Portland II: the Khao Soi Strikes Back

Another kind guest post from my friend Adam to compensate for my post slackingness from having an actual job (or 2) these days. I've also started another blog, Chocolate from the Source, on my chocolate explorations, bean-to-bar making, and the chocolate company I'm starting which seems to be taking time away from my khao soi hobby. :( But never fear, Adam is here to save the day! And he's being modest as we went to Sripraphai in Queens a couple of months ago and he was keeping up with the fast and furious pace of 13 esoteric dishes I ordered and he remembered the Thai phrases I taught him, so I trust him and his wife to know a great Khao soi when they see it!

Hello fellow khao soi seekers. I've been invited to guest blog today to spread the word about a place I discovered in Portland, OR. First, my credentials: I may not be as hard-core as some around here, but I know a good khao soi when I see one. I've done Chiang Mai, I've done Rhong Tiam in NYC (before they moved and screwed up the food), and I've done Sripraphai in Queens.

We were randomly wandering around Portland on a road trip from British Columbia to Burning Man. The guy at Powell's books (the disneyland of bookstores, if disneyland wasn't soulless and commercial) pointed us to a row of lunch carts nearby for a meal. One of them turned out to be a hidden gem -- Somtum Gai Yang. Somtum, as I knew, is green papaya salad -- my other favorite thai dish. Gai yang, Nat tells me, means grilled chicken. Didn't have a chance to explore what they had to offer in that department.

We ordered the khao soi, somtum, sticky rice, and an iced tea. Everything was perfect. The Somtum was perfectly balanced between sweet, sour, spicy, and salty, and the papaya was just the right crunch, but just soft enough to chew without chomping. Sticky rice was done right. And the main event, the khao soi, was remarkable. Creamy but not oily, spicy and flavorful, crunchy and sloppy. Plenty of pickled greens (I moonlight as a pickle fanatic). My wife Anya and I were fighting over the spoon.

Spice: Anya has a palate of steel so believe me when I say that this joint was not kidding around. She was high as a kite for a good half hour after lunch. And these guys know the secret to making food super spicy in that subtle way that enhances the flavors rather than blowing everything away.

Ambiance: this is a lunch cart. Still, it's adorable, built to look like a little red caravan wagon. There are a few tiny tables on the sidewalk that you can grab if you're lucky or very intimidating. We shared a table with an interesting character, a veteran of the organics-vs-large-agribusiness wars who was stranded in Portland for a few hours. He was no stranger to khao soi either -- in fact I heard him thank the chef in Thai as he left.

Not bad for a little lunch cart on the street. Rock on, Portland.

Somtum Gai Yang

Lunchcart row: SW 10th St. and SW Alder

Portland, OR 97205

Southwest Portland
(503) 522-9543