Mee Sen Thai Eatery

Right next to Churn Cafe and their fabulous fusion brunch, you will find an authentic Thai eatery in Mee Sen Thai.  We took the opportunity to hop on over for a meal since we were in the neighbourhood already.  I've already mentioned that the Thai food game is strong in Portland compared to where I come from (Vancouver, B.C.).  In addition, what I've noticed is that the Thai food is also more diverse with an array of dishes I've never seen before.  This would also apply with our visit to Mee Sen Thai Eatery.

An example of such a dish is the Kang Jued.  This was a refreshing and comforting dish featuring a clear soup, egg tofu and minced chicken meatballs with glass noodles, carrots, shiitake mushroom, napa cabbage and bak choy.  The broth was light and a bit sweet while taking on the flavors of the ingredients.  The noodles were slippery and not overdone while the veggies were still vibrant.  Loved the soft egg tofu and the meatballs were moist.

Now 2 dishes that were more typical and I've definitely had before - Moo Ping (Pork Skewers) and Tod Mon (Fish Cakes).  Beautifully charred, the pork skewers were tender with an appealing meatiness.  They were properly marinated where there was some aromatics and sweetness.  As for the fish cakes, they had an incredible bounce texture that was great.  They were lightly sweet and moist.  On the side, we found a sweet & sour sauce with crushed peanuts.

Another dish I've yet to try before was the Larb Gai Tod.  Sure, I've had Larb before, but not with fried chicken breast.  So texturally, this was completely different than the ground meat that I'm used to having.  There was a robust quality to the dish where the usual larb flavors (sweet, spicy and tangy) were still there.  However, the pieces of chicken were not as crispy anymore due to the addition of wet ingredients.  The chicken was tender though.

One dish that I was strangely in love with was the Hoy Tod.  These crunchy pancakes had mussels and scallion hidden inside.  This provided a seafoody chewiness beyond the crunchy exterior and somewhat fluffy interior.  Not complex by any means, yet the textural contrast and the brininess was really up my alley.  I couldn't stop eating these!  This also came with a sweet & spicy sriracha sauce.

Back to the more typical dishes in the Peek Gai Tod (Fried Chicken Wings), we had them sauced in spicy basil.  These wings were ginormous and hence with the modest deep fry, they were also juicy and tender.  Personally, I would've preferred a more aggressive deep fry since the skin wasn't all that rendered.  It was still lightly crispy though and the spicy basil glaze was delicious.  There was aromatics, spice and garlickiness.

Another form of fried chicken arrived with our next dish in the Hat Yai Fried Chicken.  Unlike the North American type of fried chicken, this one featured a barely-there batter.  It was thin and allowed the skin to completely render.  By virtue of using rice flour, it was also very crispy.  Inside, the dark meat chicken was juicy and nicely brined.  I could definitely taste the sweetness as well as the brininess of the fish sauce.

Another dish I've never had before was the Goong Ob Woon Sen featuring prawns with glass noodles.  Albeit, I've had something similar in Cantonese cuisine (just like the Kang Jued), so this was familiar to me.  With plenty of aromatics from the garlic, ginger and cilantro, the slippery and chewy glass noodles were tasty.  There was some pepperiness to the dish and the addition of pork provided depth.  The shrimp were buttery with a snap.

Onto a classic Northern Thai dish in the Khao Soi Gai.  This was a good version featuring a creamy and rich red curry broth.  The egg noodles were still chewy and not clumpy.  They soaked up some of the broth and the aromatics and slight spiciness (nutty smokiness from the chili condiment) made me want to keep eating it.  The chicken leg was fall-off-the-bone tender.  Also, the crispy fried egg noodles helped soak up even more of the delicious broth.

For me at least, a Thai meal isn't complete without both the Pad See Ew and the Pad Thai.  Yes, a bit defaultish, but at the same time, when done right, delicious.  I'm happy to report that the both exhibited good wok hay which meant there was smokiness, nuttiness and caramelization.  For the Pad See Ew, the noodles were not clumpy and had elasticity.  We choose tofu instead of meat and that enabled the flavors from the stir-fry to stand out including a bit of spice (we chose medium) and balanced saltiness with sweetness.  The Pad Thai was tangy from the tamarind and also sweet from the palm sugar.  There was some brininess and of course some spice too.

