Dim Sum Airport

Hey, wouldn't that be a great idea? To have a dim sum place in the airport. Just grab a variety of bite-sized morsels for the plane that won't be serving you any food...unfortunately PDX doesn't have that either but I bet it would go over swimmingly. Instead, we took Steph to Wong's King for dim sum before dropping her at the airport. Apparently we were bringing her on a tour of all our faves (so far), I guess.

This was our first dim sum experience in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. I recommend, as with all dim sum places, getting there before 11am. When we arrived at 10:45am, we were seated right away. We didn't even pause at the doorway. The hostess asked us "How many?" as I was walking toward her. By the time we left, there were at least 30 people waiting to be seated and more flowing in from the over-crowded parking lot. But don't get there too early either or the selection will be much more limited.

So, Wong's King, it's a hot spot for dim sum in Portland. Unfortunately for WK, the dim sum in Los Angeles is outstanding. WK gets raves from the locals for its food. I agree that its lunch and dinner menus are outstanding but the dim sum left me wanting. It's unfortunate because I think they are the high bar in town.

Don't get me wrong, it was still good. I really liked the shu mai and the cheung fun stuffed with shrimp. And, look, we still had fun...y'know, I'm not really sure why they still let me take pix of them since I always get them with their mouths open.

What saddened me was the bland sauce in the cha siu bao and flat flavor of the har gow. Steamed pork bun and shrimp dumpling are two of the three pillars of dim sum cuisine (at least here in the States), pork dumpling (delicious shu mai mentioned above) being the third.

We'll definitely be coming back. It is Wong's King afterall. But not before checking out some of the other places in town.

Tea Time-r?

Getting to know the edible Portland is fun. I suppose I love getting to know all places through its food.

When I backpacked through Holland, Belgium, France, and Spain for a month, that's exactly what I did--I ate my way through Europe. Hmm, perhaps I'll dig up some food photos and reminisce with y'all.

Actually, I hit a lot of cultural spots, too. I remember getting to Madrid (the last stop) where I stayed with my friend, Benji (Oh, Benji, I miss you. You are a terrific travel companion and life-saving American-speaker!). He suggested going to the Royal Palace or the Prado Museum that first afternoon and I practically rolled my eyes at him and said something like, "I've seen sooo many palaces and museums." Can you imagine? I'm a little embarrassed by that but I was just so over-saturated by the centuries of history and culture. Anyway...

So here we were at Tea Zone and Camellia Lounge for, uh, tea. They take their steeping so seriously that they gave us each a timer! Once the timer was done, we removed the strainer basket full of leaves from the pot and pour. Look at that fancy one with the metal frame and cool orange sand (above). I'm so used to the cheesy, plastic ones that come with Boggle or Taboo.

I believe that Steph got an oolong (there were several) while Dan and I shared a green tea (also several).

It was new year's day and they were closing early. The staff was quite friendly to us even though we showed up 25 minutes before closing. I remember back in the retail days in high school when customers would come right before closing. I was never rude to them but boy did I wish they would get done quickly.

Tea Zone is in the Pearl District which is in the northwest part of the city. There's lots to do in that area so after you get your shopping done at Powell's Books or seeing a Portland Center Stage play, wander over to Tea Zone to relax with a hot tea, good service, and a cool timer. Their tea selection rivaled the beer selection at Lucky Baldwin's Pub in Pasadena, California.


Tea Zone and Camellia Lounge
510 NW 11th Ave
Portland, OR 97209
Tel: (503) 221-2130

Worth the Wait?

I've written about Saburo's sushi already. It is consistent in its quality and quantity as well as its wait time...although it does seem to feel longer each time. Maybe I'm beginning to show my age.

But as Steph can attest to, it is certainly delicious and filling. I had mistakenly thought that since Steph had lived in Japan for so many years, Portland sushi would not really appeal to her. I was forgetting that she now lives in Bloomington, Ind. where you can't get good, if any, anago or salt-water eel. Can you see the delight in her face?

Anago is different from the "unagi" which is fresh-water eel. Fresh-water eel is what is most commonly served in sushi restaurants (at least on the west coast) when one orders "eel."

