Din Tai Fung (Portland)

Ever since we got our very own location of Din Tai Fung in Vancouver (B.C.), I've stopped going to the ones in Seattle.  Furthermore, since I'm from Vancouver, it isn't as if I couldn't find great Xiao Long Bao (Soup Dumplings) elsewhere.  But here we were in Portland and we needed some lunch.  Since we were staying in Downtown, we decided to make the short walk to Pioneer Place.  Yep, we visited Din Tai Fung...

As much as we wanted to get to the XLBs right away, we began with a simple dish in the Cucumber Salad.  This was pretty good with crunchy fresh cucumbers that were just salty enough while exhibiting the aromatic nuttiness of sesame oil and slight spice from the chili oil.  Naturally, there was the usual sharp garlickiness to complement the rest of the flavors.

We didn't only go for one steamer of Kurobuta Xiao Long Bao as we added the Crab & Kurobuta Xiao Long Bao too.  If you look closely, the crab XLBs had a small crab-shaped carrot underneath one of the dumplings.  As for the XLBs, they were textbook DTF.  Featuring a thin dumpling wrapper with exactly 18 folds at the top, the XLBs contained a considerable amount of soup along with tender pork.  It was fairly clean and not greasy with sweetness and aromatics.  Solid as usual.  For the crab XLBs, there was an unmistakable briny and salty sweetness.

We had a few more dumplings just to get a good representation of the menu.  The Shrimp & Kurobuta Potstickers featured a large crispy skirt.  Beyond that, the bottom of the dumpings were evenly seared which meant they looked great, but were also crispy and nutty.  The dumpling skin was medium-thick and not dense.  Inside, the filling was light and a bit bouncy with plenty of juice.

The Shrimp & Kurobuta Pork Spicy Wontons featured a fairly thin wrapper that was a bit delicate, yet still had some chew.  Inside, the filling was not dense while being plenty juicy and flavorful.  In terms of overall spice, there was very little as this was more nutty and smoky than hot.  There was also some saltiness to flavor the wontons too.

Despite having many better versions of Braised Beef Noodle Soup in my life, the one here was actually quite good.  Maybe the broth was a little weak in terms of overall beef flavor, but it was seasoned decently.  The noodles were al dente and the Shanghai bak choy was still crunchy.  The best part was the braised beef.  It was literally melt-in-my-mouth tender.  Really good and the soft tendon portions were a textural delight.

We actually got more of the Shanghai Bak Choy with scallion oil because we needed some greens in our diet.  These were definitely vibrant and crunchy while cooked-all-the-way through.  Seasoning was a little on the milder side and the wok hei was only moderate.  Overall, our visit to Din Tai Fung in Downtown Portland was a typical experience.  It wasn't much different than the ones I had in Seattle and also in Vancouver.  Hence, it was solid with the XLBs being the highlight.  Prices are a bit higher, but at least you know what you are getting.

The Good:

- Reliable XLBs

- Decent food all around

- Solid service as usual

The Bad:

- Decent food all around, but there is better to be found if you look for it (and cheaper too)  

Langbaan

Coming from Vancouver (B.C.), I've had the pleasure of dining at Baan Lao in Richmond.  Unlike most Thai restaurants, Baan Lao is upscale with white glove service.  If Tourism Richmond had partnered with Michelin, Baan Lao would no doubt have at least one Michelin Star.  Their cuisine and plating are top-notch and sets a different standard for Thai food in North America.  Since Portland has an thriving Thai food scene, we were definitely going to hit up some Thai restaurants.  The most exciting is Langbaan, which is a tasting menu only dinner spot located within Phuket Cafe.  They might not be as fancy as Baan Lao, but from all online accounts, the experience is still top notch.

The tasting menu began with some small bites including the Miang Som.  I've had many version of this before and for this one, it consisted of shrimp, Valencia orange, peanut and coconut on a betel leaf.  Pretty saucy, but ultimately a flavor bomb, there was intense sweetness from the palm sugar and brininess from the shrimp.  The umami that was present was further aided by the sweetness of the orange.  Add in the crunch and nuttiness from the peanuts and the aromatics of the coconut, it was certainly an everything bite.

