I recently went to visit some friends in Portland and tried to consume as much deliciousness as possible. Thought I’d share my food adventures with ya’ll. The layout of this post will be slightly different than my previous as I’ll just give a brief overview of each place instead of something in depth. Enjoy!
Breakfast stop at Blue Star Donuts: I’ve been here a couple of times and it’s definitely my choice of donuts > Voodoo! Sadly, the bacon maple was out 🙁 I’ll be back for it next time. This is the apple fritter! Delicious with huge chunks of apple. They have several locations scattered around Portland. Luckily we went on a Thursday morning and there was no line! Expect a wait if you go during a weekend.
Thirst quench at Tea Bar: Not your average bubble tea place. Definitely feeling the hipster vibe with a clean, modern space. There is a ton of natural light from large windows which gives it a perfect atmosphere for getting work done.We sat at the bar where we could watch the barista make drinks. Left –> Right: vanilla rose milk tea, ginger lemon tea toddy, and the honey matcha. My vanilla rose was quite more vanilla tasting than rose. 16 ounces for $5 seems a little pricey although if you sit in, you get to drink it in this really cute logo mason jar. The ginger lemon toddy is blasting with ginger flavor to ensure cure of any sore throat you may have. The matcha was quite interesting. The barista even had a bamboo whisk for mixing the match powder. It has a VERY strong flavor of matcha! You’ve been warned! Overall, a cute place to do some work in a quiet and aesthetically pleasing cafe.
Lunch at Mama Chow’s: Located in busy downtown Portland, this food cart is only open weekdays during lunch. Lucky for those who work nearby!
Simple menu
Lollipop wings (top left and bottom right): These were very juicy, tender, and crisp wings. I loved that these were very easy to eat and you get 5 of them in your bowl!
Chicken dumplings (top right and bottom left): These came with a spicy dipping sauce that went well with this protein. They do not skimp on the meat inside!
These were over a bed of bok choy and garlic noodles. This was probably my favorite thing I had that day. The portions are also HUGE. I couldn’t even finish. I was stuffed but I kept eating the garlic noodles… they are quite addicting. I loved that they had bok choy as their veggie as it added to the Asian flavors. Overall a very tasty dish and I can’t wait to come back for more.
Food coma prevention at Stumptown Coffee: I know we have this in Seattle, but I rarely visit the cafe. We just happened to be near Stumptown so we decided to stop by after some arcade games at Wunderland. I got the nitro cold brew. It’s so clean and smooth tasting! It looks like it could be milk inside.. cool illusion with the gas. Yum and it gives such a caffeine kick.
Dinner at Kim Jong Grillin: We ate at another food truck for dinner. They’ve got a permanent station on Division Street with a nice cover and lunch tables in case in rains. I got the bibimbap bowl with kalbi. I really wanted to like this place but the dressing/sauce over the salad was wayyy to spicy for me. The short ribs were also a little too salty. Despite that, I really like the japchae/rice mix that they used. The rice was even crispy! Our food took a while because of online/phone orders that were put it. They give a large portion of food that I failed to finish. I think if they refined these things, it would make the dish that much better! They were also generous with the kalbi serving.
Dessert at Salt and Straw: Ohhhh the infamous Salt and Straw! You know there is always a line if you go after dinner. You can’t skip that for sure. They’re known for their wacky and wild flavors and combinations that somehow work and end up tasting AMAZING. Seasonal as well as staple flavors. My friend got the olive oil in a vanilla base flavor that tasted like butter. I got the pear and bleu cheese (with chunks of both) also in a vanilla base that was so delicious! This combination worked well and my stomach was smiling. We got kid scoops which is why they look tiny in these huge waffle cones. It might look small but it was very filling!
