Last summer, we decided to maximize our holidays and went on a 5-day road trip from Vancouver to Portland with a few days in Seattle in between. Having heard the amazing food truck scene in Portland, I was doing tons of research before heading down. We figured out that there were hubs of food trucks and we decided to hit the two largest ones in the two days we were there. On the first day, we went to:
Although "The Dump Truck" is not the most appetizing name, it made me think of bodily functions and junk removal, we had heard a lot about this and decided to give it a shot anyways. We opted for the Super Sampler, which is a assortment of 8 dumplings for $7. The three kinds we got included their famous Bacon Cheeseburger. That's the darkest on on the right. We also got a more traditional Asian-style dumpling, the Mr. Ma's Special, a pork, green onion with ginger dumpling. These are really juicy and almost XLB-like. The last one was a vegetarian one, Down To Earth, made with portabello, cabbage and some rice noodles. The juiciness is again present here, and the hot sauces they have available give it that extra hint of punch. I would say that the Bacon Cheeseburger was a letdown, probably due to our high expectations. I was surprised that I didn't enjoy the bacon stuffed item, but it was a bit dry and bland. Off to Nong's Khao Man Gai
The trucks in PDX are not as mobile looking as the ones here in Vancouver, in fact, they seem like actual shops or store fronts, albeit very small ones. The packaging of this Chicken and Rice (Khao Man Gai) is amazing, and very environmentally friendly. The chicken is poached, and there is a blend of white and dark meat. The rice is cooked in chicken stock and tons of Thai herbs. The dipping sauce to the left has a soy sauce base, with a blend of ginger, garlic, chilies and some vinegar or lime for a pucker. To enhance the freshness of the whole thing, they garnish with cucumbers and cilantro. For $7, you cannot beat this deal!
Then, a taste of Maui with Island Grill Hawaiian Barbecue Ever since we had Spam Musubi in Maui, we have been searching for more. Who would have thunk we would find it in Portland!? The food truck is named Island Grill Hawaiian Barbecue but all we saw were Musubi. These Spam Musubis are made fresh to order so be prepared to wait. But oh my goodness, they are the best thing to happen to rice since a fried egg! The rice is slightly warm to the touch, it's soft and moist and very reminiscent of sushi. They top it with a slice of marinated Spam, and the sauce is sweet, similar to a teriyaki sauce, but not too much to avoid "over-wetting" it. We were going to get just one to try, but the owner looked like he was closing up, and to make it more worthwhile for him to make them, we ordered a trio of them. The Spam had a nice crust and the crispy seaweed covering made this dish exceptional. What more could you ask for, they're just $2 each!
Then, a taste Poland with EuroDish So moving away from the Asian dishes, we decided to visit Euro Dish, also known as the "Traditional Polish Food Cart". This was the only place where we got more than one item. I really wanted to try their cabbage roll, but the schnitzel looked amazing on the menu. This Golabki - Cabbage Roll is gigantic! Inside this baby are pork and beef, tons of rice as well as spices such as thyme and marjoram. Once rolled up, these are slow cooked in a tomato sauce until fork tender. This looks like it should be really juicy, but unfortunately, the cabbage roll was actually quite dry. The flavours were good, but the texture was a bit lacking. The second item we got from Euro Dish was the Schnitzel Sandwich. The pork cutlet was fried to order and the topping of slow cooked onions and peppers were amazing. Don't get me wrong, this is a messy sandwich and the ciabatta bun did it's best to hold all the filling, but be prepared to have juices running down your arm. The best part of the sandwich was the crunchy pork cutlet, which retained its crispiness despite the plethora of toppings. xxxxxx
Earlier this summer, we decided to take advantage of the BC Day Long Weekend and do a little road trip. We planned a few days in Seattle and a few day in Portland too. In addition to the many food trucks I had wanted to try in PDX, there was also a place called Pok Pok that folks everywhere said was a "must-eat".So here we are, at the entrance of the original Pok Pok at SE Division St. There is also a Pok Pok Noi on NE Prescott. Though we were there at 2 on a Sunday afternoon, there was still a wait for tables. The hostess was a bit confusing, because when we were asked if we preferred outside or inside, we chose "first available", but other people kept getting seated before us. It wasn't until we went back to ask her that she seemed to remember about us, despite taking our name down in the first place. Oh well, glitches happen.
