ChinDian Cafe

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Restaurateurs (and married couple) Nina Wong and Thomas Gnanapragasam converted a largely stop-and-shop enterprise into ChinDian Cafe. The new name on the door reflects the couple’s collective heritages: Wong was born in Vietnam to Chinese parents, and Gnanapragasam is third-generation Malaysian with Indian roots. It also mirrors what’s going on the kitchen, where a blending of their families’ cooking collective heritages - and sprinkling in a few Western touches - is making for deliciously appealing food. That starts with an amazing spring-roll formula that pops with the crunch of romaine, the cool bite of shrimp, bits of sweet barbecue pork and tons of refreshingly flavorful peppermint, spearmint, coriander and basil. There are big, steaming bowls of soup -- a rich chicken stock brimming with shrimp, beef, pork or tofu -- that judiciously borrows tomato, jalapeño and other salsa building blocks before it finishes with bright mint accents. It goes great with a tall glass of vibrant, house-brewed ginger tea. Skinny chow mai fun noodles are liberally tossed with bits of egg, bean sprouts, pork, shrimp and a fragrant, teasingly spicy blend of cayenne, turmeric and cinnamon. A big glass bowl layered with romaine, rice noodles, onions sautéed with lemon grass and crushed peanuts made for a showy salad, and Wong's "Asian hoagies" start out right, with first-rate baguettes from New French Bakery. The low-profile location, perched in a mostly industrial area on the northernmost fringes of southeast Minneapolis, feels like foreign territory compared with Wong's former Eat Street stomping grounds, but don't let that be a deterrent. The dining room is modest but inviting, and if you're lucky you'll get a glimpse of the couple's adorable daughter; this really is a mom-and-pop operation. Prices are extremely reasonable, particularly given the robust flavor profiles.