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    Esan Thai

    4.1 (69 reviews)
    ModerateThai, Bars, Noodles
    Closed • 12:00 pm - 11:00 PM
    Updated 1 month ago

    Order Esan Thai Takeout or Delivery

    Esan Thai Photos

    Business Info

    ESAN THAI ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Trendy
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Esan Thai

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    Thai 68. Basil Fried Rice
    Tannu S.

    Quick service, casual ambiance and great food. It's a cozy place with generous portions of delicious food. I never visited that side of the town unless it's for Bollywood theater or Kati Portland. However this is another gem of a place right across from the two and really worth trying. To top it off, no waiting like Kati. :) I will go back to try them and I hope you do too.

    Larb chicken and garlic and peppers pork.
    Noi M.

    I had a great Take-Out experience here. We had the larb chicken and garlic and pepper pork which is Thai street food. The staff were friendly and attentive. Ambiance is good. I'll definitely come back for dine in. Love Esan on Se Division st.

    70. Pineapple Fried Rice (vegan with tofu)
    Martina C.

    Well I'm not sure how we never ever tried Esan before but we finally made it!!! I even learned a cool fact that when Macklemore is in town, he gets Pad Thai right here at Esan! So we came with friends who recommended Esan, and who always have great food recommendations. We arrived at 7pm on a Friday evening, and it wasn't too busy when we got there but the service was slow. I ordered an Old Fashioned and my husband had a margarita. My drink took a long while to come but it was good. We ordered fried tofu to start and it was excellent. Definitely light in color and not greasy. I typically don't even eat it but it was so light it was great. I ordered the Pineapple Fried Rice because once I'd seen the photos I KNEW it had to be mine. They made it vegan with tofu added and it would have been 5 stars but it was pretty greasy. Still I ate it ALL up because the veggies were nice and fresh and the pineapple was sweet and juicy! My husband had a red curry and it was good. Too spicy for me because I'm a WIMP with any kind of Asian spices lol. But again delicious and fresh veggies. I liked the food and drinks but the service was lacking and I would definitely ask for less or no oil next time. Other than that yum!

    Charlene P.

    We really loved our meal and drinks. Pad Thai was fresh and flavorful and so was the Pad Se Ew. Sweet and quick service too. Cute atmosphere and the loveliest plates. Definitely recommend.

    70. Pineapple Fried Rice and 44. Massamun Curry
    Ph G.

    This place has yummy pineapple fried rice and curry. It's not too busy to eat here and they get lots to go orders from different apps. The meal is good for sharing with friends or you can get some leftovers for later.

    70. Pineapple Fried Rice
    Brenda H.

    Overall, this is a cute place and the food was pretty tasty. There are a lot of Thai restaurants in Portland, so this is a good option but not a must visit. The sever was quick and kept our interactions short and there were plenty of people ordering take out. We had the Pineapple Fried Rice and the Curry Noodle Special. The fried rice had decent flavor but somehow all the toppings were on one side of the plate? It was on the sweet side for me personally. The noodles were ok flavor, it was interesting to have the rice noodles served on the side. Usually they get sticky without being in a sauce which did happen during the meal. The curry for it was good but would prefer it over rice to help soak up all the flavor. I thought it had a nice kick to it but my partner who loves spicy food didn't agree.

    Pad woon sen

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    2 years ago

    Had chicken pad see ew medium spicy. It was so great. Service was great. All real plants nice atmosphere

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    4 years ago

    Our waitress was really sweet and we loved the food. Portions were good for the price and the drinks were stiff. We'll be back!

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    3 years ago

    Seriously the worst food. No flavor, over cooked rice, under cooked chicken. It's inedible.

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    2 years ago

    Food was wonderful! service excellent. Currently only Take out. Food was cooked superbly, appropriate heat for our requests.

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    Khao Moo Dang

    4.6(634 reviews)
    0.5 mi•Hawthorne, Sunnyside, Southeast Portland
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    Easily the best Thai BBQ I've had! Each part of the meal pairs perfectly well with each other and…read moreis packed with immense flavor. Khao Moo Dang Pi-Set (5/5): Upgrading to the Pi-Set is worth the extra $3, which comes with all the standard options plus extra eggs, juicy dumplings, tender yu choy, and a side of bone broth. The five-spice pork is super tender and tastes very similar to char siu. The pork belly had a great crunch and was perfectly salty, which contrasted well with the sweet Chinese sausage. The dumplings are really juicy and justify the upgrade on its own, in addition to complementing the side of bone broth. Everything ties together when coated in their signature Khao Moo Dang sauce, which rounds out the rich meats with the perfect amount of sweetness. Logistics Tip: Takeout packaging holds up well, keeping the crispy pork belly from getting soggy on the ride home while ensuring the broth stays piping hot. Upgrading to the Pi-Set version further improves an already generous meal into an expansive dish that can easily satisfy a huge appetite.

    Wow. I think this meal is one of the best meals I've ever eaten. I was visiting with some friends…read moreand we'd all seen the hype about this place online so we decided to give it a try. I don't eat pork so I opted for one of the vegetarian options and I was not disappointed. The #22 Tofu Curry Noodle was so flavorful and absolutely delicious. Service was also extremely fast even though it was busy! Highly recommend this dish for vegetarians or not!