Once we were seated, we ordered some cocktails to start. On the right is the Southside, which was a gin based drink with fresh mint syrup, lemon juice and soda We also tried their Drinking Vinegar with is a puree of various fruits mixed with soda water. One was boozy, one was $4. Both were good and refreshing on a hot summer day. Pok Pok has three Aahaan Phiseht (House Specialties) and we tried them all, and then some. This was the spiciest of all our dishes by far! This was the Papaya Pok Pok with Salted Black Crab. This was spicy and salty, with good flavours of roasted garlic and smashed lime leaves. The chilis and the beans were crunchy and fresh. You can also taste subtle hints of tamarind, fish sauce and dried shrimp paste. The cabbage at the end isn't dressed at all, but you need something bland to help ease the fiery dressing. The rest of the crab is tossed in with the salad, but they do place the body on top so you don't miss it or think it's absent. The second specialty we tried was the Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings (we chose Spicy for this too). These wings are served whole, just the way I like them. The wings are marinated in a mixture of fish sauce and palm sugar, and then off they go into a deep fryer. Once cooked, they are then mixed with more fish sauce and garlic. Because of the second tossing, these wings aren't crispy, they are tasty, but the skin has more of a chew than a crunch. Good flavours and the pickled vegetable served the same purpose as the cabbage from the salad, they're like fire extinguishers! Another Specialty of the house is the Kai Yaang - a charcoal game hen. It's been stuffed with lemongrass, garlic and cilantro. You can use either the sweet & sour sauce or the tamarind sauce that accompany the dish. I preferred to use neither, so that the skin stayed crispy. I could really taste the cilantro on the chicken, and liked the mix of dark and white meat too. As indicated on the menu, the chicken is best paired with some Sticky Rice. This was the cutest little leaf cup I have ever seen. I have never had rice served in a bag, but here it is...at least it's sanitary! The rice itself was rather bland, though as promised, it was sticky. I had wanted to try the Coconut Rice, but the waiter recommended this one instead. I guess the sweetness of the coconut rice would have competed with the chicken. To balance out all the heat, we decided to go with a one non-spicy dish, and that was the Phat Si Ew (Fried rice noodles with Carlton Farms pork. These aren't your traditional rice noodles, these are freshly made and quite haphazard in size, giving it a rustic, streetside feel. Loaded with gai lan (Chinese Broccoli) and some egg, this was a simple but tasty dish. You could really taste the "wok-heat" on this.So, after trying all three of their House Specialties and one of their other dishes, I have to say that Pok Pok does live up to its reputation. In the same way Vancouver ha Phnom Penh, Pok Pok serves up a variety of Asian dishes in a truly authentic way.
We opted for the Super Sampler, which is a assortment of 8 dumplings for $7. The three kinds we got included their famous Bacon Cheeseburger. That's the darkest on on the right. We also got a more traditional Asian-style dumpling, the Mr. Ma's Special, a pork, green onion with ginger dumpling. These are really juicy and almost XLB-like. The last one was a vegetarian one, Down To Earth, made with portabello, cabbage and some rice noodles. The juiciness is again present here, and the hot sauces they have available give it that extra hint of punch. I would say that the Bacon Cheeseburger was a letdown, probably due to our high expectations. I was surprised that I didn't enjoy the bacon stuffed item, but it was a bit dry and bland. 
The packaging of this Chicken and Rice (Khao Man Gai) is amazing, and very environmentally friendly. 
The chicken is poached, and there is a blend of white and dark meat. The rice is cooked in chicken stock and tons of Thai herbs. The dipping sauce to the left has a soy sauce base, with a blend of ginger, garlic, chilies and some vinegar or lime for a pucker. To enhance the freshness of the whole thing, they garnish with cucumbers and cilantro. For $7, you cannot beat this deal! 
These Spam Musubis are made fresh to order so be prepared to wait. But oh my goodness, they are the best thing to happen to rice since a fried egg! The rice is slightly warm to the touch, it's soft and moist and very reminiscent of sushi. They top it with a slice of marinated Spam, and the sauce is sweet, similar to a teriyaki sauce, but not too much to avoid "over-wetting" it. 
We were going to get just one to try, but the owner looked like he was closing up, and to make it more worthwhile for him to make them, we ordered a trio of them. The Spam had a nice crust and the crispy seaweed covering made this dish exceptional. What more could you ask for, they're just $2 each! 
This Golabki - Cabbage Roll is gigantic! Inside this baby are pork and beef, tons of rice as well as spices such as thyme and marjoram. Once rolled up, these are slow cooked in a tomato sauce until fork tender. This looks like it should be really juicy, but unfortunately, the cabbage roll was actually quite dry. The flavours were good, but the texture was a bit lacking. 
