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While Thai and an eclectic mishmash of restaurants that want to be gastronomically correct must be denuding the lemon grass fields of Asia, Typhoon is totally different. It's the kind of place in takeoff mode, and it's certain that years from now people will yearn for the good old days at Typhoon when the portions were twice as large and prices twice as low.
Located in a mini-mall in the Yuppie neighborhood of Northwest Portland, Typhoon could be a local restaurant in Thailand. Parking is dubious, but the search for a spot takes you past some of Portland's most interesting shops.
This isn't the spot for a power lunch, but it's a wonderful choice if you want to eat "real Thai." As the owner noted, "we put our money into the food." Real Thai basil, "proper Thai peppers" and other ingredients raise the Thai food here to a level we've enjoyed only in spots like London's Blue Elephant, which many consider serves the best Thai food in the world. Typhoon's isn't a tourist menu. Although some dishes share common names, the dishes we tried -- and we tried eight last visit -- share uncommon touches and fabulous flavors. Chef Bo Lohasowot Kline's background in Thai food started at home with family cooks. She's a graduate of Chulalongkom University, Thailand's Harvard, and helped establish the restaurant operations at Amapuri, Asia's premier series of five star resorts. Chef Bo's (Bon Appetit states Chef Bo as one of the “hottest Chefs in America”) extensive professional extensive professional experience as a chef restaurant consultant allows her to combine traditional Thai "gourmet" dishes like Hor Mok, with some amazingly simple finds like Miang Kum. This last "nibble" combines pinches of toasted coconut, shallot, ginger, lime, peanut, tiny shrimp and, after the first trial, a tiny, tiny bit of Thai chili. Everything gets wrapped in a young spinach leaf that's popped into your mouth to explode into flavors. At the upscale end of the economic spectrum, Hor Mok serves up a covered dish with a village of clay tops covering shrimp cooked in coconut curry sauce. A solid variation of Tom Kah Gai. Thailand's famous chicken coconut soup flavored with lemon grass, lime juice and chili leads to and an extensive selection of their rather off-putting "Oodles of Noodles" heading . Given this, and the very large bowls of rice that accompany entrees, the Chinese custom of ordering one dish for each diner and of for the table deserves consideration. Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article PORTLAND'S THAI RESTAURANT in Luxury Travel is owned by Annette R. Bignami. Permission to republish PORTLAND'S THAI RESTAURANT in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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