Some called us crazy, some saluted us and some asked us for the address because they want to do the same! What did we do? Along with our friend, Dahlia, who was visiting from New York, we drove ~3.5 hours and stayed overnight at a hotel, just to try a dish at a food cart in Portland the next morning!
[bq_right]We looked at each other and without saying a word, we knew what the other was thinking…. “This trip is worth it!”. Β No words needed.[/bq_right] Being true Malaysians, we are obsessed with good food. One of the foods we miss most is chicken rice. There are many different “versions” of chicken rice. The two we like are Hainanese Chicken Rice (Malaysia) and Khao Man Gai (Thailand).Craving for Khao Man Gai, we searched online for “Khao Man Gai Seattle” (we have not found a good chicken rice restaurant in Seattle so far!) and “Nong’s Khao Man Gai in Portland, Oregon” dominated the top 10 search results! Nong’s Khao Man Gai receivedΒ 4.5/5.0 stars on Yelp, was filmed by Food Network Canada as one of the Top Food Carts and isΒ featured on multiple sites. We were convinced. We made a plan to drive to Portland (~3.5 hours) after work on friday, stay a night and be at the food cart the next morning (they close on Sundays, so we had to be there on Saturday morning).
We were also intrigued when we saw Nong’s tweets…
Saturday morning, we were at the food cart just in time for brunch. Needless to say, Nong’s Khao Man Gai did not disappoint. It was delicious! We will not attempt to put into words how mouth-watering and full flavored the dish was.Β As Malcolm Gladwell says in his book titled Blink, “We have, as human beings, a storytelling problem. We’re too quick to come up with explanations for things we don’t really have an explanation for.” When we bit into the juicy chicken and the fragrant rice, we just went “mmmmmm….”. We looked at each other and without saying a word, we knew what the other was thinking…. “This trip is worth it!”. Β No words needed. We spoke to Nong and asked her to expand her business over to Seattle. She said she’ll think about it π
Here are pictures taken on my cellphone (excuse the quality)… Lost some memory cards containing precious photos (long story)…
Nong’s Khao Man Gai Food Cart
Sidewalk seating, just like in Asia, except in colder weather!
Delicious, mouth-watering, Khao Man Gai!
Photo courtesy of Dahlia Bock
Photo courtesy of Dahlia Bock
TRY IT YOURSELF
[two type=”joint” height=”230″]Address:
SW 10th & Alder St.
Portland, OR 97209
971-255-3480
Email: nongskhaomangai@gmail.com
Website: http://www.khaomangai.com/
[/two] [two_last type=”joint” height=”230″]Hours:
Mon – Fri: Β Β 10am until Sold Out
Sat: Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β 11am until Sold Out
Sun: Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Closed
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nongskhaomangai
What to order: Just say “Piset”! Get the whole shebang!
[/two_last][notification type=”star”]
REMEMBER:
- Nong’s Khao Man Gai is closed on Sundays.
- We followed their tweets for a few days and the average seems to be about 4 – 5 hours of selling time before they’re sold out. Be there in the morning just in case they sell out quicker!
- What to order? Just say “Piset“. More chicken, more rice, more sauce, more chicken liver (yes, liver. It’s actually pretty tasty with the sauce and rice combo!)
- Menu located here: http://www.khaomangai.com/menu.html
- No gimmicks, no fancy restaurant, no fancy price list. Just pure, delicious, home cooked chicken rice!
- We loved the pickled vegetable soup that came with the rice combo. Tasted like “home”. We asked for refills! Yes, you can ask for refills of the soup! Nong kindly obliged!
- Here’s a site that lists other carts in the area for you to try as well:Β http://www.foodcartsportland.com/
- Another recommended food cart list located here:Β http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-11721-cart_bites.html
- Enjoy!
Have you driven miles just for a dish? What was the dish and where? Let us know, so we can try it too!
38 Comments
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I love the idea of your blog! Simple and adventurous!
Good luck and keep us posted.
eva
eva hamori recently posted..Do Bears pooh in the Woods?
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Thanks Eva! We’re glad you like the blog π We’ll strive to keep it up – we’re delighted so many people are loving it!
Idelish (Jeremy & Shirlene) recently posted..{India} Overnight at 15,000ft @Pangong Tso
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Wah! Asam Laksa belongs to Penang Laksa category. So don’t worry, as long u come to Wah! Asam Laksa House, its likes Penang…….For ur info. Wah! Asam Laksa also awarded TOP 50 Best Laksa Outlets In Malaysia from Ministry of Tourism, Malaysia.
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Thanks for the information! We will have got to go try this place next time we are back in Malaysia!
