Warm Up With Bold Street Food at Hai Hai
Christina Nguyen’s Northeast oasis brings bright Southeast Asian flavors to crisp autumn nights.
As late-October winds rattle the turning trees across Northeast, stepping inside Hai Hai feels like slipping into an antidote for impending winter. Christina Nguyen and Birk Grudem’s tropical dining room on University Avenue has long held court as one of the Twin Cities’ most joyous spots to eat, balancing high-spirited warmth with unapologetically bright, herb-strewn Southeast Asian cooking.
The menu draws sharp focus on regional street food traditions that demand to be shared. Start with the Hanoi sticky rice, served fragrant and deeply savory under a layer of ground pork, fried shallots, and pâté, or the ginger-scented Balinese chicken thighs lacquered with aromatic spices. Every plate is calibrated around high-voltage contrasts—sharp lime squeezes cutting through rich fat, piles of mint, cilantro, and perilla cooling fiery chilies.
Even the drink program punches well above its weight. The cocktail list weaves pandan, tamarind, and fresh citrus into libations that feel thoughtfully attuned to the kitchen rather than sweet novelties. Paired with an order of the crisp, lacy bánh xèo folded around pork belly and shrimp, it is an effortless reminder of why Nguyen took home a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Midwest.
Northeast is packed with cozy neighborhood haunts, but few capture this specific balance of communal energy and technical precision. On an October evening when dusk settles early, snagging a booth under Hai Hai’s lush hanging greenery is pure restorative magic.