Rosedale Center sells Labubu dolls in Pop Mart vending machines that draw lines of enthusiasts eager to buy the collectibles. (Jerry Holt/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Today Truong is ecstatic that the next generation of chefs are expanding how people think of Vietnamese cuisine, pointing to Hai Hai’s Christina Nguyen, who won a James Beard Award for best chef in the Midwest. Beyond that, Truong says Korean barbecues and hot pot places offer diners a unique experience, which fuels the buzz.
“People want to do more than just eat,” she said. “They want to have that sense of fun or whimsy, and one way to do that is to cook at your table.”
When Lee, the owner of Moona Moono, first started talking about the concept of opening her shop, many reacted with a weary acceptance that Minnesotans would have to wait.
“People used to say things like, ‘It takes three to five years for things to make it here from the coasts,’” she recalled. “What is changing this significantly is social media. A 12-year-old here is seeing all the same things that a 12-year-old in New York, San Francisco and L.A. are seeing. They just don’t have a way of accessing it.”
Sisters Carina King, left, and Catherine King shop at Moona Moono in Minneapolis. (Leila Navidi/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
A former marketing maven in the corporate world, Lee first envisioned that her store and coffee shop would be popular with young women. But the appeal of her shop transcends age and gender. What her customers do have in common is a curiosity to discover something new and delightful.
I shared with her my secret worry: What if this sudden obsession with Asian things is just a fad? Lee said it’s tricky line to walk.
