July 30, 2012

Pok Pok Shock

Portland has a plethora of unique and delicious places to eat. The last few times I've been down in Portland I've been dying to try food from a restaurant called Pok Pok. I heard that it is the most delectable and underrated restaurant that serves the most incredible and authentic Southeast Asian food.

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Open until midnight every night, B and I popped in for a late night bite. We sat at the bar and, surprisingly, weren't the only hungry customers at 10:30pm on Sunday night!

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Pok Pok & their handful of locations have been nationally spotlighted as having the best wings in the country along with an impeccable and original menu.

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Their dishes are unique and true to their origin, Thailand. They don't serve pad thai or pad see ew or any of those generic Thai dishes -- these are so brilliant I can't even begin to describe them!

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Their water is infused with Pandanus leaves that are straight from Northern Thailand. I was a little unsure about this at first because it makes the water taste lightly of rice... but it was actually quite compatible with the food!

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We ordered off the late night menu and sipped on a raspberry Sum drink. Sum is a brand of drinking vinegar that is apparently quite popular in Southeast Asia. It can be used in both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and has a pretty powerful flavor.

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When our food came, I was in awe...
We had the infamous fish sauce wings

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and the Muu Paa Kahm Waan, which is boar collar served with chilled mustard greens and a spicy chili/lime/garlic sauce and sticky rice.

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Needless to say, it surpassed our expectations. It was by far the BEST asian food I have ever had in my life. I will definitely be going back the next time I'm in Portland.

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This particular Pok Pok is the tiny Pok Pok Noi on Prescott in northeast Portland.
The main Pok Pok is on Division Street in southeast & the Whiskey Soda Lounge is literally down the street.

The restaurants on Division are constantly busy -- I tried going there a few weeks ago and it was a 2 hour wait for 2 people! Yeah, so, make a reservation or hit the late night Noi for a good after hours bite!

Have you been here before? What did you think?

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