HAN OAK
511 N.E. 24th Ave.
971-255-0032
hanoakpdx.com
Dinner, Friday-Monday
$$
In Seoul, a hanok is a traditional home, many nestled today beneath towering skyscrapers, some converted into coffee or tea shops. In Portland, Han Oak is a modern Korean restaurant built inside the home of chef Peter Cho and illustrator Sun Young Park. Follow the sound of Led Zeppelin or Chance the Rapper bleeding out from the parking lot at The Ocean micro restaurant complex and open the wide swinging door to a grassy courtyard filled with fashionable families, kids in tow. They lounge on mismatched furniture, waiting for a table, the adults likely drinking "kimchiladas," a spin on the spicy Mexican beer cocktail made with "kimchi juice," daikon pickle brine and tequila topped with Korean lager. Fridays and Saturdays, Han Oak sells tickets for a fixed price menu ($45, with optional add-ons) built around seasonal pickled vegetables, chilled buckwheat noodles and a pair of nontraditional Korean-inspired meats, a slow-roasted pork belly and a smoked hanger steak, each with its own condiments and ssam-style lettuce and rice paper wraps. Sundays and Mondays, the restaurant throws a raucous dumpling and noodle party, five hours of controlled chaos starring the city's best dumplings, true Korean fried chicken and clever updates on classic noodle dishes, many influenced by Cho's experience as right-hand-man to New York chef April Bloomfield.
Don't miss: The pork and chive dumplings in black vinegar that re-create the flavor of xiao long bao in a sturdier form.
-- Michael Russell