If we thought that the Miang Som was a great start to waken our palates, the Kanom Krok not only brought balance, it was our favorite thing of the tasting menu.  It was a crispy cup with Hokkaido scallops sitting in a coconut cream.  That contrast in textures of the cup and the buttery soft scallops was just right.  Add in the aromatic sweetness of the coconut cream along with the Thai herbs and we had richness with brightness at the same time.  

Served in sriracha casing, the Hoy Tod was a nod to the Thai omelette.  We found some steamed mussels inside atop some egg with crispy sriracha seaweed.  The combination yielded seafoodiness from the tender mussels while the sriracha was only there enough to provide some impact without being too spicy.  It let the mussel be the star while the egg added some texture while representing the omelette.

Next, we had the Guay Tiew Rua with the broth served tableside.  This was in honor of Thai boat noodles with a rich broth that exhibited the usual tang and sweetness.  It was served steaming hot atop a small amount of rice noodles, beef meatball and flank steak.  We found the noodles having an appealing chewiness while the meatball was bouncy and sweet.  Wow, the 2 slices of rare flank steak were buttery soft and meaty tasting.  Some cilantro and green onion completed the dish.

To bring things down like a palate-cleanser, we had the Phla Pla featuring bigeye tuna wrapped in seaweed.  We found raspberry, pineapple, snap peas, shallots (2 ways) and Japanese pepper leaves on top.  Buttery and soft, the tuna had quite a bit of umami going.   Nice balance of sweetness, aromatics and crunch.  The fruitiness really helped the transition to the next dish.

Now when you think of Pad Thai, you would immediately think of rice noodles coated with a sweet and tangy tamarind sauce.  Well, this version featured ribbons of squid that resembled rice noodles while coated in tomato sauce.  It sat atop leeks, cabbage and sea grapes.  Very creative and ultimately, very tasty as well.  Nice aromatics and sweetness combined with tanginess from the ingredients.  It didn't really taste like a Pad Thai, but that didn't matter as it was great in its own right.  I especially loved the tender chew of the squid noodles.

We moved onto the shared entree portion of the tasting menu including the Gang Taepo or poached halibut atop red curry.  At first, I was a little dismayed that the halibut was just merely poached, but after I combined it with the curry, it made total sense.  No need to have competing flavors nor having too much salt as the curry was full-of-depth, spice and sweetness.  Beautifully prepared, the halibut was flaky and moist and accepted the curry as a textural canvas.

Also at the same time, we had the Pad Preaw or Octopus with a chutney of tomato, Chinese celery and peanuts.  I found this dish competent where the octopus was cooked perfectly where it was tender with just enough chew.  The chutney was flavourful with tang and sweetness, but the dish as a whole was not as impactful as the rest.  However, the condiment on the side did help things plenty.

The condiment was the Nam Prik Long Rua or pork & shrimp relish with salted egg and greens.  This was a lot of things including briny, meaty, salty and umami.   Combined with the crunchy veggies wrapped in lettuce, this made everything much more flavorful and also a bit spicy.  Texture was provided in the form of pork crackling mixed into the relish.  You could put this on anything and it would taste good!  

Dessert consisted of 2 items including the Mango Sticky Rice presented as a layered cake with a mango mochi cake base, mango mousse in the middle and butter lime cream on the top.  This was quite pleasant and mildly sweet with the flavors of mango sticky rice.  I liked how this was super light and gently brought us down from the flavor bomb of the relish from the previous course.

Our last item was the Khao Lahm which was a pandan canelé.  Texturally, since it was made with rice, the interior was more custardy and wet than a regular canelé.  The outside was slightly crispy but could've been more so.  However, it still ate quite well and we enjoyed it.  Overall, we loved our meal at Langbaan.  The tasting menu progressed beautifully and we felt the flavors popped.  Would absolutely do this again when we are in PDX next.

