Bethany N...you didn't tell me I could get Congee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hai Hai in NE Mpls Fantastic!!
A friend from Marianne's Kitchen, Bethany (we forgave her for taking a great job outside the neighborhood...although I think John is STILL sad [John: "Yes."]...thanks Jamie for helping John over this 'rough spot'!) commented on one of our recent reviews that we should get our veggies at Hai Hai. We listened, Bethany...you have a history of displaying exceptional palate-ability!
It was raining pretty hard this afternoon, so we thought we could actually get in the door at Hai Hai...great hunch on our part...although our server said he expected a 'slower' day because of the rain...he was soooooo disappointed...we nabbed one of the 3 available tables and were thankful for the immediate seating.
Brunch menu on Saturday, so Bethany might not have seen this if she was here for dinner. The lunch menu includes Congee (John: "a broth or soup made from rice")...and not just one kind, but 2!!
Now Congee is another of those dishes that I tried valiantly to bring to Shoreview...with the usual result. It was like making Sopa de Fuba (John: "South American cornmeal thickened soup.")...only 1 guy had the 'you know what' to give it a try. Why did I persist in these efforts to bring people something other than a turkey sandwich on whole wheat? Ha, I'm not totally out of it (well, some days [John: "Yes, you are not totally out of it."])....when I didn't sell the Congee or Sopa de Fuba or other tantalizing but obscure lunch item...there was plenty left for me 
So here we are at Hai Hai and right away it's a problem. The carmelized pork congee OR the mushroom congee...boo hoo hoo, what to do????? Start at the top of the alphabet...C before M, so eat the pork congee. Foolproof method.
Then, I look at John...struggling...Omelette Banh Mi or Vegetarian Banh Mi or Viet Meatball Banh Mi. Guess what? The same method works here...order O...who knew the alphabet could be so helpful in food selection?
Hai Hai: Crowded, Expect a Wait...Worth It
It's clear why the line here is often an hour or more for dinner. This place, like Waldmann 1857 is 'the whole package' (but in a totally different way, of course). This is Chicago seating as I call it (excellent way to pack sardines)...so don't expect to have a whispery, personal conversation - ka clang!
Hai Hai Decor
Here, the walls are vivid green in a rag design. Check out the bathroom...spend some time surrounded by parrots and closed behind a painted doors (a gorgeous color) locked with a wood block, or wash your hands in a handled pan enveloped in walls of shells in a 'strong' blue hue.
Dine in one of the few booths, but more likely...tables that can be moved to accommodate 2 to X number of diners together. A couple of great windows, perfectly arched by trees, and plants along the sill stacked on patio blocks. There is also plenty of seating at the bar or on the pleasant outdoor patio.
Hai Hai Service
A soft spoken server arrived quickly, and trying to communicate over the din, we were able to order our lunch and a Viet iced coffee.
The lunch appeared more quickly than I expected based on the number of people shoe-horned into the space. I barely had time to share a sip of my Viet iced coffee (which is now my alternative to cold brew when I think it's okay to enjoy a few bazillion more calories) with John and lunch was served.
Ah...the Hai Hai Food Arrives
"Be still my heart"...a most gorgeous pork congee...topped with a Chinese cruller. Now I'm really trying not to pound any more coffin nails into my immediate future, so a deep-fried cruller is not a first choice item. But give me a break...who could resist a cruller by someone who clearly knows how to fry one? Crisp, not greasy, snappy outside with a great chewy interior. This frying skill was evident in the fried garnet yam that John was handing me as I was staring lovingly into my bowl, trying to figure out where to begin. The most perfectly fried potatoes I've seen in ages.
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| Hai Hai Congee |
The congee contained fish-sauce carmelized pork, chinese broccoli, radish (today was watermelon...don't know if that's the standard), fried shallots and garlic (also perfect), and a soft poached egg gently finishing its cooking in the rice porridge, and topped with cilantro. So gorgeous...the julienned radish and generous cilantro contrasting with the pale congee, dotted with just enough pork and other ingredients to make each bite its own flavor combo. A little sweetness, a little saltiness, a bit of radish bite, some crunch, some porridgy smoothness...hard to stop but hard to eat a whole bowl. I HAD to share! [John: "The boring Norwegian side of my head spoke out saying 'I don't know about this' but I overcame it. The congee was remarkable, diverse in distinct flavors and textures and clearly a dish I would order on then next visit."]
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| Hai Hai Banh Mi |
John's Banh Mi was a totally different, but equally excellent experience. A giant sandwich torpedo filled with a puffy omelette with ground pork, pate (again, Shoreview was not ready for a Banh Mi with pate...we just added more easily recognizable carrots for the 'locals'--daikon was too much of a stretch), jicama and carrot, chili jam (yes, those jars of pepper jam we sold were EXACTLY for purposes like this..or in a grilled cheese sandwich 
), aioli, big slices of cucumber, and fresh jalapeno rings (yup, with the seeds and ribs/pith/membrane--the hottest part next to the placenta).
Served with perfectly fried potatoes and garnet yams accompanied by a creamny lime sauce, the Banh Mi was a 'forkworthy' sandwich, if by sheer size alone. The omelette was the kind of big fluffy one I learned to make in traditional 'home ec' (people under 50, don't ask what home ec is). John wondered at its' big oval fluffy beautifulness... You wanted to pick the whole thing up and get a bite of every single ingredient in one mouthful...but that would have been your only mouthful because the thing would have exploded all over us and the restaurant using that technique. The knife and fork gave John the desired variety of bites in a controlled environment!
Hai Hai Conclusion & Recommendation
To say we would highly recommend our meal would be a woefully poor statement about just how good it was.
I can't believe that between last night and this afternoon, we've had 2 absolutely wonderful meals...about as far apart of the food spectrum as is possible.
I'm now looking for houses for sale within a block of Hai Hai so I can go there every Saturday. But wait...my cousin's AirBnB is right down the street...maybe I'll just book it every Friday night in perpetuity. We can take her to lunch at Hai Hai every Saturday ("What do you think BK?").
Hai Hai was a wonderful experience for lunch today. Very good iced Viet coffee (maybe third on the list...Trung Nam #1, Pho 400 #2), hard to find Congee that just also happens to be wonderful Congee, and a Banh Mi spin that will broaden your Banh Mi horizon.
But don't go to Hai Hai on Saturday for lunch...that's when WE want a table!!!!!
Marine Landing b.o.t.m.
tacos, a pulled pork sandwich, 1 salad choice. The burgers are made from 'farm fresh meat' and the hot dogs are Nathan's on poppy seed buns. I used to eat an occasional Nathan's dog....before they, too, became a Chinese company (when I think of China I certainly think of Nathan's hot dogs and Smithfield 'country ham', don't you? NOT). But today is about the experience.
So, the Ruby Dog (aka the "mood swing"--you get whatever they feel like making) for me (I always take a chance) and the pulled pork sandwich for John, with a couple of Cokes.
As we watched the river and a couple of families taking out their pontoons, we soaked in the ambiance. It's the kind of place where lucky people hung out when they were kids...and maybe adults. Blue or yellow flower patterned 'oilcloth' tablecloths, a rustic deck and 'porch' and water and woods as far as the eye can see.
