Asian Restaurants in the Twin Cities
Editor’s Note: You are in for a treat! Our good friend Tiffany Alexandria of Choochoo-ca-Chew knows the AAHNPI food scene in the Twin Cities better than just about anyone we’ve ever met. Born and raised in Taiwan, her depth of knowledge in food and flavor runs deep, and her dedication to seeking out, celebrating, and supporting these businesses is genuinely inspiring. We are so grateful she brought her expertise and passion to these pages. Want more Tiffany in your life? Join The Dumpling Club or follow her on Instagram to catch her dumpling classes hosted at various spots throughout the Twin Cities.
Food is one of the most beautiful ways families can explore new flavors, cultures, and the people behind them together, and this list is that invitation. Dig in!
Some of the best food in the Twin Cities is hiding in strip malls, grocery stores, bars, and quiet corners you’ve probably driven past a hundred times.
There are AAHNPI (Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander) chefs currently hosting pop-up residencies and others where aunties serve nostalgic dishes from home they are SO proud of in a simple dining room, no fancy decor nor services, but the food slaps so hard, louder than any fancy dining room playlist.
For a region known more for hotdish than hawker culture, the broad Asian American and Native Hawaiian food community here runs deep. And not just deep in flavor, but deep in history, migration, resilience, and creativity. From Hawaiian plate lunches and Burmese curries to Hmong sausage, Cantonese comfort food, South Indian dosas, Vietnamese coffee, sushi omakase, Filipino classics, and new-school pop-ups redefining what “Twin Cities dining” even means, there’s an entire world of food thriving here if you know where to look.
This list isn’t about the trendiest restaurant in town or the places you’ve already seen fifty times on social media. It’s about the spots people whisper about to friends(as I’m whispering it to you now). These are restaurants carrying generations of recipes alongside newer chefs building something entirely their own. This list allows you to travel around all directions of Asia without a passport and taste the bold flavors and family traditions. Start gathering your friends or family who love food, because you’ll want to order everything at all of these places.
Here are 18 asian restaurants in the Twin Cities that deserve a lot more attention.
asian restaurants in the Twin Cities
asian restaurants in the twin cities
18 HIDDEN GEM ASIAN RESTAURANTS
Jook Sing (current residency: Steady Pour)
2125 E Hennepin Ave, Suite 205, Minneapolis
Jook Sing is a collaboration of chefs Mike Yuen and Tony Gao. They draw inspiration from their immigrant Chinese childhood and Midwest American upbringing. The cuisine is the culmination of decades of experiencing both cultures simultaneously, and you can taste it. From char siu and dim sum to burgers and ribs, every single dish brings nostalgic feelings to the table yet sparks new fireworks on the palate. The dishes are beautifully presented and executed perfectly- if you order a stir-fry dish, the wok-hei is there. Bring friends, order the whole menu. That’s what we did, and then we ordered a second round.
Kapok (current residency: Public Domain)
119 N Washington Ave, Minneapolis
Kapok is a brand new pop-up residency that just started in May by chef Ed Zhang of Bao Bao Buns. The menu is always changing, but it’s based on Ed’s upbringing– growing up in Europe, learning from aunties of different cultures, and his Hong Kong and Sichuan roots. You’ll find peanut sesame noodles with egg noodles, chili oil, and a fried egg on top; Cheng Du Ravioli, a Sichuan-inspired ravioli stuffed with pork, ginger, mushroom cream, basil oil with soy reduction, and chili oil; a honey-glazed chicken sandwich; and PD spice bag served with a side of curry sauce!
Sushi by Baaska (pop-ups)
High-quality sushi is hard to come by in a landlocked state, but Sushi by Baaska is changing the game. Sushi by Baaska offers the freshest ingredients and omakase experiences at various locations, it’s a treat to taste his art and you really don’t know sushi until you’ve tried his nigiris. Follow Sushi by Baaska for pop-up updates, and DM for special-order inquiries.
Ono Hawaiian
North Loop: 337 N Washington Ave, Suite 100, Minneapolis
United Noodles: 2015 E 24th St, Minneapolis
With two locations – one in North Loop and one in United Noodles – Ono Hawaiian is serving up big plates of island flavors. You’ll find all the Hawaiian classics here- loco moco, burger patties with gravy and sunny side up eggs; katsu, breaded and deep-fried crispy chicken; BBQ chicken, khalua pork, kalbi, and poke served with rice and a heaping scoop of macaroni salad. So many delicious options, and the best way to try everything? Get combo plates!
