Kenny’s Noodle House, Portland

Kenny’s Noodle House
8305 SE Powell Street
Portland, OR 97266

Portland gets critical raves for its food, beer, and coffee, and rightfully so. From a plate of Hainanese chicken rice at Nong’s Khao Man Gai to sipping a nitro coffee at Stumptown, there’s a lot of food and drink to please the palate. However, while Portland wins rave reviews for its Thai food, including the aforementioned Nong’s and Pok Pok, its other Asian cuisine restaurants are a bit under the radar, including its Chinese cuisine.

One of those places flying under the radar of all the blogs and travel guides is Kenny’s Noodle House, a small restaurant in Portland’s Jade District centered on SE 82nd Avenue. The specialty at this quasi hole-in-the-wall restaurant is Cantonese style noodle soups and congee. While it has been open since 2008, it wasn’t until a year or two ago that it was featured in an article in Portland’s alternative weekly, the Willamette Weekly. And with a 4 star rating with 351 reviews on Yelp, I was compelled to finally try it out this past weekend in Portland (though I had attempted to eat there last summer while it was closed for vacation).

My friends and I arrived at 6:30PM on a Sunday night, finding ample parking and a table for 3. While it was nice not to be in painfully long lines as many of Portland’s more famous restaurants, I soon realized the downside of coming here for dinner. They were sold out of congee, a breakfast staple in Cantonese cuisine. I couldn’t begrudge them too much given that I clearly should have gone here earlier for breakfast or lunch, but it was a little disappointing. Nonetheless, there were noodle soups to be eaten and after careful consideration we ordered the following:

Wonton Noodle Soup at Kenny’s Noodle House

• Wonton Noodle Soup 鮮蝦雲吞麵 – The soup was pretty good with a lighter seafood aroma accented by pieces of yellow chives. The wontons were on point too, being almost entirely shrimp that was seasoned well with salt and pepper. Sadly the noodles were a little overcooked but not enough that I didn’t find this one of the best bowls of wonton noodle soup I’ve had in the US.
• Beef Brisket Noodle Soup 柱侯牛腩麵 – The soup was a little milder than I’m used to but otherwise it was fairly good and the beef brisket was tender and well marinated. Like the wonton noodle soup, the noodles were a bit softer than I liked, but otherwise a solid version of this classic dish.

Sliced Beef with Ginger & Green Onion in Oyster Sauce at Kenny’s Noodle House

• Sliced Beef with Ginger & Green Onion in Oyster Sauce 薑蔥牛肉撈麵 – In a different turn I ordered an authentic style lo mein (as opposed to the ones you find at an Americanized Chinese restaurant). The noodles were a bit better here and I liked the beef slices. However, there could have been slightly less oyster sauce as it was a little overpowering at times.

Bok Choy with Oyster Sauce at Kenny’s Noodle House

• Bok Choy with Oyster Sauce 蠔油小白菜 – I really wanted to get the Ung Choy but sadly they were sold out. However, this was fairly tasty as the bok choy was blanched perfectly with just enough oyster sauce on the side to flavor but not overpower. Would certainly order again.

All in all, Kenny’s Noodle House is still somewhat of a “hidden” (to the non-Cantonese) gem that serves absolutely delicious noodle soups. I only wish I was able to try out the congee, but that just means I need to return to Portland again!

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Ramen in Portland

If I was skeptical that Thai food in Portland would be good, even with a world renown restaurant, then I certainly did not have high expectations for ramen in Portland. However, I am always up to try different types of Asian food wherever I travel so I ignored any reservations I had and dug right into my food adventures.

Mirakutei
536 E Burnside St
Portland, OR 97214

Tonkotsu Ramen at Mirakutei

My first Portland ramen stop was Mirakutei, conveniently located a few blocks from the hotel I was staying. I went with my coworkers on a Monday afternoon who also wanted to grab lunch close by.

We sat down and looked at a very simple, one page lunch menu which had a few ramen options and a few bento box options. Most of us opted for the several ramen options that they had. I chose the tonkotsu ramen option, which came out fairly quickly. The broth was nice with a salty, rich pork stock that was filling but not too overpowering with fat. The noodles were good, if slightly more cooked than I liked. The pieces of pork were fabulous, however, with perfectly moist and tender meat and the eggs were perfectly soft boiled. At only $9.50, it is definitely a bargain lunch and well worth it.

Boxer Ramen
2309 NW Kearney Street
Portland, OR 97210

Tonkotsu Shio at Boxer Ramen

A few days later my friend and I were on our way to Salt and Straw from the International Test Rose Garden and decided that we needed to eat some dinner first. While Northwest Portland has plenty of decent dining options, we spotted Boxer Ramen and decided to go in.

