Manao Thai Review

While making a run at Portland U Brew in order to get some supplies for brewing a summer beer, I figured that while I had a car rented for the day and we were already on SE Milwaukie, how about having lunch in the area as well? My sisters just went to Thailand for a short stay and a visit to the rest of my family on both sides (my immediate family is in the US, but extended fam is all in Thailand, divided among Bangkok in central Thailand, Chiang Mai with their Northern cuisine, and my dad’s hometown of Nakhon Ratchasima also known as Korat in the Northeast). Thinking of them, I also have had lots of Thai food on my mind as I think about the deliciousness they are enjoying, as it’s been so long (since 2008) since my last experience in Thailand.

I haven’t actually eaten a lot of Thai food here in PDX because F often eats Thai already from the food carts during his workday, so having Thai for dinner or on the weekends isn’t the first thing we think of, and I should correct that. So far, of the Thai I’ve had, my experiences at Pok Pok, my visit to the food cart Nong’s Khao Man Gai for the Khao Man Gai specialty (and only) dish she offers, and E-San Thai where I loved their Nam Khao are standouts (and as I’ve written about before- click the links to read those entries). But I have quite the Thai To Do List- the wishlist includes PaaDee, Red Onion, Chiang Mai, Mee-Sen, Cha Ba Thai, and Manao, the latter of which is just down the street from P.U.B. Let’s see if I can work this list this summer.

Manao Thai was started by Ekkachai “Chef Chew” Sakkayasukkalawon, an alum from Andy Ricker’s empire including Pok Pok and Ping about a year and a half ago. Manao means lime by the way in Thai. Chef Chew has some staple Thai offerings, but also quite a few more unique Thai dishes that you won’t find as commonly on most Thai menus. Inside, you can tell this is a small family owned business who has kept the décor very minimal and functional.
Manao PDX Thai restaurant Portland Chef Chew

We started with Manao’s Tao Huu Tod appetizer, a dish of fried tofu caramelized with sweet and sour sauce. A special on the board also listed Sai Ua, which is a Northern Thai sausage dish.
Tao Huu Tod appetizer, a dish of fried tofu caramelized with sweet and sour sauce Manao PDX Thai restaurant Portland Chef Chew Sai Ua Northern Thai sausage Manao PDX Thai restaurant Portland Chef Chew

For mains, the vegetarian got the very passable Mussamun Curry with potato, carrot, onion and peanuts (here shown with tofu), I enjoyed both my dishes of the decent Kao Pad Kun Chiang, a dish of fried rice with egg, Chinese sausage, onion, tomato and Chinese broccoli, and then a more unique offering of Thai Chicken Wings, deep‐fried marinated chicken wings caramelized with sweet fish sauce. Are they as good as the Ike Vietnamese Chicken Wings at Pok Pok? Well, they are not as spicy, but still enjoyable and without the wait you would have otherwise had. This seems like a more casual, homey version that is more Thai than Vietnamese, and as noted is more sweet than spicy and good crispyness.

Mussamun Curry with potato, carrot, onion and peanuts Manao PDX Thai restaurant Portland Chef Chew Kao Pad Kun Chiang, a dish of fried rice with egg, Chinese sausage, onion, tomato and Chinese broccoli Manao PDX Thai restaurant Portland Chef Chew Chicken Wings, deep‐fried marinated chicken wings caramelized with sweet fish sauce Manao PDX Thai restaurant Portland Chef Chew

I was also excited to see a Thai dessert you don’t always see on menus here: Sweet Roti, an Indian‐style flat bread top with sweetened condensed milk and chocolate syrup. This is a very sweet dessert. But, I thought this was much better than what our usual stop would have been after P.U.B.- Dairy Queen!
Sweet Roti, an Indian‐style flat bread top with sweetened condensed milk and chocolate syrup Manao PDX Thai restaurant Portland Chef Chew

I will probably be back again when we make another run to P.U.B., as there are other special Thai dishes that caught my eye, such as Kaa Muu Tod, a stewed pork leg dish stew with mustard greens; Kaeng hung lay, a funky Northern Thai pork shoulder curry; the labor intensive spicy Som Tum or papaya salad (get it with sticky rice) of which the mashing of the chilis gave Pok Pok its name; and Pad Wuun Sen Kai Kem dish with stir-fried salted duck egg with glass noodles and ground pork. There is a lot right in front of the restaurant for convenient parking. If you visit, please, take the opportunity to try out some dishes that are not the standard fare you will normally see. Make sure to check out the specials board too for more authentic flavors.

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Recent Eats: Pok Pok lunch, a cheese + beer at Bailey’s Taproom Cellarfest 2

I recently went with friends to lunch at Pok Pok. Whatever meal you visit here for, I always recommend getting an order of the Vietnamese Fish Sauce wings, ask for it spicy. The half a dozen natural chicken wings include the leg along with it as you can see for a good amount of meat, and after beeing marinated in fish sauce and palm sugar are fried and further tossed in caramelized Phu Quoc fish sauce and garlic. It comes with Vietnamese table salad on the side, but I recommend two orders of sticky rice to go with.

