The Asian Mall of Eden Prairie was created to bring together a variety of authentic Asian businesses under one roof, said Tracy Tran, the mall's public relations director. Leading a tour of the Asian Mall, which was part of this summer's PeopleFest event, Tran explained that four of the mall's five owners are Eden Prairie residents and wanted to save people time traveling to other ethnic enclaves to find the goods and services they wanted.
Tracy Tran, public relations manager at Asia Mall, says she loves bitter melon, which tastes just as its name suggests, but can also be used in stir-fries, soups and hotpots, she says.
“We don't want people to have to travel to Minneapolis to enjoy a cultural experience, so why not bring it locally so everyone can participate,” Tran said.
“We named it Asia Mall because we want the mall to be inclusive of all Asian cultures: Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese,” she said, noting that the architecture and décor incorporates the Chinese zodiac animals, butterflies – symbols of good luck – and Japanese design elements. “You see geometric patterns everywhere, which just means 'balance,' and in Chinese culture, balance is very important,” she said.
Asia Mall has several restaurants on both the main floor and the upper mezzanine level. “In Asian culture, food is central and it's also an expression of love,” says Tran. “Having fresh food on the table is something they value, and that's why there are so many restaurants here, because in every country, it's an expression of love for family.”
Decor at Asia Mall includes murals of the Chinese zodiac in the gift shop area and a butterfly mobile, a symbol of good fortune, hanging from the ceiling with a Japanese-style print partially visible behind the butterflies.
Existing restaurants, with at least one planned to open in the future, include specialty restaurants such as pho, hotpot, Korean hot dogs, mochi donuts, bubble tea and bakery. Current or soon-to-open businesses in the building include a travel agency, a hair salon, a beauty product retailer with an emphasis on Japanese and Korean skincare, a gift shop, a crane arcade, an insurance agency and a Japanese lifestyle store with multiple product lines. “It's like a Walgreens or CVS,” Tran explained.
Tran said the owners hope Asia Mall's location at 12160 Technology Drive, near the interchange of Interstate 494 and Highway 212, will help attract tourists from outside the city. Since the Eden Prairie site opened in November 2022, its success has prompted the owners to pursue an additional development called Asia Village in the Twin Cities' northern suburbs, Tran said. Eden Prairie Asia Mall has also received approval from the city for a parking expansion at its Technology Drive site.
Asian Mart grocery store is the anchor store
One of the attractions of Asia Mall in Eden Prairie is its anchor store, the Asian Mart grocery store, which takes up much of the basement level. “When it comes to Asian Mart, we have a wide variety of products from all over the world. We have products from the Philippines, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, China, everything you can think of,” Tran said, adding that they also stock many products that are hard to find elsewhere.
The products include fruits and vegetables including durian, which is banned from buses and hotels in Asia because of its strong smell, but “it actually smells good because I grew up eating it,” said Tran, describing the fruit's texture as similar to mango but “softer”.
Other popular items at the grocery store, she said, include rice, instant noodles, fresh meat and seafood (including types of seafood not available at other local grocery stores), and packaged snacks such as dried seafood.
As for rice, “we have one aisle. We don't just sell white rice. We have a whole range of rice: long grain, short grain, brown rice, jasmine rice, glutinous rice,” Tran said.
Asian Mart grocery stores carry a wide selection of different packaged snacks and instant noodles.
“For me, it's a staple because it's so easy to make,” Tran said of the importance of instant noodles, which have two entire aisles in grocery stores. “You just add water, but if you want to make it gourmet, add eggs, vegetables, bean sprouts, meat, whatever you want.”
A lion dance performance at Asia Mall to celebrate the Lunar New Year 2023. Photo: Gillian Holte
While instant noodles aren't as tasty as restaurant-made ones, “for Asians, if you're used to eating rice or noodles, it's a compromise. When I'm hungry at lunchtime, trust me, I'm not going to go to the cafeteria and get a pizza. I'm definitely going to choose noodles,” she said.
At the end of the tour, Tran mentioned that Asia Mall often hosts special events, especially around Lunar New Year. “They have performers, they do dragon dances, things like that,” she said. “It's fun to put on a show.”
Get information
Sign up for EPLN's free email newsletter
Subscribe
comment
There are several ways for readers to give us feedback. You can send us your thoughts through social media posts (Facebook, XYou can submit to us on a variety of social media platforms, including , Instagram, Threads and LinkedIn. We also welcome letters to the editor. Submission guidelines can be found on the Contact Us page. If you believe this article contains an error or would like to get in touch with the author, please contact us.
