16 replies to this topic

[FoodLuvr]

There is a new Cambodian restaurant that is near Madison High school. This is from the same people that opened up Good Call, so I know it must be great food as Good Call always had such good food. It just opened up, so I haven't had a chance to check it out. I don't see a website anywhere, but see a few reviews on yelp.

http://www.yelp.com/...bistro-portland

This is what was on their facebook: We are the only Cambodian Restaurant in the Portland metropolitan Area. We specialize in Authentic Cambodian food from somlar maju kreung to catfish and vegetible. We also serve authentic Thai food such as Pad-Thai, Pad Kee Mao, and Latt-Na.

Mekong Bistro
8200 NE Siskiyou, Portland

[ExtraMSG]

Funny. I had just tweeted about this place. Was on a late-night run to Popeye's and noticed them working on the place. Snapped this to remember:



I noticed the other day that Good Call was closed. My one attempt to eat there was thwarted by some private rap concert. That tiny strip mall has gone through a lot of failed businesses.

I noticed that there are two yelp reviews already. They're both from first-time reviewers on a Sunday that would have been from their first day open -- if they were even open yet. The most suspicious part of those reviews?

My husband and I were out for a walk and wandered by the Mekong Bistro. I smelled something delicious in the air, so we decided to try it out for dinner.

I guess the park is there, but the only people I've ever seen out for a stroll in that neighborhood are kids from the high school or hookers.

[FoodLuvr]

Funny. I had just tweeted about this place. Was on a late-night run to Popeye's and noticed them working on the place. Snapped this to remember:



I noticed the other day that Good Call was closed. My one attempt to eat there was thwarted by some private rap concert. That tiny strip mall has gone through a lot of failed businesses.

I noticed that there are two yelp reviews already. They're both from first-time reviewers on a Sunday that would have been from their first day open -- if they were even open yet. The most suspicious part of those reviews?

My husband and I were out for a walk and wandered by the Mekong Bistro. I smelled something delicious in the air, so we decided to try it out for dinner.

I guess the park is there, but the only people I've ever seen out for a stroll in that neighborhood are kids from the high school or hookers.

That does sound kinda suspect... the only smells from 82nd are exhaust fumes and I would be scared to take a stroll along 82nd. hhaa

[FoodKid]

I'd be interested in giving it a try. If it's as good as Sok Sab Bai, I'll be a happy camper.

[jennifer]

From their Facebook Page:

8200 NE Siskiyou Street. PDX, OR 97220
Phone: 503-265-8972.
Open 7 days a week.
Hours: 11am-2am.

We have serve authentic cuisine from Hot Pot to Frog Legs. Spicy beef noodle soup and Steak with famous Khmer prahok sauce are also on the menu. Come on in.

Lots of photos (I think of their food) in their album section on their fb page too.
https://www.facebook...44384652&type=3

[ExtraMSG]

I wonder if they'll serve the whole menu til 2am. Maybe I'll give it a try late one of these nights and see.

[jmatt]

Funny. I had just tweeted about this place. Was on a late-night run to Popeye's and noticed them working on the place. Snapped this to remember:



I noticed the other day that Good Call was closed. My one attempt to eat there was thwarted by some private rap concert. That tiny strip mall has gone through a lot of failed businesses.

I noticed that there are two yelp reviews already. They're both from first-time reviewers on a Sunday that would have been from their first day open -- if they were even open yet. The most suspicious part of those reviews?

My husband and I were out for a walk and wandered by the Mekong Bistro. I smelled something delicious in the air, so we decided to try it out for dinner.

I guess the park is there, but the only people I've ever seen out for a stroll in that neighborhood are kids from the high school or hookers.

I live on Siskiyou just down the street from that park and go there 3-4 days a week with my kids, often run into neighbors there, and on decent days, the park is full of kids and families---and it's a great and diverse mix of different people---and they're usually much friendlier than, say, the hordes of spandexed soccer moms at a place like Grant park. Roseway is actually a pretty nice neighborhood.

Anyway, looking forward to trying the Mekong Grill out---certainly can't be worse than the last couple of places in that spot.

[redleaf]

Funny. I had just tweeted about this place. Was on a late-night run to Popeye's and noticed them working on the place. Snapped this to remember:



I noticed the other day that Good Call was closed. My one attempt to eat there was thwarted by some private rap concert. That tiny strip mall has gone through a lot of failed businesses.

I noticed that there are two yelp reviews already. They're both from first-time reviewers on a Sunday that would have been from their first day open -- if they were even open yet. The most suspicious part of those reviews?

My husband and I were out for a walk and wandered by the Mekong Bistro. I smelled something delicious in the air, so we decided to try it out for dinner.

I guess the park is there, but the only people I've ever seen out for a stroll in that neighborhood are kids from the high school or hookers.

I live on Siskiyou just down the street from that park and go there 3-4 days a week with my kids, often run into neighbors there, and on decent days, the park is full of kids and families---and it's a great and diverse mix of different people---and they're usually much friendlier than, say, the hordes of spandexed soccer moms at a place like Grant park. Roseway is actually a pretty nice neighborhood.

Anyway, looking forward to trying the Mekong Grill out---certainly can't be worse than the last couple of places in that spot.

Not to be confused with Mekong Vietnamese Grill in Sellwood.

[m5570]

I noticed that there are two yelp reviews already. They're both from first-time reviewers on a Sunday that would have been from their first day open -- if they were even open yet. The most suspicious part of those reviews?

