Yia Vang is everywhere. From filming television shows and debuting food at Target Field to operating Union Hmong Kitchen's stand in Minneapolis' Graze food hall and fielding questions about his highly anticipated restaurant Vinai, the man is busy.
So when Vang's latest pop-up, Mee-Ka, recently opened inside his company's commissary kitchen space, it was a surprise (yet not a surprise) to find him in the dining room. He talked about his upcoming trip to Laos before stepping away to tend to the ever-present demands of a celebrity chef on the rise.
Mee-Ka and the other concepts coming out of his Hilltribe restaurant group are intensely personal to Vang — as is the collaborative nature of the group. Its slogan? Always moving forward together.
"We always say in Hilltribe that 'you cook from who you are.' We believe that everyone has a story to tell and if we listen to each other about the way we cook and eat, we start seeing that story evolve," said Vang.
The company takes its name from "hill tribe people," a catchall description for tribes living in the northern region of Laos, Thailand and Vietnam who are on the low end of the region's cultural hierarchy. Among that group are the Hmong, which includes Vang's parents. They were part of a wave of immigrants that landed in the Midwest in the late '80s.
Since he first opened Union Hmong Kitchen as a pop-up, Vang has become a nationally sought-after representative for Hmong cuisine, and his restaurants have blended the traditional food with his classic chef training.
Like all of Vang's endeavors, the story of the Hmong people is threaded throughout. Anyone who has attended a Hmong family celebration knows that many hands work to prepare the feast. Similarly, Mee-Ka is built by a community of cooks doing the work and sharing ideas.
At the core of Mee-Ka are Mike Yuen, Hilltribe's culinary director, and Tony Gao, the sous chef working the line on our visit. Im Yang was welcoming customers and answering questions, but he's also a sous chef who talked about the day the kitchen crew came up with their version of nqaij tsaws, a pork dish. Carlyn Shanley dreams up pastry specials, including a fresh twist on Key lime pie and a miso chocolate chip cookie. Shalom Stout-Harris was preparing orders with lightning speed, and Marshall Paulsen, who will eventually lead Vinai with Vang, was espousing the flavor fun of adding toasted rice powder to just about everything. "It was a momentary obsession," he said.
"All these people," Vang said, "are the tip of the Hilltribe iceberg."
Location: 901 W. Lake St., Mpls., hilltribemn.com
Hours: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Wed.-Thu., Sun.; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Closed Mon.-Tue.
The background: Mee-Ka, and Slurp before it, began when Hilltribe turned the former Mucci's Trattoria into a commissary, giving them room to prepare food for Union Hmong Kitchen and Vinai catering as well as their star-making debut at the Minnesota State Fair. Once the fair was over, there was an empty dining room with plenty of space to get creative; it was a chance to try new restaurant concepts without the commitment. First came Slurp, a three-month pop-up with a brief, noodle-centric menu and a hard end date. By the time its final day arrived, there were lines out the door.
The vibe: It's a no-frills room with just a few coveted tables and a line of bar seats along the back of the dining room. All the food travels relatively well, but the charm is utilitarian for now. Order at the counter and wait with a number for food. At noon midday, the sound level registered at moderate.
The food: Mee-Ka's concise menu is born from Hmong American kitchens, but it isn't fusion. Dishes utilize ingredients and comforts from each cuisine, like a double-decker smash cheeseburger ($16) that's dusted with toasted rice flour salt — which imparts a distinctive nuttiness to the crusty beef — and topped with ranch Kua Txob, fermented radishes and American cheese.
There's also the iconic Hmong dish nqaij tsaws ($18). Vang told us, "One morning Im took all the scraps from making the broth from one of our Slurp dishes and mixed it with our mustard greens [nqaij tsaws means braised meats in Hmong]. Everyone devoured it down with some rice." The pork and greens are braised into juicy, lemongrass kicky oneness and served with sticky rice, crisped cubed potatoes and an optional egg ($2).
The Meat Loaf ($22) adds glass noodles to the beef and pork mixture and is glazed with a ketchup/oyster sauce. Cobb salad ($12) gets a refresh with traditional laab herbs. Rounding out the menu: the Afterschool Special ($20), Hmong sausage meatballs with spicy Thai basil red sauce, ramen noodles and Parmesan; and the Katsu Sando ($18), a panko-crusted pork cutlet served with a sweet soy aioli and slaw.
Getting there: There are precious few parking spots in the back, but meter parking has been available when we visited. Inside, there are no steps and wide pathways make for easy accessibility.
It's temporary: Mee-Ka launched at the end of March and will last only three months. After that, the concept will be shelved to be revived at Hilltribe's discretion. Stay tuned for what's next.
