Hai Hai

We went back to Hai Hai recently as we had not been there since last fall. We arrive a bit early on a Friday evening and were able to easily get places to sit at the bar. It wasn’t even that full until right before we left around 7pm. There were plenty of people waiting in the entry for dining room tables though.

We started with fried wontons filled with cream cheese, chicken liver pate and a side of passion fruit dipping sauce. The chicken liver pate made the flavor very rich and meaty. We also had the water from cakes again, but I forgot to take a photo of them. Still good though!

We also had the spring rolls, which were a bit different than expected. They had a crunch egg roll skin a line of pork sausage, some pickled carrot and jicama all wrapped in a soft spring roll wrapper with dipping sauce. John loved these. I thought they were just OK.

We also had the Balinese chicken thigh with kale, bean sprouts, coconut rice, coconut cream, crispy chicken skin, lime leaf and spicy sambal with Thai chili and fried shallots. This might be our new go to dish. The chicken was so tender and juicy and the coconut rice was rich and creamy. The dish was a bit spicy, but not too much.

We finished with the Vietnamese coffee pot de crème dessert. It was Vietnamese coffee custard, creme fraiche, coco nib and crispy tuile. A light and flavorful way to finish the meal.

The service at the bar was super quick and speedy and all of the food came out amazingly quickly. So I am still loving Hai hai one year later!



Hai Hai
2121 University Ave NE
Minneapolis, MN 55418
Phone: (612) 223-8640
https://www.haihaimpls.com/