Ten Specials to Try When Mile High Asian Food Week Returns

Free up your calendar and cue the countdown: Mile High Asian Food Week will return from April 27 to May 3. As with its inaugural year and second edition, this third annual event will celebrate AANHPI-owned food businesses across the metro area. But unlike in previous weeks, the eighty-plus participants this round are welcome to craft whatever cuisine they prefer.

Still, Asian flavors star in the large majority of pop-ups, prix fixe menus and limited-time items. From generational recipes to third-culture fare, here are ten Mile High Asian Food Week specials we’re looking forward to.

Ca Phe
3911 East 120th Avenue, Thornton
720-419-2114
Plan a visit to Ca Phe, one of Denver’s best bánh mì options. The sandwich selection at this family-owned eatery includes signature versions made with roasted pork or lemongrass beef, as well as a bún bò huế bánh mì with toppings inspired by a spicy pho. Pair your lunch with a classic Vietnamese coffee, a creamy milk tea or another beverage to receive a free slice of matcha or strawberry crepe cake during Mile High Asian Food Week.

Chopstix Fusion
2020 South Parker Road
303-568-9852
Chopstix Fusion debuted in a southeast Denver strip mall last year and quickly built a reputation as one of the city’s top restaurants. If you’ve been meaning to visit, Mile High Asian Food Week is the perfect time. Get 15 percent off the entire menu, which stars Hong Kong-style dishes like scallion pancakes, sizzling clay pots and a signature beef chow fun dressed in spicy XO sauce. Owned and operated by a husband-wife duo, the eatery also serves a selection of Thai dishes (hence the “fusion” part of its name), along with incredible housemade sweets. Try its bestseller, a pillowy pandan chiffon cake layered with coconut whipped cream.

Comrade Brewing Company Pop-Ups
7667 East Iliff Avenue
720-748-0700
Colorado’s only Taiwanese-owned brewery will host several pop-ups starting at 3:30 p.m. on May 1. Savor Japanese-inspired bites from Taeko-san Takeout and Laotian flavors from Sweet Rice Flour, which will offer a “buy one choux, get one free mochi” special; mention Mile High Asian Food Week to get 10 percent off Filipino fare from Sweet Life Culinary Productions. During the event and throughout the week, Comrade Brewing Company will provide a free tasting tray featuring four of its year-round beers with every pint purchase.

Friends on Federal at Adobo
3109 Federal Boulevard
720-242-9994
Alongside other to-be-announced specials, Adobo’s flagship location in Highland will host “Friends on Federal,” a pop-up party featuring several Mile High Asian Food Week vendors. Sample vegan versions of Filipino favorites from Kids Table, Indian street food from Chaatwala, Sichuan eats from Panda Bao, Vietnamese flavors from Pho King Rapidos, and Lao dishes from Tum Yumz. Craving something sweet? Stop by Die Die Must Try for Singapore-style bubble tea, Colorado Cocoa Pod for Asian-inspired bonbons, and WongWayVeg for free almond cookies with every purchase.

GetRight’s
6985 West 38th Avenue, Wheat Ridge
303-345-0758
Inspired by co-owner Matt Dulin’s time living in Hawaii, GetRight’s specials include slow-cooked Kalua pork and huli huli chicken drenched in a sweet pineapple-soy marinade. Lunch plates are paired with classic sides: rice, cabbage slaw and mac salad, plus a brioche bun with citrus butter. The award-winning bakery/pizzeria will also serve other limited-time offerings, like a bulgogi hoagie that gives a nod to Dulin’s Korean heritage. Follow @_getrights_ on Instagram for updates.

Lilac Coffee
4736 East Colfax Avenue
During Mile High Asian Food Week, swing by Denver’s best coffee drive-thru for 10 percent off all drinks, including three Asian-inspired specials. Alongside a Filipino-inspired ube macchiato, Lilac Coffee will serve two beverages inspired by co-owner Josiah Kim’s upbringing in a Korean household. “Banana milk and maesil cha bring me a lot of nostalgia,” says Kim, who’s turned the former into an espresso-infused latte. The latter is a sweet Korean plum tea with a punchy tart flavor.

Magna Kainan
1350 40th Street
720-524-8684
If you’ve yet to try Magna Kainan’s upscale Filipino fare, take advantage of its $45 prix fixe menu. Starter options include salmon stewed in coconut milk, a charred cabbage dish with sweet chile glaze or your choice of two grilled skewers. For the main course, select from lamb kaldereta, tamarind-rich sinigang soup with mussels, and a contemporary take on lechon featuring crispy pork belly. End the meal with bibingka, a cake made with sweet rice flour, smoked gouda and salted egg caramel. Though walk-ins are welcome, reservations are recommended and available via OpenTable.

Noisette
3254 Navajo Street
720-769-8103
Rather than its standard French fare, Noisette will serve a $125 seven-course dinner in honor of Lillian Lu’s “umma,” or mother, and their shared Korean heritage. “I am particularly excited for all of the different kinds of kimchi that Tim and I made, which will be either featured or included in a few of the courses,” says Lu. The menu includes dongchimi guksu, a cold noodle soup with radish water kimchi; kalbi jjim, a braised short rib dish with Napa cabbage kimchi; and other recipes Lu’s mother has long cooked for her family. Book a table for 6 p.m. or 8 p.m. seatings on April 30 and May 1 via Resy.

Tangra Takeover at MAKfam featuring Chaatwala
39 West First Avenue
720-982-5011
From 5 to 9 p.m. on May 1, this collaborative pop-up will feature chili chicken tossed in a vinegary, soy-based sauce, alongside other Indo-Chinese dishes from the Tangra region. Chaatwala co-founder Pradyut Bansal, who grew up eating street food in Kolkata, India, will also serve signatures like puchka. “It’s a crispy, hollow shell filled with a spiced potato mix, dunked into a cold herbaceous broth. You eat it in one bite and it explodes in your mouth in a fun way,” explains Bansal, who’s eaten more than 100 in a single sitting. Try to beat his record while tossing back $4 shots of Ming River baijiu or sipping a $12 spicy margarita made with Uncle Tony’s chili oil-washed sotol. MAKfam favorites like málÁ  wings, sizzling spicy noodles and scallion pancakes will also be available during the event.

TropiTai Delights
98 Wadsworth Boulevard, Lakewood
720-456-6529
When it opened this past March, TropiTai Delights was so busy that it ran out of stock. But its milk teas and shaved ice are back on the menu now, and at a generous 25 percent off during Mile High Asian Food Week. Sample signature drinks like strawberry dragonfruit tea and lavender green milk tea, or scoop up creamy shaved ice topped with condensed milk and boba. Popular flavors at this Taiwanese-Hawaiian dessert shop include strawberry, mango and the owner’s favorite: winter melon.