The Good:

- Impactful flavors

- Well-prepared proteins

- Excellent service

The Bad:

- Pandan canelé was a bit weird texturally

Jacqueline

I've been wanting to visit Jacqueline in Portland for quite some time.  I mean, I've been out in Portland 6 times in the last 6 years!  I've always envisioned dining their with Jacqueline (@pork_ninjas) just because they share a name (yes, I'm juvenile like that).  However, it just never worked out.  This time around, I got a reservation and boy did that come in handy.  To say the place is busy is an understatement, there was a huge line for happy hour when we arrived.   For those who are familiar, Jacqueline opened in 2016 and relocated to its current location in 2024.  The place is well known for their seasonal menu that focuses on fresh seafood.

Seeing how we arrived in time for Happy Hour, we went straight for the $1.00 oysters.  We ended up with a dozen of the Salazar Puget Sound Oysters, which were mid-sized.  Even thought they appeared to be small like Kushis, they were deeper and hence more plump.  We found them to be rather creamy and intensely briny.  We had several accompaniments including hot sauce, dill vinegar, classic mignonette, ponzu and Fresno chili vinegar.  My favorite was the hot sauce as it paired well with the salty oysters.

Even though they have a good value tasting menu at $90.00 each, we ended up doing a la carte.  The first plate to arrive was the Hamachi Crudo.  This was freakin' delicious with buttery slices of hamachi and charred & pickled pineapple.  To go with the natural sweetness of the fish and the pineapple, we found classic Thai flavors in the mam nem with lime leaf, mint and peanuts.  We had intense brininess from the fermented anchovies as well as balancing sweetness and tang.  Nice hits of herbaceousness from the lime leaves and mint.

Something as simple as bread can often be overlooked on a menu.  Luckily I asked about Emerson's Focaccia and ordered it.  Turns out it was an excellent choice as the fluffy bread was great on its own.  It had a crispy top that also was nicely salted.  However, what really made this dish was the side of toasted kombu oil with aged balsamic.  It was so punchy with umami and tangy sweetness.  Although we had a lot of dishes coming, we couldn't stop eating the bread!

This was followed up by a few smaller dishes including the Grilled Asparagus with marinated Ota tofu.  Normally, we would find some firm tofu in these types of dishes, but the Ota tofu was so delicate and soft.  Each cube almost broke upon contact, which made it so buttery in texture.  The toss in XO sauce ensured that the tofu was fully-seasoned with spice and brininess.  Asparagus was still had a bite despite being cooked through.  Some preserved meyer lemon added some salty brightness.

Another full-flavored dish was the Snap Peas with fish sauce lemongrass vin.  Beyond the crunchy sweet peas (that were split lengthwise), we found toasted rice powder, fava leaf, lime leaves and crispy tiny shrimp.  The mix of all these components ensured we got a bit of everything.  The fish sauce with lemongrass provided salty umaminess and bright hits.  Toasted rice powder not only add a bit of dry texture, we also had some aromatic nuttiness.  Fava leaves and lime leaves gave that background herbaceousness while the shrimp were a bit crunchy and totally briny.

Presented in 4 huge balls, the Smoked Black Cod & Potato Fritters were more like croquettes to me.  Once we got past the firmly crispy exterior, the soft and creamy potato filling was airy and light.  It was totally seasoned by the salty and smoky black cod where it was impactful from the first bite.  In the bowl, we found a green peanut sauce which was "green" tasting with some nuttiness.

We also tried both the Grilled Honey & Turmeric Chicken Skewer and the Grilled Lamb Merquez Sausage Skewer.  Nicely charred and juicy, the chicken skewer was smoky and earthy.  That sauce underneath was creamy and cooled things down.  As for the lamb sausage, it was also tender and moist with a decent amount of charring.  The addition of an anchovy provided another layer of brininess to go with the rich lamb meat.

Served on a house made bao that had been deep-fried, the Lobster Bun was packed full of tender shredded lobster.  There was enough mayo to keep things together and also acidity (from the zucchini pickles) to keep things from being too heavy.  The whole thing exhibited good textural contrast with the crispy bun and the fluffy lobster salad.  This wasn't very big, but super tasty.

The Seared Scallops were hard-seared on one side which created a crust.  They were aggressively seasoned and hence, were salty.  I could still taste the sweetness of the scallop and in fact, the salt only heightened the flavors.  Texturally, they were buttery and soft while cooked all-the-way through.  Underneath, the sauce was earthy and rich.

