Portland, Oregon Food Crawl

Abu Omar Gyros and Shawarma

Chicken Gyro: The chicken is salty and pairs well with the crisp of lettuce, pickles, and onions. The sauce clings well to the veggies, providing a sour balance to the saltiness of the chicken, and the pita bread holds everything together. Pita bread would have been better if it were a bit more toasted. Overall, solid place

Rating: 4 out of 5

Hat Yai

Quarter fried chicken with roti, sticky rice, curry dipping sauce, and pickled veggies:

The fried chicken is fresh, moist on the inside, and crunchy on the outside.  The batter is very thin and crispy. The quarter chicken includes drumstick, drumette and wing, and another part of the chicken which I’m not sure what it’s called. What I love is the fried onion which adds to the authenticity of many Southeast Asian dishes. The curry dipping sauce also has fried onions in it and goes well with the roti. Roti could have been thinner and flakier but this is a fusion, so can’t expect 100% authentic.

The sticky rice is standard and goes great with the fried chicken in the curry dipping sauce. The sweet chili dipping sauce which is typically paired with fried chicken is delicious as well. Pickled veggies are a great touch. Great fusion place!

Rating: 5 out of 5

Ladda Thai

Papaya Salad: Crunch papaya with plenty of dried shrimps and peanuts. Love that they have dried shrimps because it’s more authentic. Sliced cherry tomatoes and string beans makes this very refreshing.  I can do without the big chunk of cabbage for decoration and filler food. Taste is mostly salty and some sour, which is typical of most Thai dishes. The downside is the salad seems to be premade – the veggies seem more marinated and the peanuts were a little soggy. It lacks the initial freshness and crisp of salad when you mix the dressing of salad right before eating.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Chicken and Guns

Chicken salad: The chicken had a mild smoke flavor, and it is super moist and tender. Love the texture of the chicken, though it could use more smoke flavor. For the amount of firewood displayed in front of the food cart, I expect more smoke flavor from the chicken. Salad seems premade and lacks the initial crisp and refreshing feel when dressing is mixed right before eating.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Kulfi
Falooda: A Southeast Indian/Pakistan dessert with ice cream, jelly toppings, noodles, nuts, and other various toppings. First time trying falooda and reminds me of Halo Halo (Filipino dessert with ice cream and a mixture of ingredients such as red bean, jelly, cereal, etc).

Rating: 4 out of 5

Chocolate dipped chocolate ice cream:  A must try if you are a chocolate lover. The chocolate ice cream itself tastes like good quality dark chocolate and the chocolate dip hardens over the ice cream, providing a crunchy exterior over the creaminess of the ice cream. The chocolate dip is dark chocolate as well

Rating: 5 out of 5