Minneapolis-St. Paul’s Best Restaurants for Asian Food

Cheng Heng sits on St. Paul’s University Avenue corridor, a beloved area for bold Southeast Asian cooking. For over 20 years, the restaurant has been serving Cambodian stir-fries and spicy curry soups that keep regulars coming back. Standouts include the lemongrass-forward chha kroeng; the sweet-tart mix of squash, pineapple, tomato, lotus stem and mint in machu angkor; and the egg roll–, onion- and beef-topped vermicelli noodles known as banh xiung.

The dining room at Diane’s Place hasn’t stopped buzzing since it opened in the spring of 2024. That’s because it’s both a platform for Diane Moua’s extensive pastry experience (Bellecour, La Belle Vie, Spoon and Stable) and the chef’s loving homages to her Hmong family. Their farm often supplies locally sourced ingredients such as the bamboo shoots that appear in a bright and bracing tomato, cucumber, and mint salad, a coconut curry broth with cabbage as its co-star, and a pulled pork entrée spiked with scallions, ginger, and the perfect touch of sourness. 

Moua’s brunch menu is also unlike anything else in the metro area, too, whether she’s highlighting the transcendent snap of Hmong sausage, whipping up Thai tea French toast (learn how to make it here!), or reinventing the breakfast sandwich with SPAM, nori, and a savory swipe of chili crisp aioli.

Chef Ann Ahmed’s restaurants have been nothing short of revolutionary over the past two decades. Building on the momentum of her breakthrough (the dearly missed Lemongrass Thai) and its well-received follow-up (Lat14), chef Ann Ahmed opened two distinct expressions of her Laotian background in recent years: Gai Noi and Khâluna. 

The former earned a coveted spot on The New York Times’ 50 best restaurants list in 2023, which tipped its cap towards the entire local scene with this little nugget from writer Brett Anderson: “If customers appear at ease dredging sticky rice through one of the four kinds of jeow, or chasing hot bites of laab with juicy morsels of shrimp flake-dusted watermelon, it has something to do with Ms. Ahmed and others who’ve been spreading Southeast Asian flavors across the metro area.”

Christina Nguyen won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Midwest in 2024 thanks to Hai Hai’s transportive riffs on Southeast Asian recipes like Sri Lankan–style beef rendang, Balinese chicken thigh, Hanoi sticky rice, and Malaysian fried shrimp. She's always workshopping new dishes, too; recent additions to her restless menu include khao soi chicken wontons and crave-worthy slabs of murtabak (Indonesian pancakes stuffed with eggs and spiced lamb and beef).

The craft-cocktail background of her business partner and husband, Birk Grudem, also shines in top-notch tipples that weave in many house-made ingredients, including rice-washed rum, green “Haitreuse,” lemongrass falernum, cranberry-lychee shrub, and tropical black tea syrup.

Opened in the storied Fuji-Ya space in 2024, Jade Dynasty was born from the minds of Chuen “Paul” Wu & Eric Zheng, who originally owned the longstanding restaurants Nankin & Hong Kong Noodles. Jade Dynasty offers a plethora of hot pot and dim sum options, along with a menu that showcases authentic Cantonese and Chinese dishes. 

If one is looking for something lively to awaken their taste buds, Jade Dynasty is sure to satisfy those aforementioned spice hounds, but be mindful when servers say a certain spice level may be a few more notches above "Minnesota spicy" than one can handle.

Led by former Cook St. Paul owners Eve and Eddie Wu, and Union Hmong Kitchen co-founder Chris Her (the cousin of Vinai chef/owner Yia Vang), Juche is a peerless late-night dining experience in St. Paul. Between its massive “k-lounge” menu and an enlightening drink program that reads like an encyclopedia of experimental spirits and soju, Juche rewards piles of share plates and repeat visits. 

Whether you stick to banchan flights and bibimbap, or build an entire meal around exceptional bar food bites (appetizer-sized anju), don’t forget to finish with a scoop of honeydew ice cream and such tricked-out toppings as citrus syrup and gochugaru flakes.

With three different tasting menu tiers, Kado No Mise and its slightly more upscale sister restaurant Kaiseki Furukawa are best enjoyed with friends or family who trust the omakase experience, which translates to “I’ll leave it up to you” in Japanese. Hyper-seasonal food doesn't get much more stunning than this. 

Chef Shigeyuki Furukawa is also behind the bold Italian-Japanese flavors of Sanjusan, the whiskey bar wonders of Gori Gori Peku, and the fast-casual handrolls, udon and donburi of Cafe Yoto (a platform for longtime Kado No Mise chef Yo Hasegawa). The first two are in the same building as Kado No Mise and Kaiseki Furukawa, and Cafe Yoto is just a half-mile away, making Furukawa one of downtown Minneapolis' most ambitious restaurateurs. 