I thought the Halibut was just a bit over, yet at the same time, most of it was still flaky and moist.  Once again, things were salty for this dish including the hard sear.  The miso maitake mushrooms were far too salty, but the texture was great.  We also found some new potatoes that were robust, yet still tender.  The nettle sauce vert was green-tasting, peppery and bright.

Loved the Fig Leaf Pannacotta as it was creamy and light while topped with sweet strawberries, Marcona almonds and white chocolate.  This was quite refreshing and light with an on point texture.  It was properly set, yet not too firm.  By using fig leaf, the flavor of the pannacotta tasted like aromatic coconut and vanilla.  It would've fooled me if it wasn't in the description.  Strawberries naturally added tangy sweetness and texture while the almost added butteriness and crunch.

We had one scoop each of the Blood Orange Sorbet, Strawberry Rhubarb Gelato and Hochija Gelato.  Things were rather sweet, but naturally refreshing at the same time.  Blood orange was tangy, so it offset the sweetness.  Strawberry rhubarb had enough tang to balance the sugar as well.  For the hochija, that was the sweetest of the bunch, but I enjoyed the toasted and nutty flavor.  Overall, the meal at Jacqueline was mostly great with a few things that were a bit too salty.  Portions were generous and pricing was reasonable.  Service was genuine and friendly, if not a bit inattentive.

The Good:

- Generally tasty

- Generous portions and reasonable prices

- Nice people

The Bad:

- Some things were pretty salty

- Service was nice, but not particularly attentive (water not refilled and plates not changed)

Mucca Osteria

When planning out our meals in Portland, we wanted something that was classic, yet at the same time, progressive.  Enter Mucca Osteria located in Downtown Portland.  Opened by chef and owner Simone Savaiano in 2011, Mucca Osteria has earned its fair share of accolades over the years.  That was enough to convince us to go for their 4-course prix fixe menu for dinner for $125.00 each.

We had several options for each course and it was without hesitation we chose the gigantic and plump Scallops (Capesante con Fonduta di Parmigiano).  They were hard-seared on one side and rare in the middle.  Hence, they were buttery soft and the natural sweetness was pure since they were cooked just enough.  The saffron gel was aromatic but had a nice tanginess to it as well.  Parmesan fondue was super creamy and nutty.  We also found a shallot relish atop each scallop and it offered up some brightness.

The other appetizer we selected was the Tartara di Manzo (Beef Tartare).  It was fairly tender with a bit of a meaty chew.  The cut on the beef was good where each piece was manageable.  Color was great too being fresh and no grey portions.   Tangy and rich from the fermentation, the black garlic aioli provided depth, savoriness and slight tang.  We found some confit mushrooms as well which added texture and some woodsiness.  Lastly, the pomegranate gastrique provided some sweet tanginess.

My eyes went straight for the Agnolotti di Manzo and the one here featured tender little pockets of braised beef.  I thought the pasta was more tender than firm.  Beyond the delicate pasta, the beef filling was soft, yet still having texture.  With a creamy sharpness, the gorgonzola sauce also featured nuttiness from the walnuts and sweetness from the apples.

Our other pasta course choice was the Spaghetti con Funghi di Stagione, Salsa Agli Asparagi.  This had a green taste (in an asparagus kind of way) that was accented by the crispy and salty prosciutto.  Combined with the saltiness, there was also a bit of nuttiness.  Creaminess was due to the addition of mascarpone, which added sweetness too.  Pasta was firm and chewy.

Onto our mains, the Pesce di Giornata happened to be Halibut.  We found a hard sear which created a crispy nuttiness.  Inside, it was medium-rare being buttery and flaky.  The fish itself was nicely seasoned.  This all sat atop a creamy cauliflower puree with lacinato kale and braised fennel.  Grapefruit segments added acidity and just a bit of fresh sweetness.  The most impactful item on the plate was the caper salsa verde which brought saltiness and tanginess to the halibut.

