YāYā Portland bringing Chinese barbecue to NE Alberta

Chinese barbecue in Portland has generally been somewhat of an inside track – you had to know which place (and they were all different) for your crispy roast pork fix, your Cantonese roast duck, for good char siu. The locations for these Chinese BBQ treasures were out far from the Portland city core – often in strip malls in the East Portland (“New Chinatown” past SE 82nd) or Westside suburbs, from your Asian owned restaurant or grocery with non-descript storefronts to procure your goal protein. There is no central Chinatown that you would head towards like in New York, San Fran, Chicago, etc. where you explore a street of businesses looking for the tell tale hanging duck and pork on hooks in a window. Recently a joint venture from restaurateur Micah Camden (who has also brought Portland the famed Blue Star Donuts, Boxer Ramen, Super Deluxe, Little Chickpea, Bae’s Chicken, Rock Paper Fish, and formerly Little Big Burger) and lead by chef Steven Chin has opened. Chinese BBQ in Portland now has a very accessible, and very high quality, place that anyone and everyone can trust for some easy Chinese barbecue fix, with their venture YāYā Portland (Yā is duck in Mandarin).
YāYā Portland bringing accessible Chinese barbecue in Portland YāYā Portland bringing accessible Chinese barbecue in Portland - Char siu pork is thick cut bbq roasted pork

Steven Chin’s background in Chinese barbecue started with a childhood in New York and with his grandparent’s grocery with a bbq station in Chinatown (a photo of his grandfather and store is featured on the YāYā Portland wall). Chinese BBQ was further refined with mentorship with his friend and legend Martin Yan, famously known for the Yan Can Cook show that I remember watching all the time, one of the few representations of a face like mine on TV back then. He has combined tradition from those learnings also with American business practices such that many American bbq places use where they prep and bbq the meats up to a certain level then finish based on the incoming orders.
YāYā Portland bringing accessible Chinese barbecue in Portland - one of the partners is Steven Chin. Steven Chin's background in Chinese barbecue started with a childhood in New York and Cantonese barbecue with his grandparent's grocery with a bbq station in Chinatown YāYā Portland bringing accessible Chinese barbecue in Portland - one of the partners is Steven Chin. Steven Chin's background in Chinese barbecue started with a childhood in New York and Cantonese barbecue with his grandparent's grocery with a bbq station in Chinatown

The YāYā Portland storefront on NE Alberta Avenue is a takeout only operation, so no indoor seating or service, though there are some picnic tables outside under a shady tree and a patio covering overhead if you want to eat it immediately. You can order online for pickup from their website YāYā Portland, or via a few delivery apps. Chinese BBQ is not usually served hot, so this is perfect for grabbing to take home and can survive a delivery time window. Usually you buy Chinese barbecue meats by the pound but the orders from YāYā Portland already come on white rice, ready to eat.
YāYā Portland bringing accessible Chinese barbecue in Portland YāYā Portland bringing accessible Chinese barbecue in Portland YāYā Portland bringing accessible Chinese barbecue in Portland YāYā Portland bringing accessible Chinese barbecue in Portland YāYā Portland bringing accessible Chinese barbecue in Portland

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XLB Portland

Recently in the past few months, three new restaurants have opened in Portland featuring Chinese food. Here’s a quick primer on the three new options for Chinese Food in Portland. Here’s a look at what XLB offers. I have other posts that cover Danwei Canting from yesterday and tomorrow will be Duck House Restaurant.

Of the three new adds for Asian food recently to Portland, XLB has the coolest atmosphere.

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Danwei Canting

Recently in the past few months, three new restaurants have opened in Portland featuring Chinese food. Here’s a quick primer on the three new options for Chinese Food in Portland from Danwei Canting, XLB, and Duck House and what differentiates each one, I’ll do all three of these posts back-to-back. This first post is about Danwei Canting.
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