Destiny Café

I have heard of Destiny Café through the grapevine...Many of us in the Hmong community are familiar with the Hmong band named Destiny. They have rocked out while we danced at parties. They own some of the most powerful love ballads known to the Hmong, making girls swoon (and some guys cry) over their love songs about courtship and heartbreak. Hmong all across the world have come to listen to and love Destiny, the band, the music.

However, these days, Destiny has mostly hung up their vocal abilities and have branched into other fields. Let us thank Chong Soua Vang, Hmong Destiny Band’s former keyboardist, and his wife Doua Yang, for opening up a place to keep a bit of the Destiny memories alive within their café—a place trusted for good eats, good meats, and good seats.

Destiny Café is a family-operated shop located within Sunrise Market plaza on University Avenue in St. Paul. Their space is small, a little hard to find, and sometimes inadequate for their customers. “We’ve seen families of around 30 people come in,” stated the waitress, who happens to also be Chong’s daughter. In fact the space used to boast a small stage in order to host small events or gatherings, but high demand meant that they needed to replace it with more seating. Capacity stands strong at 76, as indicated by a sign on the wall. The ambience is awesome and old school—Destiny songs are featured over the loudspeakers, but so are many other beloved throwback Hmong songs, from Sounders to Sek Loso. The music will take you back, which makes it perfect for reminiscing about all those parties you went to back in the day.

The food is good and very comfortable, especially for your average Hmong consumer. There is a meat display case which stands right by the entrance—you can choose what type of grilled or broiled meat you may be having for the day. The array of meats are one’s standard ‘soccer tournament’ food—chicken legs, beef, egg rolls, crispy pork belly, Hmong sausage, and pork ribs. The food is plentiful during the day and often wanes down by the end of the evening. Their pork is delicious—this isn’t your pork tenderloin here: the meat is so tender because of the line of fat that covers the meat, which ends with the crisp skin. Pork lovers need not go further than this café to find juicy and succulent pork—a steal at $8.00.

Another food that wanes at the end of the day? The fawm kauv, which are steamed rice flour rolls filled with pork. This deal is amazing—you get nine rolls for $5.50 and they come garnished with fresh scallions and crispy fried onions as well. “It’s one of our most popular dishes,” Chong’s daughter informed me, “people get mad when they come in and order and [the dish] has been sold out.” It’s so good, it’s better without the kua txob sauce (which is highly disappointing as it is merely dried red pepper with soy and fish sauce.) What is even worse is that this is the same sauce served alongside your entrée meats to add spice or flavor—I recommend bringing your own kua txob to the party if possible. But spicy sauce aside, the food stands up very well on it’s own.

Fish is on the menu here: Destiny Café serves up four different styles of tilapia, a favorite amongst many of the Hmong. There are two fried varieties that come covered in either an herb and tomato sauce or a curry sauce. There are also two steamed tilapia options that are steamed with either limes or with herbs. If you’re in the mood for fish and very hungry, Destiny Café’s fish will hit the spot: at only $6.95, they give you a whole fish with plenty of sauce—my dining companion and I opted for the fried curry fish. The curry has deep flavor reminiscent of khob poob, a curry noodle soup (which they also serve.) All you need now is a side of rice and you’re ready to go.

Trusted friends and comrades have informed me of the numerous claims that Destiny Café has the best pho around, which intrigued me. Indeed, when I walked into the café, they promoted their own pho themselves, claiming it is fawm qab tshaj plaws (or the best of all.) I’ll admit, I was skeptical to think that pho coming from a former band member could be ‘the best,’ but after seeing their extensive pho menu, filled with specialties, I was convinced I had to try some. Reading the pho menu is one of the most fun parts of the experience as many of their pho specialties have been named for Destiny’s most well known songs. For instance, I had initially ordered the Pho Destiny ‘Baby,’ (a straight up beef soup), but after the waitress let me know that #7, the Pho Destiny ‘Lub Paj,’ (made with pork meatballs, crispy pork, crab meat, shrimp, and sliced steak) was their most popular option, I changed my order. What I ended up with surprised me—really great pho! The broth was strong, but not overpowered by saltiness or sweetness. And the portions are HUGE…thankfully, I only got the small one ($5.95) because their Extra Large size ($7.95) is one of the biggest bowls of pho I have ever seen. Other options for pho include the Pho Destiny ‘Kiss Kuv,’ (an all seafood pho), Pho Destiny “Just For Love,” (a pho with tripe, meatballs, blood, and beef tendons), as well as chicken pho and a BBQ pho. Customers looking for pho will have come to a great spot to be satisfied. I would order their pho again and again.

You get a LOT of food for a very little price—typical of being catered to by the Hmong! It is an ideal place for families to come in together to get a good meal and the menu will have something to please almost any pallet on the spectrum—from kids to adults. The dishes are served family style, from the chopped up meats, to the huge plates of fried rice and noodles, to the khao piab porridge, to the communal rice bowl that goes around. Not only does it feel as though you’re eating another meal at home, you may as well be eating in the homeland of Laos. The restaurant is reminiscent of an authentic eating experience at a shop off the streets of Laos—they charge for sides of rice (very affordable) and they even serve BeerLao! This place pays homage to true Hmong foods and Hmong-style eating.

Despite only having been open for the past five years, it seems the former keyboardist/band member is doing very well in the business: Destiny Café is opening a second branch of their restaurant located across from the new Cub Foods on Maryland and Clarence Avenues to serve the clientele on the East Side of St. Paul. So pho-heads, come one, come all—we may have found one of best bowls of pho around…and surprisingly, it’s not in a Vietnamese restaurant. Oh, and don’t forget the nab vam, the truly Hmong way to end a meal!

Destiny Café

995 University Avenue West

St. Paul, MN 55104

Bus: 651-209-3392

Cell: 763-300-5111

HOURS: Everyday from 9:00 A.M. until 8:00 P.M.

By Elizabeth Thao