Pandan is the ‘it’ flavor making its way onto menus

Pandan, referred to as the “vanilla of Southeast Asia,” is having a mainstream moment. Cooks are extracting the flavors of the sweet and nutty tropical leaf to use in both savory and sweet delights because it’s just that versatile. Plus, its lush green hue is pretty, adding a bright note to any dish.

To get a taste of pandan’s big flavor, these Twin Cities spots are a great introduction:

At Caphin Minneapolis, a pandan latte shares space with traditional Vietnamese coffee, along with trending coconut and egg coffees. The cafe has perfected a housemade syrup to bring out pandan’s sweet, hazelnut profile for this frothy, foamy goodness. Caphin sources its beans from Vietnam, the world’s second largest coffee producer after Brazil, and is serious about its coffee game. It’s definitely the place to go if you want authentic Vietnamese java.

$6.25, 12 ounces, 4503 France Av. S., Mpls., caphinmpls.com

The northeast Minneapolis eatery keeps growing its list of local and national accolades and remains one of the hottest reservations in town. So it’s nice that in addition to dine-in, there’s also a coffee counter to grab lattes and chef Diane Moua’s award-winning pastries to go. The pandan croissant is one of those pieces of art. A best-in-class croissant, airy in the middle, shatter-apart on the outside, is infused with a pandan whip before getting topped with toasted coconut and a slim white chocolate square decorated with a tulip garden scape. It’s almost too pretty to eat, yet so game-changing that it would be a shame not to.

$8, 117 14th Av. NE., Mpls., dianesplacemn.com

The Asia Mall bakery uses extracted pandan leaves for this double layer light, fluffy, green-hued cake. Purchase it by the slice or as a whole cake and choose among buttercream, coconut or durian (a fruit native to Southeast Asia) frostings. The family behind Keefer Court Bakery also runs MT Noodles and Pho Mai, and the cake is available by the slice at those restaurants, too.

The Brooklyn Park distillery, open Thursdays through Saturdays, has a few pandan-infused offerings. NA handcrafted sodas include pandan, lychee or yuzu thirst-quenchers ($5). On Fridays and Saturdays, the menu expands to includes the Pandan Express, a tropical vodka-based concoction with pandan juice, lychee cordial, coconut cream and more ($18).