This story was written as part of the WTOP Book Report series authored by Terik King. Read more of that coverage here.
For more than three decades, Larry Trung La has been a staple in Washington’s culinary scene, serving authentic Chinese cuisine to the city’s power brokers and everyday diners alike. Now, the longtime restaurateur is sharing his remarkable journey from war-torn Vietnam to the heart of the nation’s capital in his new memoir, Square Moon: One Man’s Journey from War-Torn Vietnam to D.C.’s Hottest Kitchens (Quaderer Media Group).
In Square Moon, La, who previously managed the landmark City Lights of China in Dupont Circle and now owns Meiwah restaurants, recounts his early years in Vietnam, where he grew up amid the turmoil of the Vietnam War. Born in Vietnam to Chinese parents, La’s formative years were marked by the daily realities of conflict.
“I was actually born and grew up in wartime,” La told the WTOP Book Report. “You could hear the gunfire every day. We (had) a saying: if you hear the explosion, it means you’re still alive.”
As a student in Saigon, La often found himself navigating battlegrounds just to get home. He vividly recalls taking buses that were forced to stop mid-journey due to active combat. “We would get off the bus and take shelter with the soldiers while we could hear gunfire nearby. After a while, we’d just get back on the bus and continue our journey,” he said.
La stood on a rooftop as a young man and witnessed the 1968 Tet Offensive, where “I could see the helicopter shooting out rockets from both sides of the helicopter, and we could see the explosion (as) it hit the target. We just stood there and watched the war going on.”
Death, La recalled, was a fact of every day life. “(Walking) home from school, we’d see a dead body laying there,” La recalled. “We’d just walk over and take a look, (to) see if it’s someone that you (we) knew or not. We kind of grew up with that kind of mentality.”
Lead by the example of his industrious father, La enrolled in a business school in Saigon, but following the fall of Saigon in 1975, the school was shuttered and La and his family faced new hardships and limitations on life under the new communist regime. With business opportunities restricted and political pressures mounting, they made the harrowing decision to flee Vietnam.
His father was prepared: he had saved nearly $28,000 (in 2025 more than $130,000) worth of gold to facilitate the family’s emigration out of Vietnam. But that came with no guarantees, according to La. “The gold was just to get on the boat,” he said. “After you get on the boat, you’re on your own … where the destination is, (or) whether you can survive the big ocean or not – there’s nothing guaranteed there.”
They embarked on a treacherous journey on a cramped boat carrying nearly 200 people (“sitting like sardines,” said La), navigating dangerous waters to reach Malaysia, where they lived in a refugee camp for half a year before securing sponsorship and, ultimately, passage to the United States.
Their journey eventually led them to the small town of Erwin, Tennessee — a far cry from the bustling metropolises often associated with immigration stories. La chose an Americanized surname to blend in – Jones. (Inspiring the friendly locals to nickname him “Jonesy.”) There, La faced cultural shock but gradually integrated into the community, even being featured in the local newspaper.
In 1988, an opportunity brought La to Washington, D.C., where he managed City Lights of China before launching his own restaurant, Meiwah, in 2000. His establishments became favorites among D.C. elites, including political figures and journalists.
“I felt that if I’m in the L.A. area, I’d need to know movie stars,” said La. “But if I’m in D.C., this is the capital of the free world; where all the power governments are. So I needed to know more about the people in government … all branches of government.” He got his chance to test his knowledge when cabinet members of President Bill Clinton came to his restaurant and were wowed to discover that he knew them all by name.
The D.C.-based portion of Square Moon reads like a who’s who of power brokers for the last quarter century: La recalls his encounters with Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and the late governors Ann Richards (Texas) and Mel Carnahan (Missouri) among innumerable others.
Through Square Moon, La aims to share his family’s resilience and highlight the contributions of immigrants and refugees in America. “We come here, we work hard, we contribute to society,” he said. “Most of us don’t sit and wait for a handout. This country was built on immigrants.”
Now, after more than 35 years in the District, La’s memoir stands as a testament to perseverance, entrepreneurship, and the pursuit of the American dream.
Larry La will be at Politics and Prose on Sunday for an event at 3 p.m. to discuss “Square Moon.” The event is free with first come, first served seating.
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