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If I hadn't gone last month to Kim Ode's Edesia Cookbook Review group I would never have found out about Nina Wong's upcoming Hot Pot dinner at the ChinDian Cafe.

Kim, a former colleague of mine at the Star Tribune (she's still there) hosts a cookbook club - named Edesia after the Roman goddess of cooking - on the fourth Monday of every month at Barnes and Noble in the Galleria in Edina. Last month she invited me and Nina, chef-owner of the ChinDian Café, to talk about our favorite Chinese cookbooks. I haven't actually opened a Chinese cookbook in years, but that didn't stop me - I recommended the work of Fuchsia Dunlop. Nina brought along a couple of books by Ken Hom, some curry rice noodles, and a big urn of hot ginger tea, made with her homemade ginger syrup. (Available for sale at the ChinDian Café.) If you are a foodie, it's a fun way to spend an hour - the conversation was lively and relaxed, and there was time at the end for questions. The next Edesia gathering will be Monday, March 23 from 7-8 p.m., and will feature Mary Ellen Evans, author of: "Bistro Chicken" and "The One Dish Chicken Cookbook", along with General Mills food scientist Kevin Ryan.

At any rate, Kim and Nina have organized a special hotpot dinner, to be held 6 p.m.  Saturday, March 14 at the ChinDian Café, 1500 E. Hennepin. It's a do-it-yourself dining experience, served family style. Each table gets a Chinese hot pot, and each diner gets to choose which ingredients to dip into the boiling broth -shrimp, squid, fish fillets, fish balls, beef, and a variety of Chinese veggies. You cook them to the desired degree of  doneness, and then scoop out and eat. Cost is $20 per person - contact Kim Ode at

[email protected]., or call Nina at .612-676-1818. Seating is limited, so make your reservations soon. You can also watch a video of Nina's Chinese New Years Hot Pot dinner on YouTube, here .

I did stop in yesterday for lunch at the Chindian, and discovered a favorite Malaysian dish on the menu - Nasi Lemak, a traditional dish of coconut rice, fried chicken, fried egg sunny-side up, anchovy sambal, peanuts and cucumber ($7.95). Nina, who was born in Vietnam, is ethnically Chinese, while her husband Thomas is ethnically Indian but grew up in Malaysia, so the ChinDian Café is a melting pot of flavors, ranging from Chinese Chicken and Chive dumplings, steamed or fried ($5.95), Vietnamese spring rolls, and Singapore chow mai fun to Malaysian Kwa Tieu Goreng (rice noodles with shrimp, tofu, bean sprouts and garlic chili sauce.