Nong's Khao Man Gai

Wait, didn't I just post about Nong's Khao Man Gai earlier this year?  Yep, that is true, we paid Portland a visit in March and made our way to the SE Ankeny location.  Food was great, served in large portions and was reasonably-priced.  A good recipe for success and in fact, they have been very successful with their food truck in the past.  I've enjoyed their chicken rice with "crack" sauce since this blog began.  So I was not about to pass up another opportunity to dine there again.

Although I will talk about some other dishes in this post, I can't help but start with their namesake in the Khao Man Gai Piset.  This was the larger version of their signature dish with more chicken, rice and sauce.  Although the chicken itself is tender and moist, the ginger garlic sauce is what makes this dish.  So addictive, the combination of sweetness, tanginess and aromatics could make shoe leather taste good.  The chicken rice was nutty and al dente which was perfect for the chicken and sauce.  Loved they included the chicken livers too.

Sure, the chicken rice here at Nong's is really good with all of the components being on point.  However, I'm going to say something controversial - the Super Soup is my favorite thing here.  It is essentially the chicken soup that comes with the chicken rice, but served in a large bowl with the chicken and rice in it.  It becomes a super hearty and comforting dish with sweet soup, tender melon, chewy rice and tender chicken.  I could eat multiple bowls of this!

If you aren't into the chicken, they do have an alternative in the Khao Kha Muu or Thai Pork with rice, pickled mustard greens, gai lan and boiled egg.  Really enjoyed this dish as the fatty pork did not require much in the way of chewing.  Even the fat was easy going down.  It benefitted from the sweet and savory soy braise as well as the tanginess of the mustard greens.  Combined with some spicy sauce, this was delicious.

One item that is not on the regular menu is the Noodle Bitter Melon with chicken wings, bitter melon, shredded chicken breast, gai lan, bean sprout, shiitake mushroom, daikon radish, rice noodles and goji berries.  To me, this had some duck soup vibes even though there was not duck to be found.  It had depth, sweetness and just a tinge of bitterness from the melon.  Noodles were thin and soaked up all of the delicious broth.  There was no shortage of meat with tender wings and shredded chicken.  A comforting bowl of noodles for a cold day.

For those who want something different than the classic chicken rice, there is also the Chicken, Rice & Peanut Sauce with a side of boiled broccoli.  This came with plain white rice rather than the chicken rice.  Good thing because the peanut sauce was pretty dominant with its nutty sweetness.  There was some salt to balance and further enhance the peanut flavor.  Reminds me of the Chinese hand-shredded chicken with peanut sauce but with much more sauce!  Every time I have this dish at Nong's I find it heavy and hence, I can eat only half of it.

To go with our food, we also ordered 2 drinks in the Ginger Lemonade and Thai Tea Float.  Refreshing, tangy and plenty gingery, the ginger lemonade really helped keep our appetites going despite being full.  As for the float, it was addictively sweet and creamy.  Great option for those who like Thai iced tea but want some creamy soft-serve with it.  Overall, this was another great visit to Nong's.  The food isn't complex here but it doesn't have to be.  It is comforting, served in large portions and affordable.  Perfect trifecta!

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Inexpensive

- Homey and delicious food

- Large portions

The Bad:

- Seating is tight here and limited (although there is overflow next door)

- Simple menu, but you know what you're here for...

Barcelo's Flame Grilled Chicken (Guildford)

I've always loved Barcelo's Flame Grilled Chicken.  Even more so than Nando's, however, I do like them both.  I just think Barcelo's is better.  Did you know that Barcelo's was actually first to the scene in South Africa?  Nando's actually showed up much later despite most people thinking it was the original.  Anyways enough with the history lesson...  Jackie and I were invited to try out their Guildford location within the T&T complex on 152nd at 101st.  Upon entering the store, it struck us that the dining space was large and well-appointed.  No wonder they have a sign outside advertising that they can accommodate 50 people for a private party!

Well, there was only 2 of us and we arrived in the time between lunch & dinner, so we had plenty of space!  We started with some appies including the Cauliflower Bites and the Corn Ribs.  Solid dishes with the bites being still firm with a thin and crispy batter.  Corn ribs were almost like street corn, but instead, these were lightly battered and fried.  They were drizzled with spicy mayo and topped with cheese.  There was this spicy and sweet thing going on here.

Of course, the thing to get here is the chicken, so we had the Peri Plate #2 that consisted of 1/4 chicken, 1 skewer and 2 wings.  These were all nicely charred with plenty of smoky nuttiness to go around.  We asked for mild, so the spice was in the background while the sweetness of the onions came through.  The dark meat chicken was super juicy and tender.  I found the white meat skewer to be moist despite the char.  Wings were solid too with elements of both the leg and white meat.  We got to choose 2 sides and went for the veggies and mashed potatoes.  Those potatoes were really good with the skin providing texture and flavour.