Boxer Ramen is pretty casual with a few picnic like tables set inside with a really simple menu of about 10 items plus a few seasonal side items on a separate sheet of paper. We both decided to get different types of ramen and share the Greens and Sesame. The Greens and Sesame came first and was very refreshing. The cabbage lightly flavored the chard as well and there was just enough oyster sauce to get a hint of saltiness. Then the Tonkotsu Shio came to the table. I wish the broth could have used a little more fat, but the noodles were cooked perfectly. The pork tender, if a little chewy, but I liked that there were a few more pieces than usual. The only true disappoint of the dish were the 2 soft poached eggs I had, which were very runny and, dare I say, bordering on raw. Overall, however, I liked my bowl of ramen and still found it pretty good.

All in all, the ramen in Portland I had certainly surpassed my expectations. In fact, despite the little imperfections here and there, I thought the ramen was still better overall compared to ramen shops in the East Bay. It goes to show that while mid-sized cities that don’t have a relatively large Asian population may not have restaurants that rise to the level of Los Angeles or New York, they certainly can have Asian food that can be competitive and above any expectations. I certainly won’t be bashful in trying out more ramen and Thai spots in Portland when I’m back again.

Thai Food in Portland

Portland is 72.2% non-Hispanic White and only 7.1% Asian. Given those statistics, I was extremely skeptical of Portland’s reputation of having really good Thai food. This is especially given that Andy Ricker, the chef/owner of the highly celebrated Pok Pok, is not Thai himself. (That’s not to say that non-Asians can’t be expert in a specific cuisine, as Fuschia Dunlap has done with Sichuan cuisine). Because of this, I just had to eat Thai food on my business trip to Portland just to taste and judge for myself.

Pok Pok Noi
1469 NE Prescott St.
Portland, OR 97211

Since it was a bit far for us to go to the original Pok Pok in Southeast Portland late on a Sunday night, my friend and I went to Pok Pok’s second location in Northeast Portland instead. Situated in a fairly residential part of Portland, we took seats at the counter of the cozy restaurant digs.

Ike’s Vietnamese Chicken Wings at Pok Pok Noi

It was hard to decide what item to get, as nearly every item sounded delicious (and this is a pared down menu from the original!), but I decided to get Ike’s Vietnamese Fish Sauce Chicken Wings. They were every bit as delicious as the raves on Yelp and other websites said they were. The skin was crispy and sticky with the slightly spicy fish sauce glaze. The meat inside was very juicy and infused some of the flavor of the fish sauce. There were some pickled vegetables on the side that helped to cut some of the richness of the wings. It’s not the only good chicken dish on the menu either, as the bites of chicken from my friend’s Pok Pok Special of Kai Yaang was just as amazing.

But Pok Pok isn’t just known for its food. It has more than 10 flavors of tasting vinegars as well. I got the ginger tasting vinegar, which was mixed with soda water, and it was a fabulously refreshing drink that had just enough gingery spice without being overpowering. The tasting vinegars are another good way to cut through the richness and fat of some of the dishes as well.

Nong’s Khao Man Gai
609 SE Ankeny St., Suite C
Portland, OR 97214

Pok Pok, however, isn’t Portland’s only well regarded Thai restaurant. Nong’s Khao Man Gai started in a very Portland way, as a food truck, and has since grown to a local mini chain that includes a brick and mortar store. Luckily for me, the brick and mortar restaurant was just a few blocks from my hotel, so it was a breeze to take advantage of that and grab a bite.

Khao Man Gai at Nong’s Khao Man Gai

At the restaurant, like at a food truck, you order first. While there were a few options, I opted, of course, for the khao man gai, the Thai take on Hainanese Chicken Rice. I also got a side of steamed vegetables to make sure I got a balance of meat and vegetables. The khao man gai came out fairly quickly and it was delicious. The bits of chicken was poached excellently and balanced well by the spicy, gingery dipping sauce. While the chicken stock was a little saltier than I liked, it also provided a nice way to wash down the chicken and rice. The rice itself was cooked well too, with enough of the fattiness from the leftover poached chicken to have a nice, rich taste.

The steamed vegetables, on the other hand, were just alright. It consisted of both broccoli and Chinese broccoli bits that were steamed until just tender. While they were textually nice, they also lacked a little bit of flavor, but I suppose I shouldn’t expect more when I order just steamed vegetables. In any case, it was at least nice to have some greens to go with the chicken, rice, and sauce.

All in all, the Thai food in Portland, at least from my sampling, lived up to the hype and high expectations. While I still think there are cities with better Thai food like San Francisco and Los Angeles, Portland definitely gives those cities a run for its money. So the next time you’re in Portland, don’t just eat at their great New American restaurants like Tasty and Sons or Pine Street Biscuits, make sure to take a trip to their wonderful Thai restaurants as well.