House of Ho

Wanna taste it?

No, too hot, girl!

Don't pick off the table,

that's not good manners, okay?

Even though daddy does it.

Lesley, the last time I

fried egg rolls, they were raw.

Every Sunday, after

we go to church,

we go to brunch with my family,

embracing our

Vietnamese culture.

Looks good, Mom.

That's Kennedy's favorite.

My parents are refugees.

So they came over here

in 1975, no money,

they didn't speak English.

I used to be a Vietnam

Air Force Officer.

The war happened and the

South Vietnam collapsed.

So everybody panicked

and just run away.

We come United

States with nothing.

So we start over

with a new life.

My bonsai expensive

and not coming easy.

Yeah, but the harder the work,

the better the bonsai should be.

My dad was working

at a gas station,

and one of those big

white Cadillacs pulled up.

And he told himself

that, you know,

one day I'm gonna be that

person driving a Cadillac.

Is this already hot, mom?

It doesn't feel ready.

Okay.

I work like, 16 hours a day.

We were very poor.

After that I worked

for insurance company.

I make some good money and I

use the money re-investment.

My main business now is

banking and investment.

Mr. Ho.

Yes, sir.

Congratulations.

I heard you closed a

big deal last night.

He's been a very successful

Vietnamese refugee.

He dreams big, worked hard,

made deals that nobody

ever expected to happen.

My husband, he said

one day he will be rich.

He worked smart and

I help him a lot,

and one day he did it.

Okay, sit, sit.

McKinley, come

with Grandpa.

Okay.

Yeah, you stay here

with Grandpa, okay?

My dad's a very

proud American.

Get 'em, get 'em!

He's like, I'm gonna

name my sons after presidents.

My brother is named Washington.

My youngest brother

is named Reagan.

I said, "well

maybe my kid gonna be

the president of the

United States one day."

Why not?

I guess we continued

the tradition,

I named my children,

Kennedy, Truman,

and McKinley.

Looks so good!

I didn't have a choice

but to continue

with the presidents.

My wife didn't want to

name him a normal name

because my father might forget

about him in the trust fund.

No, it's not true.

Okay.

So we decided to

go with Roosevelt and Lincoln.

Mommy!

Truman, Roosevelt,

go play with cousin.

I was a disappointment

because I was a girl,

so I'm named Judy.

My mom, she's beautiful,

she's a great cook,

she can kill you with one

eyebrow, she's very critical.

I mean, it's hard for

me to be the daughter.

She doesn't approve

of anybody, actually.

So I can't even imagine

being her daughter-in-law.

Lesley, you wanna try?

It's Mom's way or no way.

No, no, no.

Watch

your finger, honey.

I don't wanna buy another ring.

I'm trying.

I'm Lesley Ho.

I'm Washington Ho's wife,

originally from Oklahoma.

Most Vietnamese families

settled in California or Houston

because of the tropical weather.

My family happened

to settle in Oklahoma

because of my

grandmother's brother.

It's very country.

It's not cosmopolitan

like Houston.

She's learning,

she's learning.

She's a Ho.

She's a wannabe Ho.

When I married into this

family, it was different for me.

Sometimes it feels

like a fairy tale.

Like I have the perfect life.

Let Washington, he is

the oldest son, to be in charge.

Roosevelt, we're

gonna pray, okay? Ready?

Dear Lord, thank you

very much for this food.

My family loves

being American,

but at the same time,

they're old-school Vietnamese

and they're very Catholic.

Those are two ideals that

they expect all of us

to continue living by,

even though we were born

here, we were raised here.

Who fried the egg rolls?

It was a joint effort.

I try to follow

my parents rules

as much as I can, but sometimes

it's living up to a lot.

Hey Washington,

you look at me.

I stay with your mom