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In #Portland? Like good #food? Then you def need to try this place! –> Khao Man Gai in Portland, OR http://t.co/zttUfsG via @idelishTravel
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Dang it! We were in Portland two weeks ago and totally would have tried this when we were there if we had known about it. Oh well… there’s always next time. π
Christy recently posted..The Sea Spirit House in Yachats, OR-
Bummer! Well make sure you give it a go next time you’re back in Portland then! Thanks for stopping by and the tweet!
Idelish (Jeremy & Shirlene) recently posted..{UAE} Dubai Desert Safari
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Now that is dedication, and the chicken rice looks delicious π
robin recently posted..Playa-
All this talk about Khao man gai is making us crave for it again! We might just make a trip there soon!!!
Idelish recently posted..{JAPAN} Mouth-watering Kobe Beef (η₯ζΈθ Kobe-niku)
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Portland’s got around 500 food carts. I won’t say all of them are worth a 3 hour drive down from Seattle, but a great many of them are. My wife and I moved from Seattle to Portland before we started our vagabond life. We both loved it hands down over Seattle.
Robert McKay recently posted..Setting Aside Old Attitudes-
Which are your favorite food carts? Do share so next time we make a “pilgrimage” to Portland for Khao Man Gai, we can try the others too π
Idelish recently posted..{USA} Khao Man Gai @ Portland, OR-
Best Food Carts In Portland: Nong’s Khao Man Gai, Sugar Cube, Lardo, Scoop, Brown Chicken Brown Cow (not sure if it’s still around), Wet Hot Beef, Lucy’s Original…..I could go on. There are tons of carts here. If you get up to Vancouver, BC you should try Fresh Local Wild, Japadog & the Roaming Dragon. I am planning a blog post soon about them. Delish!
RenegadePilgrim recently posted..Things I Learned At TBEX 2011-
Looking forward to reading more about the food carts in Portland!
Idelish (Jeremy & Shirlene) recently posted..{India} Paradise on Earth, Taj Mahal-
The Portland Mercury has a write up this week on the various pods of carts. You should be able to read it online! If you ever want a tour, let me know. I’d be happy to show you my favorites.
RenegadePilgrim recently posted..Things I Learned At TBEX 2011 -
@RenegadePilgrim – I can’t seem to “reply” to your last post here, so replying to a post before yours (bug??).
Thanks for the pointer to Portland Mercury! We’ll definitely check it out (maybe bookmark?) and we’ll give you a ping if we’re back in Portland one of these days!
Cheers!
Idelish (Jeremy & Shirlene) recently posted..{India} Paradise on Earth, Taj Mahal
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I would definitely travel that far for the meal and the experience! Sounds like it was worth it!
Jillian recently posted..Photo: Hyena at Night-
That’s the spirit! π
Idelish recently posted..{USA} Khao Man Gai @ Portland, OR
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{USA} Khao Man Gai @ Portland, OR http://t.co/23QooDX via @idelishTravel
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And I don’t like driving more than 10 minutes to a restaurant! Love the spontaneity though.
Debbie Beardsley recently posted..Mystery Picture Take 2!-
Haha I know what you mean – i too hate driving more than 10 minutes to a restaurant but I will do it if it was GOOOOOOD food π
Being Malaysians, it is in our genes to be obsessed with good food, even if it meant driving hours to eat!
Idelish recently posted..{China} Picturesque West Lake of Hang Zhou
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That’s a long way to go for food. Love the idea of something so specific drawing you to a new city, though π
Sophie recently posted..Bratislava Street Art-
In Japan, we stood in line for 2.5 hours just to eat good sushi! So this is comparable! π
Idelish recently posted..{USA} Khao Man Gai @ Portland, OR
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Now that is what I call dedication to finding good food. That chicken looks like it was worth it.
The Travel Chica recently posted..Learning to Cook in Buenos Aires-
It definitely was worth it!!! Do you have chicken rice where you live?
Idelish recently posted..{USA} Khao Man Gai @ Portland, OR
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I can’t say I’ve traveled that far for a good meal before- but I might change my mind if it’s been a few days without a taco! Looks like a good find!-
jade recently posted..Animals we met in Mexico-
Where’s your favorite taco place? The best one we’ve had was in Cabo! https://www.idelish.com/2010/09/12/mexico-4-day-trip-to-los-cabos/
Idelish recently posted..{JAPAN} Mouth-watering Kobe Beef (η₯ζΈθ Kobe-niku)
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We went to Malaysia for dinner! We went to Johor Bahru for a street food festival and we discovered Wah! Assam Laksa, which recently opened a restaurant. Now we’re obliged to go back!
The Dropout recently posted..Jurong Frog Farm β BYO Prince-
There are many different assam laksa in Malaysia! You need to try the Penang version too π
Idelish recently posted..{USA} Khao Man Gai @ Portland, OR
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{USA} Khao Man Gai @ Portland, OR http://goo.gl/fb/Zqz4x
