tuesday-Sunday 11 a.m-3 p.m., dinner 5-9:30 p.m. Closed Monday. Call 408.395.9115 for more information.

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