Exploring Orlando’s Hidden Food Gems – Part 2 : Mills Market & Mills 50 District

When you really want to understand a city, you eat where the locals eat.

And in Orlando, that starts with the Mills 50 district.

In this episode of Travel and 10, we're going to be taking a walking tour of the Mills 50 district and the Mills Market with local food blogger Ricky Lee from Tasty Chomps, digging into the flavors, the stories, the small spots that really define one of Orlando's most exciting food neighborhoods.

And just when you think the tour is over, we're going to take a bit of an unexpected turn inside an Orlando Magic game for a surprising and unique culinary experience that proves great food shows up in all kinds of places, from street level eats to arena dining.

This is Orlando one bite at a time.

So this used to be a traditional Vietnamese market up until last year.

Yes, last year or so.

Like a market?

Like a market, yes.

There's still some elements of it around you guys can walk around and explore.

But yeah, up until last year, they just had their one year anniversary.

Yes.

We'll head over to.

But we're gonna head over to Banh Mi Boy.

Nice.

Okay, thank you.

The French dip is pretty good, which is like.

Like a fall on a bun.

Mi.

The French.

Yeah, the French dip.

You guys want to try the French dip?

The puff club dip?

All right, let's try it.

And this is actually like a side project of Sorakara, which is a two star Michelin restaurant in Ballen Park.

This is the one that they have the Bibraman.

So, but the chef.

I don't see Chef William here, but they have their team here, so.

So this is actually a dessert thing here that they got.

This is the.

They just opened a. Whoops.

Japanese beef.

Japanese beef curry.

So Chef William, he's not here today, but he is actually Japanese and Taiwanese descent, and he lived in Japan for many years, and now he runs Sorakara, which is the.

The second two Michelin star restaurant in Florida.

So.

Okay, this is a good one.

Yeah.

And that's.

And uni girl is their concept.

It's one of their concepts.

Yeah.

And apparently so is this place.

So we have.

We.

We got.

Yeah, you guys get to try out your first dish here?

Absolutely.

Yeah.

This is the beef curry.

So thank you.

I was born and raised in West Palm Beach.

My mom was a boat refugee from Vietnam and my dad was also a refugee, but not a boat.

He came by plane.

And so they met in West Palm Beach.

Ooh, look at this.

Look at this beautiful curry here, there's a cheese croquette on the middle.

So let me take a picture real quick.

Looks so good.

Yeah, let me, let me make you guys a plate real quick.

Yeah, but, yeah, so while I was at ucf, I actually wrote for the UCF newspaper and as like a food critic.

And then I'm actually an engineer by day, so.

So that's my day job.

And.

And so, so I started my blog after I graduated.

So.

So, so if you have the Netflix, there's a show called Somebody Feed Phil and.

And they did a Orlando episode a couple months ago.

A couple years ago.

Last year, I think it was last year.

And I'm actually in it.

And we actually walked through this market.

So you'll see what it was before they develop, redeveloped it, I guess.

Yeah.

So.

So it was just a grocery market essentially at that point.

Yes, it was serious.

Have some potato cheese croquette here.

Save some for Amy.

Woohoo.

This cheese.

So.

So this is Japanese curry we're doing now.

Japanese curry.

So which itself was influenced from, you know, immigrants and other folks around.

This was like a supermarket before.

Oh.

So the owners were getting ready to retire, so they're like, hey, what are we going to do?

And the opportunity came up.

Obviously Cecilia's husband is a great mastermind at it and a lot of the concepts were developed by them with Chef William.

Bunny boy was actually here before as part of the market and so they kind of stayed.

Okay.

So Kai.

Kai is actually was a like a food truck kind of like pop up concept from Chef Jerry.

So he opened up here, the opportunity came.

So that's a great thing about Orlando.

There's a lot of collaboration and, you know, working together and stuff to, to make new things.

So it's great.

Yeah, for sure.

You wanted to bring it over.

All right.

Oh God.

So you gotta talk to Elvis here.

So my first name was Elvis too, growing up.

So this is the second Elvis I ever met.

