ChinDian Cafe, Minneapolis, MN
The name, ChinDian, is pretty self explanatory. The chef, Nina, is Chinese. Her husband is Indian, and the cuisine at their restaurant is a blend. Friends and I visited recently and had a fabulous meal. We sampled five appetizers and devoured them all. The shrimp toast was crunchy on the outside with some chew in the middle with toothsome chunks of shrimp. The fried wontons were pleasantly non-greasy and utterly craveable. Crispy eggrolls and the chicken-chive dumplings were warm and savory, while the soft spring rolls tasted fresh and herbal.
To drink we tried the hot ginger tea, the cold ginger tea and the berry lemonade. All were pronounced excellent, though I favored the hot tea because it was a cold, wet night. I had the chow mai fun, fine rice noodles, with tofu. It was well seasoned, with excellent contrasting textures and flavors from sliced onion, carrot and the tofu; this dish easily can be gummy and lumpy. I also tried my neighbors’ mock duck broccoli and General Tso’s chicken; both had deep, rich flavors.
Chef Nina reminded us when we began to save room for dessert. It was hard with such a tempting array of items, but I managed, and was glad I did. The crepe with cream in berry sauce was not too sweet, topped generously with berries, and a wonderful complement and finish to a very good meal. I look forward to dining there again.
Rick Nelson of the Star Tribune recommended ChinDian along with Obento-Ya recently.