My husband and I were out for a walk and wandered by the Mekong Bistro. I smelled something delicious in the air, so we decided to try it out for dinner.

I guess the park is there, but the only people I've ever seen out for a stroll in that neighborhood are kids from the high school or hookers.

Funny you say that, a new place just opened up on Swan Island called Tilt, and I checked their 2 reviews and found this:

I really think this restaurant is going to bring people ON to the island for lunch, not LEAVING it! The burgers are fabulous! I have had 2 burgers and a sandwich. The reuben Burger, that's right it's a sandwich on a slab of beef, is great! Fun atmosphere. Coffee, pie, good fries. Can't wait for opening day tomorrow! Going for lunch!!!!!!!

I laughed my ass off! What's funnier was the other review was written 4 days before, so obviously they're trying to drum up some business.

[Quo Vadis]

I guess the park is there, but the only people I've ever seen out for a stroll in that neighborhood are kids from the high school or hookers.

Why the hatin'? Hos gotta eat too. Damn.

[StMaximo]

That little strip mall at 82nd and Siskiyou is cursed - several places have come and gone. A couple of them gave the location a pretty bad rep with late night incidents. It's going to be hard to get the folks in the neighborhood to come back.

It would be nice to have another choice in the neighborhood though. I'm out of town on an extended trip so I won't get to try it until May or June.

[FoodKid]

I had lunch here today for my weekly outing with grandma. I shared several things with her and my brother. We had a fish soup that came in a fire pot that had a light broth with chunks of fruit and vegetables. Also had a beef and tripe soup with greens that had a rich herby broth. From the menu, I thought the beef soup would be similar to pho, but the broth was much different. I thought it was excellent. Also had a beef stir-fry with greens and long beans. Lots of interesting flavors in the sauce. Shrimp paste maybe? I wish I had the menu with me so I could write their actual descriptions. My knowledge of Cambodian cuisine is virtually nil, so I don't have more than one or two meals from a cart to which I can compare. That said, each of the items was quite enjoyable with large portions, and I'd be happy to return. Menu is sizable, with over 70 items. They are still waiting on their liquor license. I wish them all the best.

[doglover]

We had dinner there tonight. Ordered way more than we could eat since we wanted to sample a few different dishes based on staff recommendations... we have at least 2 meals waiting for us tomorrow.

Pictures posted on foodspotting. Mekong Bistro on Foodspotting

I really loved the Cambodian version of lemongrass chicken Cha Kreoung. My favorite of the meal. Everything was good the Cha Kreoung makes it worth the drive from Beaverton. We tried 2 different soups including Somlaw Maiu Kreoung which is really good. It's a sour soup that really surprised.

The owner says this is the only Cambodian restaurant in Oregon. The liquor license is a few weeks away. Hoping they stock Beer Lao Dark.

[ExtraMSG]

Finally made it in one afternoon for lunch with my wife.

I'm not going to type up the menu. It's huge. And unfortunately, someone dhtmasturbateld all over their website, and the menu there is rather useless.

We got: the beef jerky, the quail, green papaya salad, ah mok, and som law maju kreung.



The jerky came as, what I believe were, fried pieces of flank, relatively juicy inside and crisp outside, but chewy from being cut with the grain. I assume that's intentional here. I liked the flavor and the side of lime juice with black pepper, which went really nice with the beef.



The quail were delicious. They were cooked well, crisp, well-seasoned, not dry. But it was really about the complex, tart, funky sauce on the side. One of the better dipping sauces I've had in a while. Loved it.



The one dish I really didn't care for was the green papaya salad. I think the lime juice might have been more bitter than bright. The papaya wasn't very crisp and the balance of flavors was just off. They asked how spicy and I said to just do it however it should be, and admittedly, it was damn spicy, the way I've had it in Thailand.



The som law maju kreung, the sour soup with "watercress", was quite tasty. It didn't have the depth that some of the Thai restaurants have, but it was very nicely balanced and very addictive. This one came with pork rib, most of which was very tender.



My wife got the ah mok, basically a coconut milk and curry tamal that I've had in Thailand and Thai restaurants. I only had a couple bites, but I thought it was pretty good. It perhaps lacked some of the "fresh" flavor of some that I've had, but my wife enjoyed it quite a bit. I think the sauce on the side was the same as the quail.

Good meal overall. Our waitress was new and the bartender/manager kept coming over unnecessarily and being a bit overly "helpful", both with us and the server. Might be a good place to watch a game. I think my wife counted more than a dozen screens in the main dining room.

[egor]

Thirteen TVs, but not all on at once. At least the last time we were there.

We like the watercress soup and the catfish steamed in a banana leaf cup.

That fish taste that an earlier poster mentioned is probably prahok.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prahok

During the week they have a lunch buffet from 11-2? $10? Weekends a little costlier.

[Prone to Hyperbole]

Wow. Thanks for posting these notes and pics MSG! I'm more interested than ever now. For quail alone! And frog! It's kinda far out for me, but will go soon if not today. My kind of place

Possibly add prices if you recall? Just on items you tried

[deensiebat]

Went the other night with a friend, and we split the ahmok and the salmon salad. I really liked the ahmok, and loved the salmon salad — it's plea, Cambodia's take on ceviche. The salmon is butter-soft, and it's got a spicy chili paste, some fresh lemongrass, cilantro, lettuce and cucumbers. Perfect for a hot day. I'm trying to wrangle the recipe out of them right now...