Saving the best for last, we had the Khao Pad Puu (Crab Fried Rice).  We've already had some great versions on this trip to Portland and I was glad we ended off with another great dish.  The discernible grains of rice were chewy, nutty and caramelized.  There was plenty of other aromatics from the garlic, onions, scallions and sesame seeds as well.  Add in the on point seasoning and plenty of fluffy crab, the fried rice was really good!

For dessert, we were served a Thai Tea Cake that was reminiscent of cheesecake in texture.  Specifically, a Basque cheesecake where it was fairly dense and creamy.  It wasn't as sweet as it appeared but definitely wasn't flavorless either.  In the end, the meal at Mee Sen Thai was satisfying with some real highlights.  The wok hay was evident, especially with the noodle dishes and also the fried rice.  Also had some unique items we've never had before as well.  Portions are large, so bring some people to help share!

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

The Good:

- Dishes had wok hay (good caramelization and smokiness)

- Large portions

- Cute decor

The Bad:

- Maybe the wings could've been fried more golden brown and crispy 

Churn Cafe

On our last day in Portland, we headed up to the Boise neighborhood in the Northern portion of the city.  Along N Mississippi Ave, we visited 2 places starting with the Asian-infused brunch and beverages.  The place is rather cute and has lots of character.  We did our ordering on the big screens in the front and all the food arrived promptly at our table afterwards.  The places was bustlin', especially for a weekday.  After we dug into our food and drinks, it was quite apparent why.

If there was any confusion about the fusion, it was easily understood with the Coffee Flight featuring a bit of influence from many different Asian cultures.  The Vietnamese Coffee was not as strong as other versions I've had, yet, that was a good thing as it was went down smooth with balanced sweetness.  As for the Ube Latte, it was sweet and aromatic.  While the Pandan Latte was nutty and aromatic, it could've been stronger.  Also sweet, but with bitter notes, the Strawberry Matcha Latte had some milky fruity vibes.

Probably my favorite dish of our meal was incidentally the first one to hit the table.  It was the Okonomiyaki Crepe.  This fully-loaded creation had bacon, sautéed cabbage, eggs and Swiss cheese topped with okonomi sauce, kewpie mayo, bonito flakes and nori.  We added smoked salmon for good measure.  This definitely captured the essence of an Okonomiyaki with all of the components.  There was a smoky element to it from the bacon and salmon.  Loved the texture of the crepe as it was light and slightly eggy but had some chew to it as well.

Moving on, we had something quite Southern with Chinese twist.  We found 2 pieces of Fried Chicken with a house-made biscuit and Chinese sausage gravy.  The chicken itself was pretty textbook with a crunchy batter and rendered skin.  Inside, the meat was super juicy and tender.  The chicken itself as well as the batter was properly-seasoned.  As for the biscuit, it was buttery and featured a soft interior.  The gravy itself was classic white sauce, but with the sausage, it had a cured saltiness.

We also tried a pasta dish in the Yuzu Cream Pasta with shrimp, masago and mushrooms.  This would look completely at home in a Japanese pasta joint, so kudos to them for its on point preparation.  Featuring al dente spaghetti, the dish started off on the right foot.  It was enveloped by just enough yuzu cream sauce, which was bright and well-seasoned.  The plethora of masago provided pops of the sea in every bite.  On top, the shrimp were buttery with a sweet snap.

Back to the fried chicken, we had the Fried Chicken and Pandan Waffle.  This was another take on the classic dish with the addition of pandan to the waffle.  Although you can't really tell from the outside of the crispy waffle, the inside was beautifully green.  It was lightly sweet with aromatics and a bit of nuttiness.  I liked eating it plain, but there was syrup on the side.  As for the fried chicken, it was the same as the previous dish being juicy on the inside while crunch on the outside.

That previous dish was heading somewhere towards sweet, so it was nice transition to the stunning Ube French Toast.  Exhibiting its beautiful shade of purple, the ube came through mildly with sweetness and aroma.  The toast was well-soaked being a bit custardy with a lightly crisp exterior.  Since it was rather light-tasting, the addition of custard cream and ube condensed milk provided all of the necessary sweetness.  Furthermore, it gave the dish some creaminess.  