Seasoned chef Jalin Tabares opened Kusina next door to the Mounds View market Filipino Village in 2022. It transports diners to her native city of Cebu with iconic dishes like dinuguan (a hearty stew made with offal, pig’s blood, vinegar, garlic and chili), lechon kawali (crackly, double-cooked pork belly) and longanisa (a sweet pork sausage served alongside a bed of jasmine rice). Cap it all off with pandan ice cream or binignit, a sweet coconut cream stew of fruit, glutinous rice balls, and tubers like taro, banana, sweet potato and ube.

Located along the Midway corridor of University Avenue is the state’s first hand-pulled noodle restaurant. Master Noodle’s signature noodle soups are a spot-on introduction to the regional specialties of Lanzhou, Chongqing and Shanxi, and its noodles include call backs to Beijing and China’s Sichuan province. Taiwan also makes an appearance via a comforting bowl of brisket noodle soup crowned with tomatoes, cilantro, pickled mustard, and scallions. 

Diners in Edina and Bloomington can now enjoy their own Master Noodle locations as well. Because what better way to cap a day of shopping at 50th and France or the Mall of America than a comforting mound of rice, braised eggs and pork belly?

Okome House’s primary focus is Japanese comfort food, including donburi (rice bowls topped with fried tofu, ground yellowfin tuna, regionally sourced pork or chicken), hand-packed onigiri (rice balls filled with everything from SPAM to freshwater eel), and rotating imported desserts like matcha roll cakes, mochi ice cream, and fish-shaped waffles filled with red bean paste and chocolate (taiyaki). 

Chef Hide Tozawa (formerly of Fuji Ya and Kyatchi) also makes one of Minneapolis’ best kids’ meal combos: two pieces of chicken karaage, one plain rice ball, carrots, broccoli, strawberries, and either a mini strawberry Calpico or apple juice. Littles who are looking for more than just mac ‘n’ cheese can also opt for a bowl of udon noodles and house-made vegetable broth — a nice option after walking around nearby Minnehaha Falls.

On’s Thai Kitchen has called St. Paul’s University Avenue corridor home since 2010. Named after its owner, On Khumchaya (also of Bangkok Thai Deli), it offers a sprawling menu with something for everyone. That means everything from well-executed staples (pad thai, tom yum soup, basil fried rice) to lesser-known specialties like pad sa-thor (bitter beans stir-fried in a creamy red curry sauce with pork, shrimp, bell peppers and shallots). 

Or as former restaurant critic Rick Nelson wrote in his Star Tribune review, “The Twin Cities area is blessed with plenty of Thai restaurants, but few possess the distinctive personality and heartfelt warmth of On's Kitchen.”

Pho Pasteur serves bowls upon bowls of hot, brothy goodness along the Snelling Avenue stretch of St. Paul, right within walking distance of Allianz Field. Get the pho ga if you’d like a light riff on chicken noodle soup, and be sure to order a bánh mì on the side if you’re super hungry. Pho Pasteur also offers a wide range of appetizers (fresh, not fried, spring rolls are a must) and a vegetarian menu for those who wish to avoid meat entirely. Wash it all down with a Vietnamese smoothie, coffee or bubble tea; their flavors are as plentiful as the pho selections.

While Dinkytown’s landscape is in a constant state of flux, old U of M standbys like Al’s Breakfast and El Burrito Loco have withstood the test of time and new construction. Another on-campus staple is Shuang Cheng; Daniel Lam has overseen its Cantonese offerings since the early ‘90s. This is the place to be whenever a craving for sesame chicken, stir-fried beef, or shrimp in lobster sauce kicks in.

Named after the refugee camp where chef Yia Vang was born and his parents met, Vinai stands as a striking tribute to his family’s sacrifices and heritage. While Union Hmong Kitchen — Vang’s buzz-building debut — fine-tuned conventional Hmong cuisine for the modern palette, Vinai fires off classic and contemporary dishes like fried rice flecked with blue crab, laab carpaccio, and charred cabbage served alongside fermented mustard greens, smoked carrot puree, and spicy peanuts. 

Bigger groups should also consider ordering generous portions of grilled and braised meat, a flight of four hot sauces, and playful snacks like curry rice balls, chips and dip made with taro, garlic cream cheese, and smoked trout caviar, and canned mackerel with purple sticky rice, green onions, cilantro, and tomato-chili confit. 

No matter what you order, expect an experience that’s as enriching as it is educational.

Located in Saint Louis Park since 1982, Yangtze specializes in Szechuan, Hunan, Cantonese, and Mandarin cuisine. While certain sections of their menu — such as their chow fun and lo mein — are a must, Yangtze is best-known for its weekends-only (and occasional holiday) dim sum. We’re talking more than 50 (!) dishes that patrons select from once seated, ranging from spring rolls to steamed buns. The games begin at 10 a.m. and wind down at 2 p.m., so plan accordingly and come hungry!