My choice of main was the Brasato di Manzo. This fairly large boneless shortrib was tender and meaty while complimented by the silky red wine demi-glace.  English Pea-Mascarpone Purée was smooth and creamy with some sweetness.  This combined with the demi-glace helped moisten the drier parts of the shortrib.  Pickled fennel offered up crunch and of course acidity.

 

Since the choice of dessert totaled two, we had both of them including the Frutto della Passione (Passionfruit Cake).  Plating on this was a little like abstract art, but in terms of taste, it was properly structured.  First, the cake was a little dry, but the passionfruit coconut mousse afforded the necessary moisture, creaminess and sweetness.  That was furthered by the passionfruit gelato and compote.  Extra creaminess that was cold (nice temperature contrast) and even more tanginess from the compote made this dessert sing.

Yes, my dessert may have looked like a donut, but it was actually a Tortino al Cioccolato (Chocolate tart).  This thing was filled with creamy chocolate hazelnut mousse.  It was semi-sweet with some bitterness.  We found some crunchy candied hazelnut atop the exterior chocolate glaze.  This came with Gianduia gelato which amped the hazelnut quotient of this dessert even more so.  It was creamy and light with of course, nuttiness.  We were pretty stuffed at the end of the meal, especially with the large desserts.  Overall, we enjoyed the food as it was properly prepared and tasted great.  Service was also a highlight as it was friendly and informative.  

The Good:

- Delicious

- Generous portions

- Excellent service

The Bad:

- We had to change seats as the banquette upstairs is very narrow and uncomfortable

Ess-a-Bagel

From one bagel shop to another, we made our way to the ever-popular Ess-a-Bagel.  Due to its proximity from Utopia Bagels, we ended up at the West 32nd Street location.  Compared to Utopia, Ess-a-Bagel is more known for their giant bagel sandwiches and therefore, we snagged one of the precious seats and ordered a few them.  Oh, we also got some to go too!

Well, there was only one choice for Viv and it was the Signature Favorite on a Poppy Seed Bagel.  This was fully-loaded with sliced Nova (Lox), scallion cream cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion and capers.  We got the butteriness and saltiness of the lox combined with its classic running mate - scallion cream cheese.  But with lettuce and tomatoes, we go much more moisture and it actually helped dilute the saltiness of the lox and heaviness of the cream cheese.  Of course, the sharpness and crunch of the onions and tanginess of the capers were also a classic compliment.  The bagel itself was pretty firm and chewy, so all of these ingredients helped offset that.

For myself, I went for the Eggstacy with ham, sausage and cheddar all on a Pumpernickel Bagel.  They really didn't skimp on the cheese and it was ooey gooey wonderfulness.  The egg was a bit overdone, but the sausage and ham provided some needed moisture.  I found the pumpernickel bagel to be even firmer and denser than the poppy seed bagel.  Loved the rich earthy sweetness of the bagel.

Of course I had to compare their Sesame Bagel with the one at Utopia.  First off, it was slightly bigger and had the same amount of sesame seeds.  Hence, there was the aroma and nuttiness of sesame seeds in taste and smell.  Texturally, I thought these were denser and heavier than the ones at Utopia.  After toasting, the outside was crunchy while the inside got a bit softer with an appealing chew.

Yep, got the Everything Bagel as well, but in both classic and whole wheat.  There was an obvious textural difference between the two.  Predictably, the whole wheat was a bit more robust and nutty.  With a mix of the usual sesame seeds (black & white), poppy seeds, onion and garlic, we had the usual aromatics of an everything bagel.  Once again, we made sure we didn't burn any of these.

So for our sweet bagel, we had the Cinnamon Raisin.  Beyond the size difference and denser bagel, this one here was not that dissimilar than the one at Utopia.  Yet, it was a little more dense and chewy as mentioned before.  Overall, we thought the bagels at Ess-a-Bagel to be good and pretty large in size.  They went well with the components of our sandwiches.  But if I really had to compare, the classic bagels from Utopia had a texture that was more to our liking.

The Good:

- Large bagels

- Those sandwiches are fully-loaded and tasty

- Thick crispy exterior

The Bad:

- More dense than others I've had, but okay for those who like it

- Long lineups