Ending off things on a lighter note, we had the Very Berry Crepe.  The crepe was somehow a bit more moist than the one in the okonomiyaki for some reason.  That was a good thing though as it had a nice tender chew to it with elasticity.  It was topped with fresh whipped cream and sliced strawberries.  The plate was finished off with a mixed berry compote.  Overall, the brunch at Churn Cafe was impressive with its diverse options where many had an Asian twist.  Portions were generous and the people are nice.

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

The Good:
- On point Asian twist on brunch
- Large portions
- Cute spot

The Bad:
- Parking in the area can be tough to find
- On the pricier side

Afuri Kara Kurenai Downtown Portland

There are certain restaurants that have so many locations in the world, you won't have a problem finding an outpost in a major city.  We all know that Greater Vancouver (the one in BC) has 2 locations of Afuri Ramen, one in Richmond and one in Vancouver proper.  I've had differing experiences with the Vancouver one being better in my opinion.  Now, I got the chance to compare with the one of the locations in Portland (the spicy Afuri Kara Kurenai), right next to the original Voodoo Donuts (yes, we did get some of those too, although Bluestar is better!).

Just like the last time I was in the Vancouver location, we tried the Buta Gyoza.  These dumplings were prepared textbook-style with a crispy and browned bottom.  As you can see in the picture, there was a uniformly crispy skirt which was nutty and aromatic.  The dumpling skin itself was thin and had bouncy elasticity.  Inside, the pork and leek filling was tender and juicy.  It was also nicely seasoned being sweet and savoury.

Before we got to the ramen, we had 2 rice bowls including the Purutoro Chashu Meshi and the Spicy Karaage Don.  For the chashu don, it was a collection of components that created a flavor explosion.  Beyond the buttery tender pork belly, we found the crunch and tang from the pickled veg and the brightness of the green onions.  This was further enhanced by the addition of tangy yuzu and umaminess from the nori.  As for the chicken karaage, it was plentiful with a crunchy exterior and juicy meat.  The spicy mayo and chili sauce was medium in heat and added plenty of flavoring for the rice.  Add in the pickled ginger, nori and green onions and we had some of tang, brightness and umami to complete dish.

Onto the ramen, a visit to Afuri wouldn't be complete without ordering their signature Yuzu Shiro Shoyu Ramen.  If you've read my previous posts about this bowl of ramen, you know it isn't my personal favorite.  But after all these times, it has started to grow on me.  This time around, the chicken broth was super light and fragrant with the brightness of yuzu.  Was it any different than before?  Probably not, but for those who don't want a heavy tonkotsu broth, this is the way to go.  The thin noodles had a good chewiness and elasticity even while sitting in the hot broth.  There was some super moist sous-vide chicken breast chashu as well as a perfect custardy egg.

Moving from light and mild, we went to the Yuzu Kara Kurenai Ramen in also a chicken broth, but with the addition of yuzu spiced miso, chili powder and spicy menma.  We weren't in the mood to have our tastebuds being scorched, so we went for medium hot for this.  That was actually perfect as the spice level was noticeable, but at the same time, we could taste the richness of the miso and even some background brightness from the yuzu.

Now my favorite bowl here at Afuri is hands-down, the vegan Hazelnut Tantanmen.  Yes, that is not a misprint.  Despite being vegan, this bowl of noodles has all the texture and flavors to make up for the lack of meat products.  Beyond the chewy thicker noodles, the spicy miso tare added salty and sweet depth.  Tying it altogether was the hazelnut broth that gave each strand of noodle a delicious nutty and aromatic hug.  But wait, there was more!  The miso cashews only amped the nuttiness and umaminess of the dish and let's not forget the spice too as it also had some kick.  This was not lacking in impact.

We had one last bowl of noodles and this was the Kara Kurenai Tsukemen.  Also known as "dipping noodles" this dry ramen came with a spicy shoyu tsuyu.  As you can see in the picture, this sauce meant business.  We chose medium hot again, but this time, due to the concentrated nature of the dip and the amount coating each noodle, there was some real tongue-numbing instances.  This had most of the same components as the soup version except with thick noodles for dipping.