I am with Steph on this one and also prefer anago because it has a saltier flavor than its fresh water cousin and usually comes with little or no sauce.

This is me being impatient with Dan as he gets acquainted with our new camera. Alas, my frustration was growing with the limited macro ability of my Elph-y. It has gone to a good new home (I think) with my talented young (7 y.o.) friend who also happened to be the artist of our wedding favor picture. But then, I remembered how long my attention span was at that age.

Ah, but back to the sake. Yes, I said sake.

It's quite a sexy bottle, dontcha think? I tend to be a lighter drinker nowadays so when guests will drink with Dan we'll usually get a bottle of something. This time it was a bottle of local SakeOne. Brewed and bottled in Forest Grove (just 30 mins west of Portland), SakeOne makes Momokawa, Moonstone, and G sakes. We partook of the G Joy. It is a cold sake that was smooth and paired well with our raw fish feast. Look for it in stores or buy it directly from them online.

Anyway, Steph said it was definitely worth the wait.

Gung Hay Faat Choy

Sometimes you get more than you expect. Like this for instance, a double yolk egg.

Here's wishing all of you a metaphoric double yolk egg or two during the Year of the Earth Ox.

Closing Out the Year...

with food, of course.

As many of my Los Angeles friends know, I love Chinese New Year's Eve.

I used to gather folks for a sit down dinner at my old apartment and feast on the foods of my childhood.

Unfortunately, last year I was very preoccupied with wedding stuff. This year, I haven't figured out where to go for all my lovely ingredients yet.

So Danno and I closed out the year with a "small" feast. The only thing I made this year was the stir-fried Chinese cabbage. I opted out of making the Oyster Delight that requires an intriguing amount of prep time, the soup with sea veggies, and the mysterious bulbous root vegetable who name in English I have never known but always sparks a debate at the table.

But we did have the steamed chicken with ginger/scallion sauce, roast duck, and roast pork--and Jasmine tea. It was nice.

So the house is clean..well, as clean as one can get it with three furry creatures who shed running around.

Good bye, Year of the Earth Rat. Hello, Year of the Earth Ox.

The Year of Drinking Chocolately

Oh, my dear readers, forgive my lack of posting. Maybe it will be my Chinese New Year's resolution to post more frequently. It will be the Year of the Ox (they're hard workers, right?) as of tomorrow...but let me catch you up on some of the food happenings of yesterdays.

On December 31st, my good friend and bridesmaid, Steph, came to town. Our entertainment was, of course, eating, drinking (hot bevies), and laughing. We didn't hit Voodoo Doughnuts where there are such concoctions as the NyQuil (yeah, y'know, as in "sniffling, sneezing, coughing...") doughnut and the Triple Chocolate Penetration (choco doughnut, choco glaze, with cocoa puffs). But we didn't miss it.

Check it out. There is actually a place that serves drinking chocolate...not to be confused with hot chocolate (or cocoa). Cacao has two location in SW Portland. We went to the one just south of Burnside on 13th Ave.

Cacao refers to both the cocoa tree and the seed from which cocoa, cocoa butter, and chocolate is made. So it seems aptly name. The difference between hot chocolate and drinking chocolate, is freakin' deliciousness...and richness. Hot chocolate is combined with higher percentage of regular milk while the drinking chocolate is with cream, and sometimes infused with spices. I will never go back now.

Steph and I shared the cinnamon infused drinking chocolate and the special spicy dark drinking chocolate. I love dark chocolate and that spicy kick at the end just sent me over the top. Let me tell you, you really don't need much. It's rich. Each serving was about 2 oz. and we were sufficiently satisfied.

Cacao also sells fine chocolates from around the world and from artisans in Portland, too. At the time, I was more interested in drinking it than eating it. I think I'm still a little spoiled from my trip to Europe where I tasted those delicious morsels straight from the charming chocolatiers in Belgium and Frances. Oh man.

But if you can't get yourself to France or Belgium, have a sat at the chocolate bar here in Portland. If you like such things, it will blow you away or send you to bliss town.

Cacao DrinkChocolate
414 SW 13th Ave.
or at the
Heathman Hotel
712 SW Salmon St.
Portland, OR