Hmong Village
If you haven’t been to the Hmong Village, you’re missing out. It can be an overwhelming experience for first-timers as it’s a big marketplace filled with vendor stalls of all kinds – everything a family needs can be found at the Hmong Village. You could make a day trip out of this place. You will find a fresh market and a large food hall with over 20 stalls selling everything from Hmong sausage, stuffed chicken wings, steamed rice rolls, to pho, banana-wrapped steamed fish, a variety of stews, and sweets to finish your meal. While on the surface every stall might look similar, on a deeper dive, you’ll discover what each stall does best. Here’s my personal short list of things I crave and often get:
- Crispy Pork Belly from Lucky Food Express. Some of the best crispy pork belly I’ve ever had, and I’ve had a lot in my life.
- Banana wrapped steam fish from Family Kitchen. I love the taste of herb and super tender steamed fish, this can be a bitter dish if you’re not used to bitterness, so be warned.
- Boat Noodle, Khao Poon(curry noodle), and Papaya Salad from Mai’s Papaya. This stall is often the main reason why I visit Hmong Village; the noodles are full of flavor and comforting, and the papaya salad is funky, made to order, and delicious.
- Hmong sausage from any stall, try a couple if you want, they are all slightly different, find your favorite.
- Walk through each stall. Whatever looks good, eat it.
Hot Grainz
882 7th St W Suite 12, St Paul
While there are many Thai restaurants out there, not many of them specialize in regional cuisines. Hot Grainz offers amazing Northern Thai food that is funky, tart, herbal, and balanced. I brought a chef who worked at a James Beard-nominated Northern Thai restaurant to Hot Grainz, and he was impressed. That says it all. Here’s what we ordered: Tom Saap, a hot and sour soup with herbs and super tender chunks of beef; Naem, sour pork ribs with kaffir leaves and chili; Northern Thai Larb, raw and medium bitter, medium spicy (is quite spicy), think of it like a Isaan style beef tartare served with toasty rice, herbs and so delicious; Tum Plu Pla Ra, a funky papaya salad that is balanced with perfect sourness and sweetness, chef said it might even be better than what he makes; Khao Kha Moo, gelatinous pork hock that is braised with sweet soy and five spice served with rice, fermented mustard greens and garlic vinegar, we Asians love our natural collagen and soft, succulent, sticky, jello-y texture. There are so many more dishes you won’t find anywhere else. If you’ve never seen it before, try it; you just might find your next favorite dish.
Kong’s Kitchen
Kong’s Kitchen dishes out bold, unapologetically Cambodian food that feels less like restaurant cooking and more like being fed by family. Lok Lak beef, aka “shaking beef,” is a Cambodian black pepper beef with tender, juicy marinated beef chunks tossed in a high-heat wok and caramelized to perfection, served with a boiled egg, lettuce, and steamed rice. The raw larb is also worth mentioning as well as their beautiful pho broth and perfectly cooked beef on top, everything tasted fresh, refreshing and it feels like home eating there.
Mandalay Kitchen
In February 2026, as Operation Metro Surge wreaked havoc through the BIPOC community and hurt restaurants and small businesses in Minnesota, a car crashed into the corner where Mandalay Kitchen stands.
They are temporarily closed for repairs, but this is a spot you HAVE TO check out as soon as they are open.
Burmese flavors are hard to come by, and Mandalay Kitchen does it so well. Try the classic Burmese dish “tea leaf salad”, Mohinga noodle soup, Yangon Beef Curry with Kachin paratha, and Yum Nam Khao Tod (crumbled deep-fried curry rice cake with cilantro, nam (fermented pork), green and red onions, in-house seasoning, topped with ginger and peanuts), all flavor bombs. Thank me later.
Tea House
2425 University Ave SE, Minneapolis
Located near the University of Minnesota, this is a spot where Chinese students seek nostalgia and local residents get a true taste of Chinese food. While Tea House serves American-Chinese food, they focus more on dishes that are hard to find elsewhere in Minnesota. In the dining room with ornate Chinese-style ceilings, wooden chairs resembling ones from Qing dynasty, and intimate curtained booth just like the ones in C-dramas, you will find dishes from XiaoLongBao (soup dumplings) to items like “squirrel fish”, a famous Chinese dish originated from Suzhou, the fish is scored, battered, deep fried until crispy and looks like a bushy squirrel’s tail then covered in a sweet and sour sauce. The dishes are from all regions of China with an emphasis on Sichuan cuisine. Try something you’ve never heard of before, and make sure you bring friends and eat family style so you can taste your way through the whole menu.
