The Doans' journey from fleeing war-torn Vietnam to building a culinary empire

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Sprinkled across towns in South Western Australia is a string of Vietnamese restaurants and bakeries, all owned by a single family.

The Doan family owns five businesses, building a culinary empire in the State's regional centres.

But their achievement hasn't come without a big cost.

Kiet Doan and Thanh Nguyen run a Vietnamese cafe and pho shop in Katanning.

Their daughter, Cindy Doan, works at the cafe with them, while their son, Linh Doan, is the owner of his own part of the restaurant chain in Albany.

Migrating to Australia

Linh recalls the struggles she faced in bringing the whole family to Australia from Vietnam.

"It was pretty tough, the time my parents moved here," he said.

His nan was the first in the family to leave Vietnam after the war, bringing along her daughter Thanh with her.

When Thanh returned to Vietnam, she caught up with Kiet before becoming pregnant with Linh.

She had to head back to Australia to put in the hard work towards making her family's dreams come true.

"When I was born, my mum left me behind just a month later," Linh said.

For the first seven years, he stayed with his grandma and grandpa on his dad's side in Vietnam, until his mum saved up enough dosh to bring Linh to Australia.

"She's determined to secure a good life for her family – my better half and I are eternally thankful," Linh said.

Waiting for years without his mother was a real struggle, but he's really thankful for the breaks she worked hard to get him because of her efforts.

There were claims it was pretty tough, like Mum wouldn't bring a little tackler over 'cause she wasn't able to give a lot or even a safe spot for a nipper yet.

I get bloody crook every time she tells me the yarn.

He got a pretty intense education about the Vietnam War from his grandparents who raised him.

The war ran for 30 years from '45, killing hundreds of thousands of civvies, and ended when the commos took over South Vietnam.

"My grandfather went to the war, but he's still alive. He was a tank driver, and also the bloke who led the way for the tank," Linh said.

Fair dinkum, he copped a landmine back then, so he's still got glass in his legs from the war.

His grandfather reckons the junk burdening his limbs are his "souvenirs".

"There were some pretty bloody terrible stories that I'll never be able to picture," Linh said.

Linh has picked up a lot from his older relatives and said he's been motivated to become a better bloke because of them.

Establishing the businesses

Out the back of Katanning and Albany, the business chain heads on to Denmark, Esperance, and Bridgetown as well.

Linh's parents first started by opening a lunch bar in Perth in 2010 but found more success in the regions where Vietnamese food was more of a trendy choice.

"When we first arrived in Katanning, there was only one Chinese restaurant, Dome, and then Chicken Treat and a pub, that's all we had," his mum, Thanh, said.

Linh started by working at the cafe alongside his parents.

Now, at his restaurant in Albany, he puts his own twist on the meals his old bloke taught him to keep the family tradition alive.

Seeing the family happy and thriving after everything they had been through was as rewarding as it gets, Thanh said.

Sharing cuisine and culture

As they watch Western Australians tuck into authentic Vietnamese nosh, it brings a real sense of pride to the Doans.

"C oslo have always been supportive of giving new tucker a go and asking what it is," Cindy said.

It's satisfying to share our culture and our cuisine with others.

She feels a strong connection with customers as they enjoy the meals her parents' cooked for her when she was a kid.

Linh shares exactly the same opinion.

We're as proud as punch of our tucker.

When you're mentioning pho, mentioning banh mi, there's not many people around who'd say, 'I'm not a fan of that.'

We're as proud as punch of how far Vietnamese grub has come, not just here but around the globe.