We also had the Half Pack so you can see how one of the family meals look like.  This featured a 1/2 chicken, 4 wings and 2 skewers.  This was essentially double the Peri Plate #2.  With all these pieces of chicken, we could experiment with all of the available sauces such as Lemon Pepper, Mild Peri, Very Peri and Supa Peri.  For me, it was all about the Supa Peri as it had the most impact and flavour.  I have a high spice tolerance, so it wasn't too bad for me.  You still can't go wrong with the other peri sauces as you can taste the slight spice, tanginess and sweetness.

For those who don't just want to eat pieces of chicken, especially on the bone, then there is the Peri Chicken Sandwich.  This was actually quite good with a grilled piece of chicken breast.  It was moist and tender with some mild peri sauce.  Naturally, I dunked it into the Supa Peri!  The veggies were fresh and the brioche bun was nicely toasted.  For our side, we had the Yam Fries which were crispy and not overly greasy.  It came with a spicy mayo.

Now I wouldn't blame you for laughing at me for Peri Sirloin Burger.  This almost seemed out-of-place, but let me assure you, it was actually good!  This featured real ground sirloin (and not some processed patty) that was meaty and lean.  It was seared up nicely with a nice crispy exterior.  Despite being lean, the meat was moist and not dry at all.  It was flavourful and combined with the fresh veggies, it was delicious!  I only wished it was served on the brioche rather than the Portuguese bun.  However, I get it, Portuguese grilled chicken, so need to use Portuguese bun...  The Peri Fries on the side were crispy and nicely spiced.

For dessert, we were served an Oreo Ice Cream Cake as well as a classic Portuguese Tart.  I would say the ice cream cake was pretty typical and did the job.  I did like the Oreo crust!  The tart was very silky and soft where the filling had a hard time staying within the flaky shell.  It was sweet, but was appropriate for the flavours.  Overall, this visit to Barcelo's was exactly like my other experiences (which have been many).  Chicken is prepared right being smoky and not dry.  Loved the peri sauces.  Always satisfying.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Well-charred chicken that is not dry
- Surprisingly good burgers
- Affordable

The Bad:
- Sides are hit and miss

Ginger & Scallion

Onto our next food adventure, Jackie and I made our way to Phinney Ridge where we would find Ginger & Scallion.  If you are familiar with the Asian condiment of grated ginger and scallion, then you would have guessed that this place dishes up chicken rice.  Known as Hainanese Chicken in Chinese cuinse, Ginger & Scallion is actually Thai and serves up Khao Man Gai.  There are a few differences namely the main condiment, which is a bit ironic with the name of the place.  Ginger and scallion is usually associated with the Chinese version while the Thai version has as soybean paste sauce with thick soy sauce, chilli, ginger, garlic and vinegar.  Well, they have all the sauces here, so they cover all of the variations in terms of condiments.

Before we got to the chicken, we had some appies to start including the Cucumber Salad and Spicy Shishitos.  Lightly pickled and then topped with some goji berries, the cucumbers were fresh, crunchy and juicy.  The mild brine ensured there was some impact without being being overpowering.  As for the shishitos, they were beautifully charred and salted.  Hence, there was a noticeable smokiness before we got into the mildest hit of spice (as shishitos are typically not spicy).

Before I talk about the chicken, we got to acknowledge that they offer up all the necessary Sauces to make things tasty.  Amalgamating different sauces for various versions of this dish, we find the usual ginger & scallion (name of this place!) and sweet chili that we associate with the Chinese and Singaporean dishes.  Then we have the sweet and spicy ginger & garlic sauce for Khao Man Gai.  Finally, we have the Kecap Manis from Indonesia.  Yes, they had it all!

To start things off, we had the standard in the deboned Chicken Thigh.  This was a healthy portion of tender dark meat that was mild-tasting.  It wasn't exactly juicy, but it wasn't dry either.  I felt this went best with the ginger & garlic sauce that have Nong's vibes but spicier and less sweet.  Naturally, this also came with chicken oil rice and soup.  I found the rice to be well-seasoned, gingery and definitely tasting like chicken.  It was firm, but not dry.  Soup was sweet and gingery.

