Any recommendations for Thai food on the eastside of Portland? In particular, we often take out green curry, which we augment with our own grilled veggies. For that, Paadee does the job, although I think they’ve gone downhill over the past several years. There are zillions of (mostly) little Thai places scattered around the eastside, but none of them have impressed much. Suggestions?
I live in Thailand half the year and I have to say that while Thai inspired dishes using PNW ingredients (e.g. Langbaan) can be good, the classic places are pretty ordinary American Thai with a few dishes here and there breaking up the classic Americanized dishes. Certainly no good green curries from my perspective. If you are in SE you might try Rukdiew cafe on Belmont. Their khao soi pretty good and they might be able to pull off a better than average curry.
1 Like
Thanks, TJ. That’s what I was afraid of. I’ll give Rukdiew a try though. On occasion I’ve made my own green curries (not from paste), and it’s true that the difference is sort of shocking. I spent just a few days in Thailand a number of years ago and was blown away by just about everything. Wish it were like that here.
1 Like
That’s too bad padee is sliding a bit. During the pandemic I wasn’t in Bangkok as much and ate more Thai food here. I thought that some of the dishes at Hat Yai were more comparable to southern Thai food in Bangkok, things like Kua Kling and Moo Hong. Perhaps we’ll give it a try again before heading back on the fall.
I appreciate this comment about Hat Yai. There was a lot of buzz about it a while back, and I gave it a try, but the talk was all about their fried chicken, and I wasn’t impressed. From what you say, the good stuff is down menu, so I’ll try again.
Im here now. Got Phuket ressies tonight. We really liked Eem last year. Good fried children, even better smoked pork Krapao, white curry with brisket and fried rice.
Try Yaowarat if you enjoy Eem and Phuket Cafe.
1 Like
Yeah, Eem is really good, especially the white curry. It’s a bit of a haul from where I live, but we make it periodically. Too bad they don’t offer the cauliflower for takeout. Also too bad they took out the outside seating, but apparently they want a place to park customers while they wait for their tables to clear. BTW, I like the typo “good fried children”!
1 Like
The scary part is that I read it twice before posting
3 Likes
Phuket was alright. Good fish salad, Panang Curry with beef best of show. The Paella had way too much Socarrat and flavors didn’t really pop. From the sides and smaller dishes nothing stood out. Sticky rice mango Sundae wasn’t better than the traditional warm sticky rice with coconut. I prefer Eem
We gave Hat Yai a try, their brisket green curry. The curry is pretty good. Brisket is not so much my thing, but they do a decent job with it. We mix in grilled zucchini and eggplant from our garden; the grill flavor marries nicely with the curry. Overall I’m satisfied. Rukdiew doesn’t do green curry, but we’ll try something else soon. Thanks for your suggestions.