Mandarin Kitchen
8766 Lyndale Ave S, Bloomington
Looking for cart-style dim sum? Mandarin Kitchen is the place! Dim sum is an art form and a labor of love. Many places that serve dim sum actually buy them frozen and just steam them up, but not at Mandarin Kitchen. Professional dim sum chefs prep delicious snacks meticulously on weekends, and you’ll find many Cantonese classics you can’t find elsewhere– silky creamy congee, braised tripe, housemade pineapple bao, sticky rice in lotus leaf, along with the classics: a variety of siu mai, radish cake, charsiu bao, and cheung fen (stuffed rice noodles). It is a fun experience to stop the carts and point at what you want as other diners and cart-pushers exchange Cantonese greetings.
Weekends only and go early. There will be a line, and there are many limited items that will sell out within the first hour.
Dong Yang Oriental Foods & Deli
Want the most delicious Korean food cooked by “ajummas?” Stop at Dong Yang Korean grocery store, walk through the groceries until you reach the very back, and take a left. You will find a deli with picture menus attached. All the classic Korean comfort foods are here at Dong Yang– Kimchi stew, Bulgogi, Beef Short Ribs, Gimbap, Seafood pancake, bibimbap, and so much more. Order everything.
Kusina
It’s hard to find Filipino cuisine in Minnesota; it’s even harder to find one that does it at the level of Kusina. Chef Jailin brings bold flavors of Cebu and serves them “turo turo” style. Turo turo roughly means point point, it’s like a buffet, order whatever that looks good to you, and it’ll get dished up. Sweet, sour, salty are the main characteristics of Filipino cuisine, there are no wrong answers at Kusina, if there’s a special when you’re visiting(usually on the weekends), get it. We were lucky enough to get an order of sisig– pork jowl and ears, pork belly, seasoned with calamansi, onions, and chili peppers, served on a sizzling hot cast iron plate. Delicious. Other dishes we love: housemade Longganisa, Filipino-style sweet pork sausage; Chicken Adobo, a Filipino classic; Dinuguan, Filipino pork stew cooked in pig’s blood and spices; Pancit Bam-I, rice noodles stir-fry with vegetables.
If you’re not hungry for a full meal, Kusina’s Halo Halo – a dessert Mix-Mix of coconut string, pineapple, jackfruit, kaong (palm seed), corn, Ube, beans with evaporated milk, handcrafted Ube ice cream and homemade leche flan with shaved ice is worth the drive on it’s own.
iPho by Saigon, St Paul Location
Go for the bánh mì. Stay because you’ll immediately start planning which one to order next.
With 14 different variations ranging from vegetarian options to fully loaded combinations stuffed with grilled pork, juicy meatballs, pâté, and BBQ pork, iPho by Saigon turns a simple sandwich into something deeply craveable with their dedicated bánh mì station. Everything gets tucked inside crisp, airy Vietnamese baguettes with that perfect balance of flaky exterior and soft center, then layered with pickled vegetables, cucumber, cilantro, and sauces.
You’ll know you’re at the right place – watching regulars walk out carrying five or ten sandwiches at a time. This is the spot where we stock up on banh mi whenever we’re in the area.
Dosa South Indian Grill
8654 Lyndale Ave S, Bloomington
Have you ever had a dosa? Dosa is a paper-thin, crispy, buttery crepe made with a fermented rice-and-lentil batter (naturally gluten-free, in case you’re wondering). Dosa can be served with sides of curry dishes or stuffed with spiced potatoes with a side of chutney. Dosa south indian grill makes a killer Mysore Masala Dosa, the Goat Chettinadu, and Shahi Paneer, fresh homemade Indian cheese simmered in sauce and garnished with nuts and raisins, are also delicious.
The cafes: since we’ve talked extensively about foods, these cafes are definitely worth a visit, but I’ll keep it short, maybe we’ll do a deep dive on them in a different article!
Red Coral Coffee
Taiwanese-owned! Find delicious Taiwanese-style ice-shaken black tea, black sugar latte, and other unique Taiwanese twists at this little cafe.
Càphin
Linden Hills: 4503 France Ave S
Downtown MPLS: 430 N 1st Ave, Suite 140
Vietnamese-style coffees- stronger, often sweetened with condensed milk, so delicious. They also serve an egg coffee– imagine a thick sweet custard cream floating on top of a really strong coffee!
Moona Moono
3048 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis
Cute cafe with even cuter stationery and other Asian-inspired toys, home goods, cookbooks, gifts, and art supplies!
Momo Cafe
Get the momos! Did you know that Minnesota has the second-largest Tibetan population in the USA? Momos are little steamed dumplings stuffed with various fillings and served with a side of sauce (chili oil in the case of Momo Cafe, every region does it a little differently). The vibe of Momo Cafe is very relaxing and chill, a great place to hang out.
asian restaurants in the twin cities
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asian restaurants in the twin cities