Like in all Vietnamese Elvis though.

Was Elvis very popular in.

Not at all, no.

But I think, I think it mostly has to do with, you know, when you immigrate over to America, you're looking for like the most American Express.

Most of you, you fit in.

That's how I see it.

So tell us about yourself and you know, about the market for basically.

Oh yeah, yeah.

Born in 97 and basically I, I used to come here and I grew up on this block.

Seen it change over the years so drastically and I love it, you know, running over here to go see my grandparents While they were running the grocery store, running back over to my parents place just to, you know, sleep underneath the cash register during, you know, rush hour.

Just because, you know, I get tired after school.

Yeah, sure, yeah, I come here after school and I grab a meal and then I'd run around a little bit and I'd go take a nap underneath the cash register.

And that, that would typically be my day is just, you know, school and then right onto the family business and.

Yeah, I love it.

It's such, this, this area, it's growing so rapidly and it's complete night and day to what I remember it used to be.

And it's phenomenal.

I, I love it here.

The community is growing stronger.

It's not just, you know, Asian people enjoying Asian food, but it's just, it's a, it's all, it's all kinds of people, all walks of life coming together.

And I'm happy that everyone is also more open minded to trying new things as well.

Just because that wasn't the case back then either.

Yeah.

You know, now with social media and, you know, people more willing to try new things and just seeing the food for, you know, what it is and taking recommendations, it's, you know, it's really nice to see friends and families come together and just creating all these memories.

And it's nice to see the walking culture picking up too.

As you know, people are walking around because Orlando used to be pretty much a driving center, but on these, you know, we have this little pocket here where you can park and then spend a few hours and you know, walk around and enjoy the weather.

Just because it's, it's such a beautiful day.

It's always a beautiful day in Florida.

I'm sure that's why we love it.

Or your grandparents started the, this as.

A grocery market zone.

Yes, back in the grocery stores.

1981.

Right?

84.

I remember as 86, but like I said, I wasn't born until 97, so my, my memory is not that great.

Yeah, in the 80s.

Right.

So a couple years after they started market here and then it changed hands a couple times, I think probably, but his family held it as the longest.

So.

Yeah, it's an honor just, you know, seeing how when you see war and you come, you know, halfway across the world with no form of information and just, just a leak of faith.

You know, my grandparents, they just wanted to bring A piece of home with them and you know, have that sense of community again, you know, just because going to the market, it's not just a transaction of, you know, you buy groceries and you go home.

No, it's a common place for, you know, people to come together, meet to talk, to catch up with each other and just, it's just a nice, nice place.

It's just a nice founded place to just, you know, catch up with the community and just, you know, just to see everyone.

And what was the impetus to move from being like a supermarket to being.

Food hall like this?

Well, in terms of on the business side of it, there's grocery stores everywhere.

And now, now that we have, you know, Lotte Market, Hmart market, now you have Hmart.

Really the big guys are coming short highs today.

And this is for us, it's just, you know, the new generation, the older generation building Apple, us being the younger generation moving in, we just kind of, we want to keep our family roots and our traditions of having this be a common place for people to come get together, but do it in our own different way and just kind of pivot off of that and bring the community together and just make it the best way we can be.

And like I said, it's not just, you know, Asian people doing Asian things, but it's the whole community, all of Orlando.

I honestly think that when you come to Orlando, you must come to Mills50 because this is the real essence of Orlando.

This is, you know, real locals, real people and it's just, I love.

It's all walks of life and it's just, it's super diverse.

It's such a good time to be here right now.

Yeah, we're in for a treat because actually the sister, when a manager for Camille, which is the first Vietnamese American Michelin starred restaurant.

Okay.

She's working at the jewelry store right now, so we can go say hi to her.

And Cecilia, her brother Chef Tungsten actually worked at Victoria and Alberts at Disney for like over a year before he opened his own restaurant.

And so he learned a lot of the techniques and refined his craft before he opened up Camille, which is a Vietnamese American concept.

So we'll head over there and say hi to them and we'll head on out.

Okay, perfect.

Yes.

Well, welcome to Mills Market.

