By: Stephanie Caballero Benitez

With colder weather approaching it is difficult to find fun places to go to. In this article, I will be talking about one of my favorite places to go to during cold weather. The place I will be talking about is called Hmong Village. Hmong Village is similar to a flea market but it is located inside a building. In this building, you can find plenty of different things such as groceries, food, clothing, and many other things.

The first thing I always head to when walking inside is the food court as the smell is very strong and pleasant. There are a variety of places to try, my favorites are Her Kitchen and Moon’s Kitchen which are located right next to each other. These Kitchens have very affordable prices and are also very enjoyable. I always order Pho, a short way to explain pho would be rice noodles in bone broth. The Pho always comes with a side of lettuce, mung beans, lime, and mint leaves. I have seen people add many different toppings and sauces to their liking. Adding toppings and sauces changes the flavor which makes it easy to not get bored of the taste. Pho bowls come in very different sizes but even a small one can be shared as the amount it comes with is a lot even for just one person.

If you aren’t interested in trying new foods that’s fine as there are also stores in the same building that you can explore and look around in. The ranges of the stores are a good amount. Some sell cultural Hmong dresses, some sell shoes, others sell beauty products, and if you are a Sanrio fan you will find a lot of merchandise in many of these stores.

Lastly, to finish off your visit at the Hmong market, you can stop by their fresh produce area. There is plenty of fruit and vegetables that are very affordable. Whenever I stop by that area I always have to buy some of their mango, it is always fresh and sweet, and it comes cut up and ready to eat for only $5. There are also a lot of products there that can be hard to find at normal grocery stores such as lychee, coconut, dragon fruit, and nances (which is a hard to find fruit).

If you are looking to explore something new and cultural, a visit to the Hmong Market is the perfect idea.

Hmong Village is located at: 1001 Johnson PkwySaint Paul, Minnesota 55106

They are open daily: 9am-9:45pm