2731 N. Killingsworth St., Portland, Oregon 97217
Pleasant Surprise II from the same owners of Thai Ginger. Ok, let’s not jinx it just yet, but we are on a roll. Our staple dish, Barbecue Game Hen is served here. I won’t keep you in suspense, it is (for lack of a better word) awesome! We’ve had a lot of Game Hen in our day, but so far this one takes the cake (we don’t even eat cake)! We got it for Take Out one night because we HAD to try it once we heard they served it.
Das-a lotta meat, my frien!
What we ordered: Tom Kha Soup with choice of meat, Beef Salad.
How we ordered it: Eating paleo, we didn’t have to make any substitutions or eliminations. Tom Kha with chicken is served with mushrooms, ginger, green onions, tomato slices, cilantro, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves. Medium spiced Beef Salad had onions, tomatoes, lettuce and oil and spices. Oh, how I love Thai food!
What we got:
Doh! We forgot to take the pic before we started eating again! well, this bowl WAS full.
Cost: $8.50 for the Tom Kha Soup, $8 for the Beef Salad. $10 for the Barbecue Game Hen!
Quantity: Pretty good. Really good for soup and not bad for the salad. This just in: The stir-fry ordered by Scott during the MEAT-O-METER’s 3rd visit, 3 days in a row, was very generous.
Quality: Simple, really flavorful and tasty. Not sure where the meat comes from, but it’s darn good.
MEAT-O-METER SAYS!
Holy cow, it’s a semi-quasi smile!
2020 N. Portland Blvd., Portland, Oregon 97217
Pleasant Surprises. Those are my favorite. I love it when you least expect something to be good and it’s oh so pleasant!
For Thai food, we have two staples that we always get when we try someplace new. The Larb (pronounced “LOP”) and the Barbecue Game Hen. That way you can compare apples to apples and make a professional, scientific and informative decision on that restaurant, just like I do here :p (Unfortunately they did not have the hen at this restaurant…)
What we ordered: Since we were with many other Crossfitters we ordered family style. It’s the best way to eat! We ordered the Larb with choice of meat (pronounced “Lop”) and Tom Kha Soup (sorry no pic, but it was a big bowl!) with choice of meat and Pumpkin Curry with choice of meat.
How we ordered it: Thai food is pretty easy to order. Minus the rice, you’ve got a great Paleo-friendly meal. What’s great is coconut milk is the base of most of the soups and curries. Fatty, you say? Ah-ha! Paleo eaters with their non to low processed carbohydrate intake (sorry bread lovers, grains are processed) have to consume a lot of fat. There’s good fat and bad fat, but that is a whole other discussion topic.
Larb with pork, no processed grains here! Ground pork, shallots, green onions, lime juice and fish sauce. Side of cabbage or romaine lettuce, depending on where you eat. (Also, some Thai places serve Larb with crispy brown rice mixed in with the ground pork. Paleo eaters beware! Just ask for them to make it with no rice.)
Pumpkin Curry with chicken, also no processed grains. It has a coconut milk base, real pumpkin, onions, other assorted veggies.
What we got:
Hmmm, not bad….
Cost: $8 for Larb, $10 Pumpkin Curry. Compared to other Thai places, it’s pretty inexpensive.
Quality: Everything was very tasty and spiced well.
Quantity: Mediocre
Meat-O-Meter Says!
The taste of the food and relative cheap-ness of it all far exceeded the mediocre quantity of the food.
I think we have a winner here! Our staple dish, Barbecue Game Hen, was not on the menu. However, towards the end of our meal, we were able to witness two employees of Thai Ginger on their lunch break. They were eating this fabulously large portion of barbecue chicken. Of course we had to enquire about it. They said we could order this dish if we called 24 hours ahead of time to order. Hmmm, interesting, METER reading may be increasing… They also informed us that they were the owners of Tsunami Thai Cuisine, just down the road which did serve the Barbecue Game Hen; leading us to our next restaurant to review….coming soon!
1942 N Rosa Parks Way, Portland, Oregon 97217
This first restaurant is in our neighborhood of North Portland. SE corner of Denver Ave and Rosa Parks Way.
What we ordered: Carne Asada Burrito and Carnitas Burrito.
How we ordered it: ”Carne Asada Burrito, but no tortilla, no rice and no beans, please. Extra guacamole. Just the veggies and meat please”
“Carnitas Burrito, with no tortilla, rice or beans, please!’
We could have ordered the combination plate that included meat, pico de gallo, lettuce, rice and beans for $1 more, but stripped of the non-paleo foods, it would have been the same foods as how we ordered the burrito and more expensive.
What we got: As seen in the pic, we got a reasonable portion of meat with our veggies. It wasn’t impressive, it was good ol’ standard reliable tasty meat with the usual pico de gallo, lettuce and guac. If you are really hungry, you could eat two of these. But for $5.95, it was pretty darn good. We’ll be coming back here for the lazy, “I don’t want to cook” days, fer sure.
Cost: Inexpensive
Quantity of meat: Not bad, definitely less than a half pound.
Quality?: Mmmm, tasty.
Origination?: Unknown (TBA, when I call and find out)
Meat-o-Meter SAYS!!
