Pok Pok Review: Pok Pok
So I have this friend, and we will call him Eric, because that is his name. Eric is a teacher, and as such he likes to instruct his peers (like me) on how to drink copious amounts of beer in front of high school students. Wait a minute, that is only after class, and only in front of adults. Today he suggested a book to me called, Writing Well. I am really excited because maybe that book will tell me to put the period within or after the parenthesis and how to write about a fourth grade level (hopefully). This past weekend I looked through all the PDX pictures and realized there was more! And who knew Pok Pok in Portland, Oregon would have a Thai restaurant that puts all New York Thai restaurants to shame.
We started with some green papaya salad ($9), and this was the one dish that just tasted no different than any other Thai restaurant. Spicy? Check. Refreshing? Check. After the papaya salad came a whole grilled game hen ($11). The game hen was stuffed with lemongrass, garlic, pepper and cilantro as it was roasted, and it came with two dipping sauces. One was like a sweet and sour, and the second was soy based. I thought perhaps it would be dry because it came to the table pre-cut, but it was moist and delicious. We ordered some sticky rice to accompany the awesome meat and life was good. Sitting outdoors, eating grilled meat, stuffing rice into your mouth. Mmmmm…
After the game hen, we got this noodle dish called Kuaytio Reua (Boat Noodles $10). It had a beef broth with some made from scratch meatballs, water spinach, and bean sprouts. Not sure exactly how they made the broth, but it was super delicious and had a very distinct Asian flavor profile. It was something that tasted very familiar (although not something that I recall tasting in New York), and it totally hit the spot. It was probably something more suited for someone with an Asian palliate than a Western one.
And then the home run. Ike’s Vietnamese Fish sauce Wings ($11) were probably the best wings I have had. They beat out even the best of the Korean fried chicken joints. The wings come sauced with a sticky, sweet concoction that seems to play tricks on your taste buds. See, I do not cook with fish sauce and do not know many people who do… how do you turn fish into a sauce? Anyway, when the sauce hits your tongue, it dances with your taste buds, kinda like a tango, but Asian tango. Sure, Asian Tango does not exist, but just pretend ok? And the chicken wings are still crunchy from being fried. OMG these things were beyond addictive. Crack has nothing on Ike’s chicken wings.
So after that amazing meal, the natural thing to do was to hike up a waterfall. Duh. What else do you do after you stuff your face? Luckily for us, Multnomah Falls was near and it was a good time. If you are ever visiting Portland, I highly recommend it. It is only 20 minutes outside of downtown and every single picture of the waterfall comes out picturesque. Go! Try it! Now I need to go to the library and get that book and learn how to write good…
Pok Pok3226 SE Division St.Portland, OR 97202503-232-1387
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