For two and half decades Xinh Dwelley tirelessly opened the doors on Xinh’s Clam & Oyster House in Shelton, showing her love for her customers by creating fusions of Northwest and Asian flavors with an amazing intuition for her ingredients.  

While modest in decor, there was nothing shy about the food in Xinh’s Clam and Oyster House. With rich and bold flavors, each diner had a favorite dish. We lamented if it was sold out but never were disappointed when we were brave enough to try another option. Capped by a dish of locally churned Olympic Mountain Ice Cream, with full happy bellies, we still hesitated to leave. There was always the chance that when Xinh was finished with her dinner service she would radiate the dining area with her giant smile and personality, gathering her accolades like a queen meeting with her subjects.

“I’ve heard her called queen on other occasions, and perhaps that is a good description. You feel good when she takes the time to visit with you and remember your family.”

The American Dream

Xinh’s life has not been easy. Raised on a rice farm in Vietnam near Saigon she was poor, but they always had food. And Xinh was very resourceful; from a young age she understood that she had a magical way with food. As a young teenager, she quickly transitioned from laundry help to cooking for officers at an American military base. By her 15th birthday she was famous for her fried chicken and hamburgers. 

Xinh married an American soldier, and he brought her to Olympia with their infant son. Speaking little English, having a young child, and not knowing anyone was overwhelming. To compound her isolation, when Vietnam fell in 1975 she lost all contact with her family.

Many would have crumbled. However, not Xinh, when faced with adversity she worked harder. She took classes to learn English in the evening and was the quickest blueberry and mushroom harvester during the day. In the night tides she would head out onto the cold dark subtidal and dig more clams than anyone else on the beach. On weekends she sold egg rolls at the farmers market.

As far as shucking went, she had an amazing speed and accuracy at shucking oysters early on. The first day she shucked 8 gallons and broke all the records at Rock Point Oyster. The second day she shucked 12 gallons. That day she also shoved the shucking knife through her hand and had to go to emergency to get stitches. This is her only oyster shucking injury, which she still shows the scar for it. When asked if that slowed her down, she scoffs, “Nah, I was just more careful after that.” In fact she went right back to shucking the next day. This event shows who Xinh is. As cancer once again throws everything it can at her, she just keeps getting up, more determined than ever to live her life.

Xinh is a good teammate. When her then employer, Ellison Oyster, was bought out, Taylor Shellfish decided to keep her on.  She was quick and trustworthy, and they soon discovered she was a talented chef. When Taylor’s asked her to prepare an authentic Vietnamese meal, she accepted that challenge as well. 

Through her food, Xinh was great with customers at the retail store as well, many of whom she called her friends. One day the owners of a café in town came in to buy seafood and remarked that Xinh should buy their restaurant to run it as her own.  A bit of a dreamer and always up for a challenge, she took the idea to the Taylor family. They helped her start Xinh’s Clam and Oyster House on Railroad Avenue in Shelton, WA. 

It wasn’t just local families that flocked to her restaurant to bask in her big personality. Over the decades her fame grew beyond the town and even the state.Her restaurant became plastered with ribbons and plaques of the many honors her dishes earned as well as images of her with famous people including top chefs, food writers, and TV personalities including Anthony Bourdain, Andrew Zimmern, Julia Child, and even Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs. In all the images she wears her signature apron, hair pulled back in a no fuss bun, and her face ageless with its signature smile.

Her experiences are remarkable. Colorful stories of encounters with famous chefs and private cooking engagements with rock stars come tumbling out of her like unimaginable dreams. All told with Xinh’s candid disbelief in that all these famous people took her seriously.

In 1995 Xinh was invited to cook oysters for one of her idols, Julia Child. Overwhelmed by the honor of meeting this culinary great, she was amused to watch Child attempt to open an oyster with a butter knife. 

Multiple times, representing with Taylor Shellfish, Xinh has served her seafood at the Governors’ Inaugural celebrations.She has also shucked for some of our state and country’s leaders at official government dinners, many of them making the trip to Shelton to dine with her again.

As with everything, all great things come to a close. In 2017 owing to an illness that was making it more and more difficult to keep up with the restaurant’s pace,  Xinh’s celebrated restaurant closed its doors and Shelton lost a piece of its heart. “It was so sad,” said Xinh. “I love all my people. They’ve done so much for me.” As she’s done so much for her community. Xinh is well known for donating her time and skills at countless non-profit functions and causes.

Xinh’s first cookbook was published in 2019 in time for an OysterFest debut.