Chopsticks Southeast Asian Gourmet
3616 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 231-9898
Our initial journey to Chopsticks occurred when it had just opened — what is that now — a couple of years ago? I think so. Anyway, we both had ice teas and curries and were pleasantly pleased. Since then, I’ve probably been here a handful of times, each visit happy with my food and the environment. (The Broccoli Beef isn’t my favorite, but the appetizer plate that night more than made up for it).
The atmosphere is comfortable and pleasing. Dark red walls, attentive service and a large menu featuring stir-frys, noodles, curries and noodle bowls from all over the Southeast Asia geographic area (hence the name).
The other night I called in for take-out because I couldn’t find anything in the house that I wanted to make — let alone eat — and for some reason I was craving red meat. It’s funny, I used to be a vegetarian (from about ages 17 to 25) and since then I eat chicken and turkey a few times a week, fish probably once a week, but every four months or so I just really crave beef. Strange but true.
So, here I was, 7:30 pm and I wanted some kind of good-Asian-beefy-thing in the worst way. Enter the Dried Garlic Green Beans w/ Beef. The menu explains: Green beans caramelized with roasted garlic chunks. Oh, okay. Twist my arm, Chopsticks. So, so good! Kind of crunchy yet soft green beans, with the garlicky pieces and the tasty beef slices. Yum! jwa got the Vermicelli Noodles with the Grilled Combination (chicken, pork, beef & shrimp). He says he liked his a lot too and that everything seemed “very fresh.” There was also enough food, so that each of us could have a big mound of it that night and still have generous containers of leftovers to bring to work the next day for lunches.
Oh, but now for the Hot & Sour Soup. I love this soup. I could write sonnets about this soup — okay, maybe not, but I could try…uh, but I won’t, I suppose I’ll just talk about how I could. Moving on. The soup’s bright red and slightly spicy, with pieces of tofu, long slivers of carrots throughout and fresh basil floating on top. A single order is enough for two small bowls, so that with the main dishes it was perfect.
We also got an order of Vegetarian Spring Rolls, which seemed a bit too greasy that night, but still tasted good. I know I’ve had the Appetizer Platter with a friend before and I remember liking everything that time — maybe it was just an off-night for the spring rolls? Although, I might be tempted to skip them next time and maybe try the barbecued pork.
Speaking of the trying things thing, I also want to try the Green Papaya Salad sometime — that sounds really tasty. Papaya, chicken, hearts of romaine, cucumbers, celery, carrots, basil leaves, bean sprouts, roasted peanuts, cilantro, fried shallots & shrimp crackers in our garlic-chili vinaigrette. Mmmmmm…garlic-chili vinaigrette… Uh, okay, where was I? Oh, that’s right — the other night with the take-out and all. Our bill for the spring rolls, soup and two meals came to about $21 — not too bad!
To Recap:
Atmosphere & Service are kind of not applicable this time, as this was take-out. But, the atmosphere is generally very nice and the service has always been good in the past when I have dined in.
Food: Most everything we had was very, very appealing to the palate. Excellent hot & sour soup. Fresh tasting dishes. Beware of excess grease on the spring rolls.
Overall: We will definitely eat in and take out here again. If you have a hankerin’ for Asian food and you’re in the SE area, this is probably where you want to go.
Three Spoons (Out of a possible four).
The prices at chopsticks are also pretty good. Not as good as they were a couple of months ago before they redid the menu, but still pretty good.
My favorite dish there: The Spicy Basil Fried Rice. It has every kind of meat.