ATHLEISURE MAG #88 APR ISSUE | COMFORT IN FOOD

When it comes to comfort food, you want to feel cozy and to have all the flavors possible - we want those. In addition to having your favorite neighborhood spot, we also love knowing that our freezer is always stocked with our favorites. We're talking about MìLà which is known for savory soup dumplings and amazing sauces. In addition, they also have a number of friendly freezer options that you can enjoy with your dumplings and of course, make it an epic mouth journey by pairing it with your favorite wine and spirits.

We became fans of this brand during the pandemic. There was something about eating these dumplings that reminded us of our favorite restaurants with each spoonful! So we took some time to chat with Jen Liao and Caleb Wang on how they started as a restaurant in Belleue, WA, to savory items in your freezer and their partnership with action star, Simu Liu!

ATHLEISURE MAG: We have been fans of your brand for a few years. During the pandemic, we started purchasing your soup dumplings. Tell me about your backgrounds and how you came together to launch this food brand?

MìLà: MìLà first began in 2018 as a restaurant by the brand’s previous name, Xiao Chi Jie. We opened the restaurant because, selfishly, we wanted to enjoy the Chinese street food we loved here in the States. During the pandemic in 2020, we sought to find a way to keep our employees working with us so introduced frozen dumpling delivery. People loved them and we quickly grew from just doing door-todoor deliveries with our small team in Washington to delivering along the West Coast and shortly after, delivering DTC products nationwide. The response has been incredible; people are very excited about the quality and taste of the products, which is extremely important to us.

AM: You started with a brick-and-mortar in Bellevue, Xiao Chi Jie, can you tell me about this restaurant as well as what people can enjoy there?

M: Our restaurant in Bellevue, Washington is a modern interpretation of Chinese street food bings, bowls, baos, & drinks - you can find our signature soup dumplings there as well! When we first opened the restaurant we sold out everyday for three months so, growing the offerings and bringing them into more homes across the country has been amazing.

AM: For those that are in the neighborhood, what are 3 items that you suggest that we should try from this menu?

M: Our Sheng Jian Bao is our beloved pork soup dumpling. These paired with any of the side dishes like our garlic cucumber or sichuan cabbage cannot be missed.

AM: How is it to have a brand that has a physical neighborhood presence as well as one that has a national footprint via shipping your products?

M: It all happened very naturally and quickly. What originally started as a pivot in response to the pandemic quickly grew into something larger than we would have ever imagined at the beginning. The local community in the Seattle region has been incredibly supportive since the beginning. Seeing new customers try the products and their responses to the taste is incredibly rewarding. It’s very important for us to be spreading our mission of demystifying and growing awareness of Chinese cuisine and what it means to us as “third culture kids” so, bringing this message anywhere, whether it be our home community in Bellevue or across the country in New York, is extremely fulfilling.

AM: What is your process in terms of deciding what you offer in terms of your frozen treats?

M: A lot of the flavors are inspired by how we ate them as kids. They’re our personal favorite dishes and ice cream flavors. It was really important to us to

maintain the same restaurant quality for our frozen offerings, and the quality taste and ingredients in the ice cream. We’ve really geeked out on aspects like the doughto-filling ratio, the number of dumplings with cracks, and the variance in grams of soup dumplings, which we think all make a huge difference.

AM: In addition to the classic soup dumplings that are always available, we also tried the spicy beef which was tasty. Will you add additional flavors?

M: We have offered limited edition drops in the past and will continue to release them! These one-off launches come from an intention of being super excited about a dish that’s not one of our evergreen offerings, but we still want to give people the chance to try it. We’re also working to develop other options of our hero products to provide more options for consumers.

AM: For our readers that have yet to order their soup dumplings from you, how can they correctly steam your dumplings?

M: Our dumplings are designed and packaged specifically to be cooked straight from the freezer. In a large wok or pan, and make sure to bring 2-3 inches of water to a rolling boil and place the dumplings in a lined steamer basket. Don’t forget to leave a 1 inch gap between dumplings. Our go-to tip for people is to not over-crowd your dumplings for the best results! Then, you will steam your dumplings for 11 minutes (until internal temp. reaches 165°F) and they’ll be ready to go!