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    Stretch The Noodle

    Stretch The Noodle

    4.3(534 reviews)
    2.3 mi•Downtown, Southwest Portland
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    Midtown Beer Garden delivers some delicious, authentic Chinese food and Stretch the Noodle is…read moredefinitely another food cart I'd highly recommend for their beef noodle soup. As their name denotes, their noodles are hand-pulled. While their menu is limited, this just means that they can focus their efforts on creating quality dishes. For only $14, the beef noodle soup is quite reasonably priced, and actually a full meal. I've had an experience with a food cart in the past where the portion size did not reflect the price point, but not here. The beef noodle soup here is on par at what you'd get at a sit-down restaurant. It's packed with tender beef, plenty of noodles, veggies, and a piping hot broth. Chili oil was unnecessary, as it already came with some on top. The broth itself was clear, yet still had the correct spices that beef noodle soup is known for. This food cart was pretty popular. Other patrons were ordering some of the dry noodle dishes such as the noodle salad or dan dan noodles. Everything from their kitchen looked so good, but as a soup kinda gal, I'm glad I ultimately went with the beef noodle soup. While I cannot speak for the flavor profiles of the other dishes Stretch the Noodle has to offer, from my experience enjoying the beef noodle soup, it's safe to say that I was very happy with my lunch and would love to return to this food cart the next time we visit PDX. Additionally, as I try to be eco-conscious, my food was served in a reusable container, which I saved after devouring my meal and washed instead of throwing it out.

    My husband mentioned wanting to try this place months ago and the hours of the cart have made it…read moredifficult to get to. I finally found a time to come by, and ordered a couple of dishes. I ordered the Biang Biang noodles for myself and requested mild spice. I love that you get to customize the spiciness because I was a little worried the chili oil noodles would be too spicy. The hand-stretched noodles have the best texture and the flavor was indescribable, honestly. One order was almost 3 meals for me (I don't eat big lunches) and the quality was unmatched. It's only been a week since I went to the cart and I've been craving it again ever since. I didn't even take a picture of my meal, I just dove in. The smell was just too tantalizing. My only complaint is that the hours make it difficult to get over there, but if I plan it right I can make it work and the food is well worth the effort.

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    Xin Ding Dumpling House - Pork Xiao Long Bao Soup Dumplings

    Xin Ding Dumpling House

    4.2(425 reviews)
    2.2 mi•Old Town - Chinatown, Southwest Portland
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    a/c broken, not going back. Hot and uncomfortable. Good was ok. Sweating like a pig. Miserable…read moreexperience

    I've had Xin Ding Dumpling House bookmarked for over a year, so I was excited to finally cross it…read moreoff my list while visiting family. Since we had our dog with us, we ordered everything to go and enjoyed it back at our hotel just down the street. Just a heads up if you're planning the same, there wasn't any outdoor dining available. Being from the SF Bay Area, one of the first things we looked for was Har Gow and Siu Mai, but they weren't labeled the way we're used to. After asking, we found out the Crystal Shrimp Dumplings are their Har Gow, and the Shrimp Siu Mai contains pork, which was exactly what we were looking for. We ordered two of each. We also ordered two Beef Chow Fun, Combination Fried Rice, Eggplant with Minced Pork, Sweet & Sour Spare Ribs, and three pear sodas. The dim sum absolutely hit the spot. The Har Gow and Siu Mai were well seasoned, nicely prepared, and exactly what we had been craving. The Beef Chow Fun was another winner. We were glad we ordered two because we found ourselves reaching for it more than the fried rice. The Eggplant with Minced Pork was also delicious. The eggplant was cooked perfectly -- tender without becoming mushy -- and the seasoning was right on point. I'm also glad we changed our order from the House Special Spare Ribs to the Sweet & Sour Spare Ribs. Unlike many versions, these weren't battered and fried, so the pork maintained a great texture while still being coated in a flavorful sweet and sour sauce. One unexpected favorite was the pear soda. It's made with Asian pear, so the flavor is much lighter and more refreshing than the sweeter pear sodas we're used to. The only hiccup? They're bottled with a traditional cap, and since we were staying in a hotel, we quickly realized we didn't have a bottle opener. Let's just say we got a little creative. One thing I really appreciated was that the staff noticed our large takeout order and packed it thoughtfully. They included six extra takeout containers, plenty of forks, chopsticks, and napkins, which ended up being incredibly helpful since we were eating in a hotel room with no paper plates or utensils. It's a small gesture, but one that definitely didn't go unnoticed. Overall, we were really happy with our meal. This place lived up to being on my bookmark list for over a year, and I'd happily come back the next time we're staying in downtown Portland.

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    The Bulgogi DuKuhBee Noodles - Du Kuh Bee Noodle

    The Bulgogi DuKuhBee Noodles

    4.3(490 reviews)
    2.3 mi•Hollywood, Northeast Portland
    •$$

    Hands down the best meal we had in Oregon. The food had SO much flavor. We ordered bulgogi japchae…read moreand the chicken du kuh bee hand pulled noodle. The portions were beyond generous, and each meal had nothing lacking. The meat in both dishes was tender and juicy, the noodles were cooked perfectly, soft but with a chew, and everything came out fast! The chicken noodle was more savory, and the japchae was a bit sweeter, but still standing with a savory component. We also ordered chicken dumplings and they were perfect. Crispy but nice on the inside, and whatever the sauce was that came with it is something I will continue to think about weekly. We were on vacation from the east coast and wish we found this place sooner in the trip. The restaurant is tiny and is all self serve, but the gentleman who brought out our dishes was very kind. I will say I don't know the area well, but there were pockets of the neighborhood that didn't feel the safest.

    Honestly, this was some of the worst Korean food I've ever had. The chicken wings were literally…read moreundercooked all the way to the bone, which is completely unacceptable. The noodle dish was equally disappointing, with almost no flavor at all. The only thing this restaurant had going for it was that the food came out quickly. Unfortunately, fast doesn't make up for poorly cooked and flavorless food. We definitely won't be coming back.

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