Honouring the past, present and future of Hmong cooking, Vinai (pronounced VEE-nye) is a restaurant from chef Yia Vang, named so after the Ban Vinai refugee camp in Thailand, the place where his parents met, and where Yia was subsequently born.
Situated in the historic Northeast Bank Building in the Sheridan neighbourhood of Minneapolis, an area historically home to a large immigrant population and currently housing a growing number of exciting restaurants, Vinai serves as an homage to Hmong culture and history, encouraging and educating diners on how to broaden their horizons in terms of cuisine.
A love letter from Yia to his parents, design elements nod to the owner and executive chef’s time at Ban Vinai refuge camp, a vision created in collaboration with Christian Dean Architects, and includes hanging lantern fixtures, textured tile walls, and a designated shelf which is dedicated to family photos and images from the chef’s past. Diners will also find a selection of greenery, a nod to his mother’s love of plants, and a cinder block centrepiece that serves as a reminder of Yia’s father teaching him how to grill; a task that inspired many of the dishes on the menu.
With dishes such as shrimp and pork toast, grilled lamb hearts, grilled fish, grass fed New York strip, chicken coconut curry, and much more, all plates are based upon seasonality and local produce availability and are rooted in Hmong culture.
A concept born for Yia Vang’s parents and for thousands of other Hmong refugees, Vinai is a place of place of restoration, a restaurant where diners are whole-heartedly invited to celebrate, honour, and illuminate stories of their own through the universal language of food.
@vinaimn
@christiandeanarchitecture
Vinai Minneapolis Photography, Lauren Cutshall.