AM: I love having the Umami sauce with my dumplings and I even add in some pickled veggies - how do you enjoy your dumplings?

M: We both love our classic vinegar sauce with the soup dumplings!

AM: Although we can certainly eat the dumplings alone, what is the perfect beverage and sides to have when you want to

eat your dumplings while catching up on your favorite streamed shows?

M: The dumplings are delicious with any of the sauces (and followed by a pint of our ice cream, of course). We love a can of Sanzo poured over ice next to our plate. For those who are 21+, they also pair very well with a new age chardonnay. We love Jumbo Time Wines’ ‘Problem Child’ which is a 50/50 co-ferment of Pinot Noir & California Chardonnay.

AM: We loved the lamb skewers as well as the chicken skewers, do you think that you will continue to rotate seasonal or limited-time offerings as you continue to grow?

M: Yes, we will continue to do seasonal and limited-time offerings of products! Our community loves when these come around and it’s really fun for us, to dive into the process of creating the new recipes.

AM: Where do you get inspiration from when you are building product offerings for MiLa?

M: Being third culture Chinese-American, a lot of the inspiration for MìLà stems from our childhood meals and wanting to honor the cuisine while helping other people experience them as well. The same reason we initially opened the restaurant, really drives our product creation for MìLà…we want to create dishes we love and want to eat ourselves! Alongside that comes the telling of our story and mission. When we create a product we love, that mission becomes fulfilled when people try them and love them too.

AM: You recently rebranded to MiLa, why did you want to change the name and can you tell us about the meaning?

M: MìLà means honey (mi) and spice (la) in Chinese mi-, la-. Being both Chinese and American, the story behind MìLà comes to honor our traditions and add

our personal touch. The name MìLà is representative of our evolution from a singular focus on street food to a national food brand that is on a mission to serve the highest quality authentic Chinese cuisine in freezers nationwide. MìLà is a way of connecting with our family’s history and using this opportunity as a reminder that the Chinese identity is constantly evolving. It is on us and our communities to create new, multidimensional representations of what it means to be our own brand of Asian American and create a cuisine that deserves a place in the American food ecosystem.

AM: We had the Jasmine Green Tea ice cream which is another favorite. Are there any new products that are coming out that we should keep an eye out for?

M: Yes, we’re planning to launch some more limited edition flavors this year. More to come soon!

AM: Simu Liu (Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Rings franchise, Kim's Convenience, Barbie) is your Chief Content Officer! How did this partnership come about and what will he be doing with the brand?

M: We’re very excited to have Simu joining us as Chief Content Officer. A year ago, through a friend of a friend, we were connected to Simu and sent him some products. His parents intercepted the delivery while he was traveling and, by the time he got back, they’d eaten all the soup dumplings and given them their stamp of approval. We sent more over for him to try and, when he loved the products, we continued talking more with him about our mission. We all had similar experiences and a shared passion for bringing Chinese food to wider audiences so we began speaking with him about getting more involved. Now, here we are working together! Simu will be advising the company on marketing strategy and communications and will play a larger role in representing the brand across marketing channels. He'll be working with us on crafting our storytelling, shaping upcoming initiatives

and driving creative activations.

AM: You have been doing a number of events to give exposure to the brand, as we continue to navigate the Spring and the Summer, are there events/festivals/ tradeshows that we should keep an eye out for and will you be coming to NY?

M: Since we are currently in California and in the Pacific Northwest and working on hitting shelves in Town & Country, Metropolitan Market and QFC stores in the Washington and Oregon areas in April, we are heavily focused there. We’ll be bringing some new, fun ways for people to try the products to various markets as well as looking to expand into new markets throughout 2023.

PHOGRAPHY CREDITS | PG 84 + 88 MìLà | PG 87 The Creator and Blake Silva |