This just used to be a supermarket store called Binhung and owned and operated by Cecilia's parents.

And this truly store was kind of a staple piece in the Orlando area, especially with Mills 50 and now Cecilia here is taking over and kind of staying true to her roots, but also elevating and revamping it to a little bit more modern.

So she's undergoing renovation for the next few months and kind of turning it into From Thin Ho into Carrots by Kim and Mills Market has turned into this food hub that brings everyone together, you know, from all over the state.

And also seeing that other people from other neighboring states are coming down and being able to see the support and the love for this culture is quite amazing.

Yes.

Camille is a Vietnamese inspired tasting menu.

Chef Tung is a chef and owner and concept Camille and he takes the traditional flavors of Vietnamese cuisine that he grew up with, but elevating it and enhancing it with progressive and modern takes, not only utilizing the.

The history of Vietnam due to the colonization, but also the French cooking techniques and kind of putting that all together and just elevating it now, which is quite fascinating to see.

And where's that?

Yeah, that's located in Baldwin Park.

It's a one star Michelin.

It's a one star.

Yeah, that is correct.

Yes.

In America.

In America.

Yeah.

Tough to get in.

Yes.

You know, we've recently we've adjusted our reservations and so we are open for three days.

And so with that being said, all of the reservations are consolidated into those three days.

So depending on your party size, we do get booked out pretty quickly.

And is it just a tasting that year?

A tasting menu?

Correct.

Which is the tasting menu.

We have our Camille dining room experience, which is 175, and our signature chef's counter experience, which is what we're known for, is 195.

And is there a large.

Has there always been a large Vietnamese community in Orlando?

It's surprising to find such a Bazoule.

I mean, I know it's not all Vietnamese food, but I guess it's quite a large.

An Asian Vietnamese community since the 80s, really.

You know, the flagship's been the market, you know, with Sihang and Dong Na and a bunch of other markets.

Then slowly they have more restaurants like, and other businesses pop up over time.

And then now there's Filipino restaurants, Chinese restaurants, Korean restaurants, all in all over communities, more Pan Asian.

But the core definitely Vietnamese.

But the area is actually more than just Asian.

You know, there's like LGBT bar and you know, different other places too, that arts and stuff all.

So it's very inclusive and very dangerous.

Yes, it certainly has diversified and I think that's the reason why there's a transition between calling it Little Vietnam, little Saigon into Mills 50 to be more inclusive and.

Yeah, and highlighting different types of cuisines, more than just Vietnamese.

So as you can hear, there really are no shortage of things to see and do in the Mills district.

And the Mills Market is really a highlight.

All these different food concepts brought together in a Pan Asian food hall.

But then as you go out and walk the local neighborhoods surrounding it, you're going to find all kinds of cool things.

Bars, restaurants, new concepts popping up all the time.

And definitely one of the highlights of the food scene in Orlando.

And four foodies, an area that you're really going to want to spend some time and check out.

We've now done a series of episodes over the last couple of months, really looking at where to stay in Orlando, all kinds of undiscovered things in the region.

So if you are planning a trip, I would encourage you to go back and look at the back catalog and some of our episodes over the last couple of months.

And just last week we had another episode looking at the East End Market, which was another great food hub in the city.

A dynamic emerging food destination.

I think one of the most interesting emerging food destinations anywhere in the US They've had multiple Michelin concepts come out of there.

It was a great spot and somewhere we really enjoyed in addition to Mills Market.

But we're going to finish off today where Tim and I actually started our trip to Orlando, which is a very unique food experience right at center court, overlooking an NBA game, some time we spent at an Orlando Magic game, and some of our food experiences there.

We're at Ikea center watching the Bulls versus the Orlando Magic.

It's getting down to the final.

We're in the fourth quarter here, seven minutes left.

And it's been a.

It's been a fantastic experience sitting in an area called Jernigan's, which is a place where you can have a full dinner, drinks.

We're sitting in an area called the Ledge, which has great unimpeded views of the whole arena.

And I gotta say, you know, the game's been fantastic.

The atmosphere has been really, really good.

