A lament for Asian food

[batskeets]

So, as many of you already know, I'm Asian. I was raised by a Chinese mother, who also happens to make some really bang-on awesome Chinese food. Sure, she made a few things that I really didn't like as a kid, but generally speaking, I was raised on good food. She even went so far as to claim that her Chinese food wasn't really that good, and it may not have been humility talking there.

I also had my phase as a crazed Japanophile. First it was the anime, then the J-Rock, then the learning of the language, and finally, the food. I still like all of that stuff all right, but I like the food a *lot* more than I used to. And then, of course, there's Thai, Indian, Vietnamese, and so forth... all great stuff in its own right, and I'll eat it all happily, because I am a pigface and embrace all foods!

Why is it, then, that I've not yet had a Chinese or Japanese food experience in Portland that hasn't been mediocre-to-bad? WHYYYY?

First, there was a Chinese place in SE, when we were hanging around at Amy and Travis' one evening. They did all right, I suppose, but I was disappointed in their sweet and sour. It was mediocre, but not great.

Then, there was the sushi joint down the street from my house, which was definitely Not Good for what they were charging. The sushi rice had a funny texture, and everything was pretty mediocre overall.

Then, there was P.F. Chang's, which is, yeah, I know, not really Chinese food. However, the pretentiousness of the place makes you think that you'd at least get GOOD faux-Chinese food, and it's SO NOT. I'll give them props for the calamari, because I actually liked that, but the broccoli beef was salty and overly strong and generally sub-par.

And now, today, there was Bush Gardens. The miso was good, and the sukiyaki was okay, I guess. However, the California roll didn't contain crab pieces: they used minced crab mixed with mayonnaise, like they do in that ghetto-ass sushi you get at the grocery store! GROSS.

They also took for-freaking-ever bringing the sushi rolls we ordered, enough so that all of us were finished with our box combos before the rolls even got there. Even worse, the rolls weren't compacted properly, so they were falling apart so bad I could barely pick them up with my chopsticks. I've rolled better sushi at home, and I've only done it *maybe* a dozen or so times.

So, yeah, I'm disappointed, once again. The whole of Portland needs to redeem itself for its misdeeds in the realm of Asian cuisine. And no, that doesn't mean opening Yet Another Thai Restaurant. (at least *those* are actually good)

My next targets are Wong's King, and Sushi Takahashi, but I'm even a little wary of them, at this point. Sigh.

On a completely unrelated note, I'm re-thinking how I sign off my e-mails, which is rather annoying. I've been using my initials as a sign-off for so long that it's pretty much a reflex, but as of late, I've been getting calls and e-mails from people, saying things like, "Hi SLG," or, "May I speak with... S.L.G.?"

The Name field on all of my e-mail accounts uses my full name, though, so they HAVE my actual name on record. It shouldn't be *that* hard to figure out from there that the "S" is for my first name, and the "G" is for my last name. Can't they just put two and two together and say, "Hi Sarah," instead of using my initials?

And in closing, this should NOT be as funny as it is:

Oh, Teh Drama!

Comments

[fiercerose.livejournal.com]

I really like Sushi Land on NW 10th and Davis, but alas I am also uncultured and will eat most anything. But I figured I'd throw it out there... if nothing else, it's edible and the prices are great :)

[aubbieincognito.livejournal.com]

-Passing through! I agree with you on the chinese food front. There are plenty of places that have one or two good dishes, but not really an entire menu of greatness. However, the boy and I are fans of FuJin on 35th Hawthorne. Service isn't great, but their fried eggplant is awesome.

Sushi Land / MarinePolis ( www.sushilandusa.com) is a user of the krab & mayo mix in their rolls, but it is cheap and I find myself visiting at least once a week. It's sort of the fast-food of sushi; better than grocery store sushi, and they will make anything you want fresh if the stuff on the belt looks like it's been around a few. Their asparagus rolls are very popular.


Good luck!

[divadrummer.livejournal.com]

I think all the good places I've been to in PDX were Vietnamese. I know there's a really excellent place way out near Beaverton, but I can't remember for the life of me what it's called...

Tao of Tea (both locations). It's not reallllyyy Chinese food either, but their dumplings and such are super yum.


I'd noticed that about Eugene...there's pretty much NO place out here for good Chinese, IMO. I think the last truly good Chinese food I had was in fucking London :/

sushi in Portland

[gmendel.livejournal.com]

I've enjoyed Sushi Takahashi in the past - the one in SW Portland in or near China. It's not considered high-end sushi, but it's pretty good for the price. I just like it because the sushi goes around the restaurant on a model train. I'm not quite a connoisseur.