At Afuri, they also have a selection of Cocktails and we tried Yuzu Limeade, Ube Colada, Housemade Ginger Ale and Mai Thai on Fire.  Naturally, I gravitated to the non-alcoholic and refreshing drinks more.  They did a good job in cooling down my mouth from the spiciness.  I did enjoy the Ube Colada.  It was light and sweet from the pineapple juice. The Mai Thai on Fire was exactly that with serrano pepper infused rum.  It also had some orange liqueur and lime juice for balance.  Overall, this experience at Afuri was quite good.  In addition to some of their classics, they spiced it up figuratively and literally.  If you want so heat in your ramen and drinks, this is the place to be.

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

The Good:

- If you want it spicy, it can be really spicy

- Spacious room

- Solid eats

The Bad:

- Seating is quite communal, so if that isn't your thing...

Fabo's Tacos

It is easy to forget that there is authentic Mexican eats around despite the prevalence of Americanized fast food joints and also Tex-Mex (although I do like Tex-Mex).  That is especially true with options in the States (I'm from Vancouver, B.C.).  However, I don't remember having anything particularly outstanding in PDX, where I've had my fair share of great Thai food.  This was going to change as we were visiting Fabo's Tacos out near Chinatown.  They started selling out on a street corner and gradually made their way to an actual B&M location.

We arrived during a weekday lunch rush and the place was happenin'.  Despite this, they were still able to pump our order starting with the Sopes.  These crispy masa discs were aromatic and nutty.  Beyond the refried beans on the base, we selected pollo and chorizo as the meat option.  Unlike many other Mexican spots, the meat was tender and fairly moist.  Loved the spice from the chorizo as it added depth.  To cool things down, we found shredded lettuce, crema and fresh cotija on top.

From the Sopes, we moved onto the Tacos with a variety of meats.  We had them plated 2 ways and for me, I liked the 2nd one more for aesthetics.  We had almost all the choices including Asada, Al Pastor, Pollo, Chorizo and Suadero.  Once again, the biggest takeaway from these was the uniformly moist meat.  By no means did they suffer from a lack of caramelization.  They were aromatic and full of umaminess.  Meat was not dry, yet not wet either.  Made for some delicious tacos.

Of course we couldn't get out of there without having an order of the Birria Tacos.  Yes, these have become such a thing in the last 5 years or so, but it isn't because of baseless hype.  These things are so delicious with their fat soaked shells (then seared) served with a side of braising broth.  The ones here were really good with tender shredded beef and an aromatic nutty shell that was slightly crispy.  The broth had depth and was full of umami.

We all know about the popularity of Birria Tacos, but another associated viral dish is the Birria Ramen.  You might've seen this many times before, but this was the best version I've had.  Most places overcook the instant ramen, but the one here was al dente.  Even sitting in the flavorful broth while we took our photos, it didn't get soft.  Hence, they undercooked it for the purposes of sitting in hot broth (it allowed for soaking it up too).  Small detail, but made all the difference.

We also got a pair of dishes including the Enchiladas and the Taquitos, both complete with rice and beans.  For the enchiladas, we chose al pastor which was nicely charred and of course, not dry.  As for the taquitos, they were crispy on the outside and filled with pollo in this case.  Since the chicken was lean, it didn't have too much residual moisture which meant the taquitos stayed crunchy throughout.

The last dish we tried was something that I was not really looking forward to - Nachos.  Many spots, even authentic ones, do not make a great version of this dish.  Unbeknownst to many, Nachos is a real Mexican dish.  However, the one we are familiar with is the Tex-Mex concoction.  This one here was actually very good and I couldn't stop eating them.  The freshly fried tortilla chips were topped with smoky carne asada, beans, crema, cojita and legit guacamole.  With components like these, this was delicious, well-balanced and not some cheesed-out monstrosity.   Overall, the food at Fabo's is well-prepared where the dishes exhibited soul.  Things are fresh and flavorful.  Normally, I'm not craving Mexcian cuisine, but with this, I can't wait to eat it again.

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

The Good:
- Well-prepared and flavorful meats
- Had a home-cooked feel to it
- Mom is back there cooking, only good things happen because of that

The Bad:
- It gets busy at lunch, so be prepared to wait
- Area is a bit sketch, but you know the food is good then!