Maybe my favorite thing so far, the hot dogs.

That's right.

I enjoyed the.

I'm a hot dog man.

Well, if you get the tickets here in the Ledge.

Well, a, you've got a great view from up here, so great seats.

But you also get unlimited beer and wine.

Unlimited hot dogs.

You know, there's.

There's definitely.

There's beef and chicken.

There's lots and lots of desserts, a really beautiful Caesar salad that I enjoy very much.

And yeah, so you get to Be a part of the game, have an upscale dinner, have a few glasses of wine and just, and just enjoy the game day at the.

This be a great thing.

I think somebody's coming down for.

You know, you're coming down with family, maybe going to the theme parks for a week.

You want to do something a little.

Different for a night.

Your first night in town, maybe your.

Last night in town.

We were both saying downtown here you have quite a bit like a lot walking distance here of the kiosk center.

A lot of good restaurants, a lot.

Of good bars, and still a little.

Bit early and went to this kind of fan zone experience where you could go and shoot baskets and your different booths where you could enjoy different aspects of basketball.

So that was kind of cool.

Everybody was decked out in their Romando Magic gear.

But right now we got.

What does he play?

9 points.

Pressing 6 minutes left, 6 minutes left to go.

So go Magic.

Go Magic.

Well, maybe we should talk a bit about where we're staying as well.

It's only a short, short walking distance here from the Kia Center.

The, the Grand Bohemian.

Yes.

Yeah, it's a Marriott.

A Marriott property.

I think my biggest surprise, I've been to Orlando, I'm gonna say, I'm gonna say 18 times.

I have not spent any time in downtown Orlando and that's been the biggest surprise for me is that staying in the hotel, centrally located, lovely rooms, beautiful views, and then walking distance to a number of bars, restaurants.

It really does have that urban or density that you may not expect in a city like Orlando that's known mainly for its, the art so for being a large red out city.

So I've been here just a little over 24 hours.

I have had a chance to explore and walk around the downtown area and have been very, very pleasantly surprised by.

Everything that I've done.

And the hotel's got a beautiful sort of rooftop cabana pool area.

I saw, hoping we could check that.

Out a bit tomorrow.

And I can say because I arrived.

Late, you could make it from your suites to the Kia center in about eight minutes.

Walk on foot.

So and that's the most part, I think park the car, walk to the game.

I believe the Magic are gonna shoot.

A couple of foul shots your babies, which is what the cheering is, Jan.

But yeah, park the car, enjoy your dinner, enjoy your evening and then walk home in less than 10 minutes.

No need for traffic jams or anything like that.

So we hope you found this overview of Orlando's culinary scene and the last two episodes of Travel in 10 helpful and certainly if you've got a trip coming up, encourage you to really go beyond the theme parks, explore a bit deeper.

And a great resource to do that is over@Visitorlando.com they've got a great trip planner where free of charge they will actually help you plan out your trip and really gear it towards your interest.

So that's a great resource that I would highly recommend.

And as you can hear there is a lot to dig into here in the city, a really dynamic food scene, a ton of Michelin starred restaurants, cuisine from all around the world and certainly was a bit unexpected on our trip and something I would encourage our listeners to really take the time to dig into if you're going to go tour the area.

I also really want to thank Visit Orlando for their help with producing some of these episodes.

We've had a chance to do a few episodes over the last couple of months about Orlando and a big shout out to them for the help that they provided in producing some of that content.

And as always, if you're enjoying the episode, we would really love it if you could drop us a review.

Something that really helps us is if you can give us a follow on Apple Podcasts that helps other people discover the show and also drop us some comments on whether it's Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you're listening.

Lastly, hope you can also check out some of our other great travel podcasts on the Voyascape Podcast Network.

It's something our team's been working on over the last year, really building out a network of some of the best travel podcasts in the world.

Lots of great content.

There are shows there about sustainable travel, adventure travel, food and travel, all kinds of different podcasts with our hosts in cities all around the world.

And we think we've really brought together a great collection of hosts producing some of the best travel content out there.

So would encourage you to check it out@foyescape.com.

Sam.