I think I have friends who should know good Asian places around here, I'll get back to you when I've heard from them.

We do like Swagat in Beaverton for Indian.

[barndawgg.livejournal.com]

At least you have good Thai. The best we have here in Georgia is a poor rip-off of Bennihana's. And... Prairie Dog look made me laugh so hard I fell out ofmy chair! XD

[xplo-eristotle.livejournal.com]

Sushi Takahashi is cheap-ish, but decent. I'd go back.. unlike Mio Sushi, which is a bit fresher, but tastes bad.. I think it's the rice.

If you find a Chinese place that doesn't suck, by the gods, let me know! I haven't had really good Chinese since I was a kid in California, and ever since then it's been a downward spiral.

[nidaba.livejournal.com]

Have you ever been to Sushi Track in Wilsonville?
I thought the food there was pretty good :-)

[cmsunflash.livejournal.com]

I've only been to Wong's King once, and it was for takeout, but I remember really liking the food. Plus I hear it's always super packed, so hopefully all those people can't be wrong. :) Sushi Takahashi is also good - the sushi is inexpensive and pretty tasty. And it's fun grabbing it off the train. Haha...

[spiralshannon.livejournal.com]

I have a number of friends who originated in the bay area who have been hunting for decent Chinese in the Portland area for the last few years... from what they tell me, no luck yet. Which makes me curious, since I have never been a huge fan of chinese, but I've only ever had it around here...

As far as Japanese, my favorite by FAR is Syun, out in Hillsboro. It's a sushi & sake bar, and it's not uncommon to find a table or two of Japanese businessmen visiting intel or the like there at any given time. I know it's not especially convenient to you, but if you're craving Japanese, it's probably worth it.

I think Portland is becoming world-renowned for having absolutely mediocre Chinese food

[bad-juice.livejournal.com]

There's a lot of good Thai places, though, at least! I'm still dying to try Pok Pok, though I bet it'll be all huge and crowded since The Oregonian just called it the Restaurant of the Year. Shoulda listened to my roommate when he told me it was great six months ago.

But yeah, if you find a good Chinese place definitely let me know, too, cause my GF and I have been wanting one.

Re: I think Portland is becoming world-renowned for having absolutely mediocre Chinese food

[xplo-eristotle.livejournal.com]

God, yes. I can throw a rock from anywhere in Portland and hit half a dozen Thai places that are at least decent, or so it seems.

I've been meaning to try Pok Pok, but I never quite get around to it. So far, though, Baan Thai is my favorite.

Where is Baan Thai?

[bad-juice.livejournal.com]

I went to Pok Pok tonight, finally. It was good, though the servings were smaller than I'm used to and I found the sauces to be much more delicious than the meats dipped into them.

They do get points for some unusual and adventurous dishes I'd never heard of, though.

Have you been to Sweet Basil? I've always wanted to go, because my name is Basil, but I've yet to get around to it because both locations are a little out of my way.

Re: Where is Baan Thai?

[xplo-eristotle.livejournal.com]

Okay, so check this. All I can remember about the location is that it's somewhere in close-in SE, and that it's in a house that's almost hidden by a garden, so I decide to check Google for the info.

Well, apparently there's this place called Baan Thai in close-in SW that doesn't serve the same food, doesn't have the same people, and isn't in the same place.

I'll keep researching...

Aha!

[xplo-eristotle.livejournal.com]

Here it is:

Khun Pic's Bahn Thai - 3429 SE Belmont

A little on the pricy side; entrees run $10-15 or so. AFAIK, they're only open for dinner, they don't take reservations, and the wait can be pretty long if you don't get there when they open. So maybe it's not your standard go-to Thai place. But if you can plan ahead for it, the food is OMG SO GOOD.

Oh, I think someone told me about this place

[bad-juice.livejournal.com]

But they said it was on 40-somethingth near Movie Madness and I could never find it.

They also said it was amazing, though, so now I'm definitely gonna have to make the time to eat there.

Re: Where is Baan Thai?

[skeets.livejournal.com]

There's a Sweet Basil in Eugene, which I *think* is owned by the same folks as the one in Portland. It was one of the better Thai places in Eugene, IMO :)

[junsiew.livejournal.com]

Ditto on Sushi Takahashi. They are pretty tasty, and on some days they have discounted plates.

Wong's King is pretty good chinese food (just don't order the fresh fish >_<)
my parents seem to like it a lot, and you know how picky they are about chinese food.