Editor’s note: This week, we continue our countdown of Portland’s best new restaurants of 2023. At No. 5: Yaowarat, a new restaurant inspired Bangkok’s Chinatown that already seems to be delivering on its potential.
It’s probably not fair to say that Earl Ninsom, the Bangkok-born chef-owner behind the likes of Langbaan, Hat Yai and Eem, has been on a cold streak. But after relocating Langbaan to the west side, he has done a bit of house cleaning. Most notably, that meant closing Lazy Susan, a tacit acknowledgement that the “family charcoal diner” — unfortunately timed for spring 2020 in Montavilla’s former Country Cat space — had missed the mark.
Yaowarat, which filled the Stark Street vacuum in October, looks like one heck of a rebound, already boasting a nightly waiting list and lively crowds, even mid-week.
Named for the main thoroughfare through Bangkok’s Chinatown, the restaurant presents a collection of dishes and decor inspired by a trip Ninsom took this year with industry heavyweights Sam Smith (Tusk), Eric Nelson (Eem) and Kyle Linden Webster (Expatriate).
Smith might seem like an odd pick to run a Thai restaurant, but in the early going, the kitchen seems to be delivering on its potential. That could be down to the presence of two cooks with serious Thai cooking experience: Chinese-Thai food expert Kanokwan “Nok” Jinuntuya and longtime Hat Yai steward Taweesak “Tee” Teesompong.
Patrons fill the bar at Yaowarat, a restaurant inspired by Bangkok’s Chinatown, on Friday, December 8, 2023, in Portland’s Montavilla neighborhood.Vickie Connor/The Oregonian
Among their finds: fiery pickled cabbage meant to be used as a meal-spanning condimen, thick strands of “road squid” slicked with Thai chilies (just order it); albacore sashimi scattered with chilies and sesame seeds; dim sum-style chive cakes chopped into cubes for dipping into black vinegar; and juicy shrimp dumplings wrapped in tofu skin and deep fried until they resemble mouthwatering meteors burning through the atmosphere straight toward Flavortown.
You can build a meal around those, some sultry mapo or black pepper tofu and a dank noodle dish or two. My early favorite among the latter is the kuay teow kua gai, a more down-to-clown version of the pork fat-fried noodles I used to love at Sen Yai, only here with a gently steamed egg, and the sugar and spice added ahead of time, instead of from a caddy on the table. It’s a little grimy. It’s very good. And it’s easy to imagine a dish much like this being served on Yaowarat Road itself.
What to know: Now dressed up in Technicolor red, the old Country Cat bar is sure to put you in the mood for drinks. Go with a group, if only so you can order a beer tower filled with three liters (!) of frosty Singha.
What to eat: Chive cakes, dumplings, kuay teow kua gai, ma po tofu and toasted buns with pandan and Thai tea custards.
Yaowarat is open for dinner Wednesday-Sunday at 7937 S.E. Stark St., 971-420-8913, yaowaratpdx.com.
— Michael Russell; mrussell@oregonian.com