Noodle Dynasty

So I'm sure that authentic Chinese hand-pulled noodles aren't the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Portland's culinary scene.  But over the past 15 years, Asian cuisine has come a long way in the Portland Metropolitan Area.  I remember a time when I had Dim Sum on SE Division Street and had probably the worst I've had in my life.  Fast forward to the present, we find all types of good Asian cuisine (in particular, Thai).  So I went in with relatively high expectations when we visited Noodle Dynasty in Beaverton.

We ordered a variety of dishes and began with the Hot & Sour Soup.  This was a somewhat pale-looking version, but in terms of taste, it was decent.  I definitely got sour and savory elements with only a bit of heat.  There was enough components for effect such as crunchy wood ear, fluffy egg, delicate tofu, bamboo shoots and carrots.  I would've liked to see some sort of protein as the soup was a bit lacking depth.  It also could've used a bit more starch too for thickeness.

The Beef Pancake Roll was possibly one of the best I've had in quite some time.  The pancake was flaky and had an appealing crunch on the outside.  It was fairly light, yet still had a good chewiness.  It was aromatic and had a beautiful nuttiness.  Wrapped inside, the beef was tender and had the aroma of 5-spice.  There was enough hoisin sauce to add the usual sweetness while the amount of green onion was balanced.

Onto the noodles, we had the classic Lanzhou Hand Pulled Beef Noodle Soup.  The noodles you see in the picture were literally hand-pulled to order and cooked immediately.  They were prepared al dente and had nice elasticity and bite.  This type of beef noodle featured a clear broth which I found was clean and light tasting with sweetness.  The sliced beef was tender and also mildly seasoned.  For some, this is purest form of the beef noodle since it is so simple, but I much prefer the next one we had.

The Spicy Beef Noodle Soup was more up my alley with tender nuggets of braised beef.  The soup itself wasn't super spicy, but did have a slight kick.  I could still taste the base flavor of the broth, but it did lack natural meatiness and body.  We had the wide hand-pulled noodles for this bowl and they were predictably chewier than the thin ones (also prepared al dente).  This was a decent bowl of noodles, wished there was more spice though.

Now that wasn't an issue for the Spicy Pork Ribs Flat Noodles though.  Sometimes referred to as "Biang Biang" noodles, these wide sheets were extra chewy.  Now the chewiness wasn't a bad thing though as it is generally a hallmark texture.  I found these noodles just a tad thicker than I would've liked, but still appealing nonetheless.  Yes, these had quite the heat to them, but it was a good thing as the wide noodles needed all the seasoning it could take.  The pork ribs were super tender and had a good balance of sweet and savory notes.

Although the Pork Wontons with Chili Sauce looked super spicy, they were quite mild (at least according to me).  I have a high spice tolerance, so for some, this might be scorching.  I found the dumplings to be delicate with tender and juicy pork inside.  It had a nice bounciness to it and was well-seasoned.  The chili sauce was smoky, sweet and a bit nutty.  It did have heat, but again, it wasn't tongue-burning.

To temper the spiciness of the meal so far, we had the Hot & Sour Fish Filet.  Yes, this had spice in it too but rest assured, it was very mild where the pickled mustard greens were the dominant flavor.  The broth itself was quite appetizing mostly due to the tanginess and also some sweetness from the fish.  There was an abundance of what I though was basa filets.  Say what you will about the fish, it was pretty buttery tender in texture.

Beyond the spicy wontons, we also got the Pork Xiao Long Bao for good measure.  Although these featured medium-thick dumpling skin, the texture wasn't dense.  In fact, it was a bit wet.  Despite this, there was a good amount of sweet soup inside that had a hint of shaoxing wine.  The meat itself was bouncy and tender.  If they could improve the dumpling skin (in terms of thickness and texture), these would be quite good.

For dessert, we had the cute piggy Egg Yolk Bao.  The bun itself was fairly fluffy with a sweet salted egg yolk filling.  It wasn't the runny type (Lau Sa Bao), but I prefer this kind more anyways.  It is much easier to eat and less messy.  Overall, the food at Noodle Dynasty is pretty legit.  Sure, some items can use improvement, but in general, the food is enjoyable and authentic.  Portland has really come a long way where Asian food is more plentiful and delicious.

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

The Good:
- Legit hand-pulled noodles
- Large portions
- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:
- Soup bases could be more impactful