Pok Pok, Ike's Wings,  Vietnamese Fish Sauce wings, Andy Ricker, Thai restaurant

The recipe comes from daytime cook Ike, and was named one of the top ten restaurant dishes in America 2007 by Food & Wine magazine. It is as a sticky mess to eat as it appears in the photo (they do give you little wipes)- and also just as full of intense flavor as you might imagine from the photo.
Pok Pok, Ike's Wings, Vietnamese Fish Sauce wings, Andy Ricker, Thai restaurant

Since they don’t have Kaeng hung leh (a pork belly and pork shoulder curry that I adore from my mom’s Chiang Mai/Northern Thai area) at lunch, and I was a bit too chilled for their namesake som dtum (they call it the “papaya pok pok”) I opted for the one dish meal of khao muu daeng/muu krob. This is a pork dish done two ways- the top slices you see are the muu daeng, which is their housemade chinese bbq red pork, and the bottom is a crispy pork belly. The whole dish is then doused with a sesame sauce and on the left is a steamed gailan.

Pok Pok, Andy Ricker, Portland, Thai restaurant, khao muu daeng and muu krob

The gailan was a nice break from the sesame sauce which I thought they put too much on the dish. Their housemade version of chinese bbq red pork could not stand up to any bbq pork you can get from any random Chinese place- and although the Thai interpretation is a little more thin and bland the taste is made up for using a red sweet and salty sauce which didn’t have a presence here.  The crispy pork belly was ok but not quite what I was expecting- there was only a little bit of crispness to it, although I do recognize they gave better pork meat along with it.

I think I’m a harsher judge because what Pok Pok excels in is making street- style Thai food, no holding back the flavors that you would get if you were really there in Thailand- but I’ve had street food in Thailand. Most Thai restaurants have compromised on the homeland taste in order to survive normal consumer demands when Thai food started becoming acceptable take-out and because taste buds here are just different, understandably, then the home country. Also, ingredients that compose the dish are hard to find or just don’t taste the same as if fresh from the Thai markets there. Many times, the kitchen in Thai restaurants are also turning out home cooking, and don’t have the recipe or even intend to compete with the flavor profiles coming from food cart style expertise. Just like here in Portland, in Thailand, certain stalls are famous and followed to inconvenient locations because of their signature take on a dish. Pok Pok has been rewarded for holding true to Thai strong flavors even on American soil- but it also means that if you’ve had the real thing in Thailand and remember it well, as I have- sometimes Pok Pok can’t win the inevitable comparison. IMHO, their khao muu daeng/muu krob wasn’t bad, but just can’t compare to the real thing on the other side of the world- if you’ve had that experience. Otherwise, you might find this wonderful- and you wouldn’t be wrong either.

Whatever you do- don’t forget to get the chicken wings. And, order items off the menu that you haven’t seen before in other Thai restaurants- there’s more to Thai food than the 20 kinds of standard Thai dishes that you see on most Thai restaurant menus; here especially try the Northern and Eastern Thailand regional speciality dishes. Also, try to overlook the prices- sorry they are in dollars not baht (if you don’t know the costof these dishes in Thailand in Thai currency, you may not even think about the prices given the intensity of flavor it buys)… remember it’s saving you airfare! Besides, I have to admire the guts of a chef who is willing to dish out pretty much the real thing to the general public, not just in secret “in the know” to Thais only via secret menus or hole in the wall word by mouth only locations. To get the recipes they do use, he has to have the charisma to learn cooking in Thailand, so extra heart points.

Pok Pok, Andy Ricker, Portland, Thai restaurant, khao muu daeng and muu krob

Our regular beer bar, Bailey’s Taproom, was having their second Cellarfest. Our friends brought their liquid crack brie, while I brought the cheese board and utensils as well as (counter clockwise from the brie) a Beecher’s No Woman, a sharp cheddar, and Port Salut.

We also had two kinds of local bread: Franz’s Palouse Plateau all natural steel cut oat, and Great Harvest‘s 9 Grain (loaves baked fresh daily all day!). The usual bread, Portland French Bakery‘s asiago bread, was missed since it wasn’t at the Fred Meyer’s during the grocery run, but Great Harvest was a fine tasty (in a different way- sweet rather than the chunks of cheese) and much healthier substitute. I’m thrilled to be able to be a supporter of so many local bakeries- and that there are so many to choose from (I am also a fan of Dave’s Killer Bread and Gabriel’s Bakery).

Our plate went great with all the beers we tried at the Cellarfest- and we tried all 18 of them that were available- and our seconds (and thirds) of tastings of the Block 15 2009’s Pappy Dark, though the sweet when emerging from the cellar Dogfish Head 2009 120 Minute IPA was a strong 2nd place favorite of ours. Last year this event is what convinced me that I wanted to start cellaring beers along with wines. Thank you Baileys.

bailey's taproom festival event, bring your own cheese plate

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