yia vang: he ran from who he was. now, it's his greatest superpower.

Podcast: Reppin · Evelien Kong

Opublikowano: 2026-08-21

a kid threw away his mother's Hmong food so no one would see it — the same food just made his restaurant one of Time's "World's Greatest Places." yia vang is a Hmong chef in Minneapolis, a James Beard semifinalist whose restaurant vinai has landed on the New York Times Restaurant List and Bon Appétit's Best New Restaurant. he named it after Ban Vinai, the refugee camp in Thailand where his Hmong parents — refugees who fled Laos after the Vietnam War — met and where he was born. he calls it a love letter to them. but bef...