Then we had the White Meat, but served cold with a wine sauce.  Since this was not kept warm, such as the previous dish, the meat was more moist.  This was true even though this was chicken breast meat.  Once again, the chicken was mild-tasting, but really benefited from wine.  There was also a bit of gelatin underneath the skin, which was tasty.  I felt that this went well with the ginger & scallion condiment as it allowed the wine to stand out.

Sticking with cold chicken, but this time with the dark meat, we had the Spicy version.  This cold dark meat was truly succulent and had even more chicken gelatin between the skin and meat.  Therefore, the chicken itself was pretty flavorful even without sauces.  This could've been partially attributed that it was dark meat since it has more fat.  With that being said, the spicy soy did taste really good and adding even more spice with the garlic and ginger condiment was the way to go here.

Moving away from chicken for just one dish, we had the Braised Duck.  This duck breast was sliced thin and topped with the braising liquid.  The duck was pretty tender and took on all of the flavor of the braise including a salty-sweetness from the soy and some elements of five spice.  I felt that the only condiment that worked for me was the kecap manis where it reminded me of eating Chinese smoked duck with a similar thick sweetened soy.

My favourite dish was the Coconut Curry Chicken with breast meat (that was hand shredded to order) and then served with chicken rice and a cukes.  To amp things up, a big dollap of chili sauce was added to the plate.  When combined, there was enormous impact with heat, smokiness, spice, sweetness and coconut.  In addition to the already gingery sweet chicken oil rice, this was super addictive and I'm still thinking about it as I'm writing this blog post!

At the end, we were presented with 3 desserts including a Matcha Cake, Thai Tea Tres Leches and Key Lime Pie.  The pick of the bunch had to be the tres leches.  It was soaked beautifully with sweet Thai tea that was also fragrant.  The cake itself was super moist but not mushy.  We really enjoyed that!  The other 2 were good too with proper textures and flavors, but go get the tres leches!  In the end, we were quite impressed with the overall execution of the humble chicken rice.  Loved that they had different variations and all the sauces.  You will find something that suits your fancy and at a reasonable price.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- They have all the condiments!
- Choice of chicken meat, temperature and flavor
- That coconut curry chicken!

The Bad:
- Due to having to keep the warm chicken at temperature, the meat can be a little over (so get the cold version if you want consistency)

Nong's Khao Man Gai

With not really a plan for dinner on our second night in Portland, we decided to go back to the well with a PDX classic - Nong's Khao Man Gai.  Yes, it is that famed food stall that dishes up one dish - poached chicken and rice with an addictive sauce.  However, quite awhile back, they opened up several B&M stores including the one at SE Ankeny.  This little counter-service spot is small and overflows into the outdoor sidewalk seating.  Well, it was a bit cold for us to sit out there and luckily, we scored one of the precious indoor seats.

Of course, we had to get the regular portion of the Khao Man Gai featuring a poached chicken breast atop Mary's non-GMO chicken rice.  Sure, we also got some cucumbers and a side of soup, but the star of the plate is their addictive sauce.  Sweet, gingery and garlicky, this sauce is like liquid crack.  You can put that on shoe leather and it would taste great.  But in this case, it was on tender and moist chicken with an aromatic and chewy rice.  To customize your plate of food, they also have a small fridge with all the condiments including hot sauce.

Naturally, we wanted a bit of variety with the meal so we also got the Super Soup which was essentially the previous dish in one bowl.  So imagine the same sweet daikon chicken soup with slices of the tender chicken and chewy rice.  This was so comforting and full of impact from the intense sweetness of the broth.  The bevy of chicken made this hearty and fulfilling.  Add in the rice that absorbed the soup while not being soggy, this was a Thai chunky soup.

Another variation of the same ingredients was with the Chicken, Rice and Peanut Sauce.  So the same chewy fragrant rice with sliced chicken breast on top, but drizzled aggressively with a thick peanut sauce and some crushed roasted peanuts.  This came with a side of lightly blanched broccoli.  I found the peanut sauce to be nutty and aromatic with some sweetness.  I thought it was pleasant, but for me at least, I much prefer their signature dish with that crack sauce.  I did think the peanut sauce went well with the broccoli.

Lastly, we had the Khao Kha Muu which was also very comforting.  It consisted of stewed pork, pickled mustard greens and boiled egg on jasmine rice with Thai chili sauce.  This had Cantonese Miu Choy Kau Yeuk vibes (Stewed Pork Belly with Mustard Greens) and that was a good thing.  So rich and meaty with tanginess where the rice soaked it all up.  So as much as the rest of the dishes were good, it is all about the signature chicken rice here.  You can't go wrong with it.

The Good:

- That sauce with the chicken rice...

- Reasonably-priced

- Other dishes are decent too

The Bad:

- Limited indoor seating