Disclosure: This meal was complimentary, but my opinions are my own.
Thang Long Cuisine opened in April this year in the former location of Thai Fresh. The menu was recently updated, so I stopped in to sample a few dishes. My dining companion was Jacob Loeb, publisher of the Montavilla News.
background
As explained in a previous post on this site, “Thang Long Cuisine opened in late April in the former Thai Fresh location at 8409 SE Division Street, replacing the HÂP Fresh that briefly occupied the location.” Minh Pham and his mother, Thuy Nguyen, run the place and are happy to serve up dishes from northern Vietnam. We were lucky enough to have Thuy cooking for us that afternoon.
Ming greeted us in the dining room and invited us to sit anywhere in the restaurant, as we were the only customers there at the time. The dining room is simple but spacious, with a nearly minimalist décor, featuring multiple layers of steamers on the walls, several large windows at the front, and an overall red, black, and white color scheme.
Bamboo steamer (Meg Cotner)
Jacob and I are on different sides of the diet (he’s vegan, I’m not), but we both had options. First came our appetizers, a salmon cocktail salad for me and a cucumber salad for him.
Thang Long Cuisine’s Dragon Logo (Jacob Loeb)
Appetizers
I was really pleased with the freshness of the salmon cocktail. It didn’t seem like something you’d normally get in a Vietnamese restaurant. It was served in a large martini glass with small, tender cubes of raw salmon. It was accompanied by crisp red bell peppers, sweet and sour pieces of pineapple, I think it was apple, but it could have been jicama as the description said, and a bit of dill. Cucumber was in the dish description but not in this dish. Either way, it was a great way to start the meal. The salmon was flavorful and contrasted with the other fruity ingredients with different textures, making for a sweet and bright start to the meal. The bell peppers were also very fragrant.
Salmon Cocktail (Meg Cotner)
I asked if salmon was part of traditional Vietnamese cooking and was told that it wasn’t, but that it was a tribute to the Pacific Northwest and its bounty.
The cucumber salad was a generous serving of cucumber sliced into grooved rings, seasoned with spring onion and coriander, topped with sesame seeds and drenched in a lightly sweet sauce. Cucumber and coriander are a great combination and the sauce really brings it all together. I also liked that the sauce didn’t overpower the natural crunch of the cucumber. If you love cucumbers, this is a must-try.
Cucumber Salad (Jacob Loeb)
They also came out with a vegan egg roll, which was air fried instead of deep fried. To be honest, it was just ok for me. There wasn’t much depth of flavour. But I really liked the shape and size. That being said, I don’t think I’ll be ordering this again.
Vegan Egg Rolls (Meg Cotner)
At this point, it was starting to get a little hot in the dining room. But to keep me cool, I had the Lime Mojito Mocktail. Note: The base is made with a mix, but I was pleasantly surprised that it didn’t taste too sweet or artificial, which can sometimes happen with pre-made mixers. The fresh mint had the perfect herbal punch and added a ton of flavor to the drink. I mean… mint and lime? A classic combination.
Lime Mojito Mocktail (Meg Cotner)
The bar has applied for a liquor license to sell alcohol on-site, and plans to start serving cocktails once the license is granted.
Square crab spring rolls
These spring rolls are a specialty of Hai Phong (a port city in the north of Vietnam). They are usually served with bun cha. I like their square shape and different appearance from the usual tube-shaped ones.
Square Crab Spring Rolls (Meg Cotner)
It’s wonderfully crispy (the skin is made from rice skins, not wheat-based skins), the filling is mostly smooth ground crab (real crab, not surimi), and it doesn’t taste overly strong or herbal (traditionally it also has shrimp in it). The filling has a warm, mellow flavor, not spicy, savory but not salty. It’s comfort food indeed.
The texture was excellent, both inside and out. The crispness of the rice paper fried in hot oil is very appealing, both in terms of texture and sound, especially when you take a bite. The only downside was that the portions on the plate were a bit oily, but I still happily ate both.
Bun Cha
Vermicelli and Herbs (Meg Cotner)
We both had bun cha; Jacob is vegan, I’m pork. The pork version is the traditional dish. From Thang Long’s menu: “Bun cha Hanoi is a quintessential North Vietnamese dish, featuring smoky, juicy meat patties and slices of pork belly in an umami-packed dipping sauce, served with tender glass noodles, bright herbs, and crunchy pickles. It’s a comforting, satisfying meal.” But this is Portland; vegan options on any menu are a big plus.
Carrot and Papaya Soup (Meg Cotner)
The vegan version had beautifully thinly sliced carrots and paper-thin shaved papaya floating in the sauce, while the pork version included the aforementioned minced pork pate and pork belly, plus pickled carrots and papaya.
Both dishes came with a generous plate of warm glass noodles, garnished with a generous helping of fresh herbs – mint, coriander, basil, Thai basil, betel leaves, lettuce, cucumber slices and chillies. The combination of noodles, herbs, sauce and meat/vegetables is truly a fusion of flavours and textures. While basil and coriander are old friends when it comes to flavour, betel leaves always surprise and delight with every bite. They are supposed to be bitter and spicy, but also have a nutty flavour to them. Truly delicious.
And the best part of the meal was the minced pork patty (actually two pieces) that came with the bun cha. It looked unassuming but tasted amazing. It was hot with a porky flavor, had a rich meaty taste and was very satisfying. Honestly, I could eat it every day.
Bun Cha (Meg Cotner)
As explained above, this sauce is “full of umami” with a hint of sweetness.
Tofu salad roll
After the bun cha was served, a large salad roll was brought out with thick fried tofu inside – this was my first time seeing fried tofu as salad rolls usually have raw tofu in them – and it was also accompanied by lettuce, glass noodles, jicama and a peanut dipping sauce.
Tofu and Peanut Dipping Sauce Salad Roll (Jacob Loeb)
I really liked the various crispnesses in the roll, especially the deep-fried tofu edges, but the peanut sauce wasn’t my favorite — it was more peanut butter-like than sauce, not sweet (it was a little spicy, which I like), and a bit bland in flavor.
dessert
The creme brulee was served in a little metal ramekin, along with a plate of stemmed red grapes – a really lovely way to end the meal – I’ve never met anything I didn’t like in a creme brulee so I was keen to try it.
And so my streak of delicious crème brûlée continues. The texture was great, there was a hint of ginger flavour, and the small size was really appealing. The caramelized sugar topping wasn’t too thick, but that didn’t overwhelm the slightly sweet custard underneath.
Crème brûlée (Meg Cotner)
Gyoza regret
I regret not ordering the gyoza as it is very popular – I’ll have to eat it another day.
Overall, I enjoyed my meal and the comforting, easy-going flavors on the menu. The food is not “intrusive” and not aggressive; it’s very approachable, easy-going, and comforting. Thanks to Thuy and Minh for inviting us. Thang Long Cuisine is located at 8409 SE Division Street in Portland.
Meg Cotner lives in Northeast Portland and is the editor and publisher of Bridgetown Bites, an independent Portland food news site. She is also a working editor and writer, and is the author of Food Lovers’ Guide to Queens (Globe Pequot Press, 2023).
