Chef Yia Vang was born in a refugee camp in Thailand and moved with his family to the U.S. when he was 5. They eventually settled in Minnesota, where his family was part of the large Hmong community ...

You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email. Yia Vang never wanted to be a chef. His siblings received postgraduate degrees, while Vang just ...

“I believe that Hmong food isn’t a type of food, but it’s a philosophy of food,” says chef Yia Vang of Vinai in Minneapolis. “It’s a way of thinking about food. It tells the story of our people.” The ...

This Twin Cities hidden spot inside a Minnesota Hmong market food court serves fresh, flavorful dishes that make it a go-to ...

Yia is currently the owner/chef of the James Beard-nominated restaurant Union Hmong Kitchen located in Graze Food Hall in North Loop Minneapolis specializing in Hmong cuisine. The stateless, nomadic ...

After his family fled Laos for America, Yia Vang was at first embarrassed by his family's home cooking. Then he learned to embrace it, and found... Yia Vang grew up in a family of storytellers. When ...

Our 2025 Restaurant of the Year served its first dinner several months after its 2024 opening, said Raphael Brion in Food & Wine, but it “has always seamlessly blended Diane Moua’s experience as a ...

This video follows the preparation of traditional Hmong food in Laos, filmed in a setting that creates an immediate cultural contrast: cooking inside an old American missile shell. The focus stays on ...

For chef Yia Vang, live-fire cooking isn’t a trend. “This is actually a part of who I am,” he says. “This is how our people cooked hundreds of years ago. This is how our people cook today. If you go ...

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — Restaurants have really struggled during the pandemic. While some Twin Cities restaurants have closed during COVID-19, a popular chef is moving forward with his plans to open ...

In the mountains of Laos, we discovered a truly surreal sight - locals cooking traditional Hmong food inside the shell of an old American missile. This video explores the creative and resourceful ...

In South Sacramento, an oasis of South Asian vegetables bloom just off the side of a busy boulevard. Known simply as the Lemon Hill Garden, this multi-acre property is leased by a neighborhood church ...