Asian Population in Eugene? (Portland, Bend: homes, weddings, high school)

[albinoazian]

Any or no? What about viet food? I am thinking not, probably have to be in PDX, but was hoping I may be wrong.

[tiffela74]

my inlaws are Vietnamese...so I get the BEST food every time i go over there...you wanna know the best thing of all?? the food tables at a Vietnamese wedding!!! Ohhh my! Of course, it has ruined my taste for any in any of the resturants. hummm
my mom is fond of China Bay. She says their food is really good. Humm?
good luck!
Tiffany

[albinoazian]

true, there is nothing like home cooked. i live about 5 minutes from the largest little saigon in the US (westminster, ca) and don't think i can go without viet food or at least really good chinese and even some thai.

[Des_Demona]

Well to be honest I didn't see any asian people when I was in Eugene but I was only there a week. I saw mostly white people and a few black. Eugene doesn't seem to be one of those places where they care about race though. They do seem to have a healthy amount of Viet. food places there when I did a basic search:

CHAO PRA YA THAI CUISINE
580 Adams St. 344-1706.
Real Thai-style, especially hot and spicy dishes, also BBQ chicken, spare ribs with special homemade sauces. Lunch: 11 am-3 pm M-F, dinner 4:30-9 pm M-F and noon-9 pm Sa & Su. Some cards. $-$$.
Best Southeast Asian
Best New Restaurant
Best Take-out

HOUSE OF NOODLE
860 Pearl St. 686-1114
Serving lunch, dinner: Specials everyday, Vietnamese, Chinese, Pho, salad rolls with peanut sauce, rice dishes, chao mein, chao fun, no MSG, lowfat. Take-out. 11 am-9 pm M-Sa, 11 am-6 pm Su. MC/V/AE/D. $.

KB DELI & ICE CREAM
See Delis

KURAYA'S THAI CUISINE
1410 Mohawk Blvd., Spfd. 746-2951.
Serving lunch, dinner: Ethnic Thai food. Wine, beer. Reservations for 6+. Take-out. 11 am-2:30 pm M-Sa, 5-9 pm M-Th, 5-10 pm F-Sa, 4:30-9 pm Su. MC/V. $$.

MANOLA'S THAI CUISINE
652 E. Broadway. 342-6666.
Serving lunch and dinner. Papaya Salad, Pineapple Curry with Shrimp, Mint Leaf & Basil Stirfry. Chef Phayou Tongprapipak brings 55 years experience and countless authentic, ethnic Thai recipes to Manola's. 11 am-9 pm M-Th, 11 am-10 pm F, noon-10 pm Sa. MC/V.

MEKALA'S
1769 Franklin Blvd. 342-4872.
Serving lunch, dinner: Extensive menu with many vegetarian entrees, exotic salads. Wine, beer, microbrews, exotic drinks in the Mai Tai Lounge. Reservations on F-Sa. Take-out. Some OG/LG. Wheelchair accessible. Restaurant: 11 am-9 pm M-Th, noon-10 pm Sa, 4 pm-9 pm Su. Lounge: 5-11 pm M-Th, 4 pm-midnight F & Sa, 4-9 pm Su. MC/V/AE/DC. $$.
Best Southeast Asian, Third Place

RING OF FIRE & LAVA LOUNGE
See Pacific Rim

SAIGON RESTAURANT
1461 E. 19th Ave. 302-1277.
Serving lunch and dinner. LG. Wheelchair accessible. 11 am-9 pm M-Th, 11 am-10 am F, 12 pm-10 pm Sa, closed Su. V. $$.

TASTY THAI KITCHEN
80 E. 29th. 302-6444.
Serving lunch and dinner. Exotic Thai and other Asian food with weekly specials. Vegan and vegetarian entrees. Wine and beer. Take-out. Wheelchair accessible. 11 am-9:30 pm Tu-F, noon-9:30 Sa-Su. V/MC/D. $$.

VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT
2355 W. 11th Ave. 684-8060.
Beef noodle soup and other tradtional Vietnamese dishes. 11 am-9:30 pm M-Th, 11 am-10:30 F-Su. Some cards. $-$$.

YI SHEN VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT
1075 Chambers St. 683-9386.
Serving lunch, dinner: Vietnamese cuisine including beef noodle soup, spiced salads, chicken, pork, tofu and rice dishes. Vegetarian entrees. Take-out. 11 am-7 pm Su, M, Tu, Th. 11 am-8 pm F-Sa. MC/V. $.

[Bruce Tharp]

Originally Posted by tiffela74

my inlaws are Vietnamese...so I get the BEST food every time i go over there...you wanna know the best thing of all?? the food tables at a Vietnamese wedding!!! Ohhh my! Of course, it has ruined my taste for any in any of the resturants. hummm
my mom is fond of China Bay. She says their food is really good. Humm?
good luck!
Tiffany

Vietnamese weddings are incredibly impressive. I moved to Eugene from Stockton, California and I really miss the outstanding asian resturants in Stockton. There are a few good Chinese resturants but I have not been impressed with Vietnamese food here. Imagine Pho served without fresh basil. Of course most caucasians do not no how to prepare their Pho let alone what to do with the basil, bean sprouts and peppers. I'd like to see more Vietnamese move to Eugene.

[north2AK]

I'll follow up with a more pointed question....are there any Asian restaurants (chinese in particular) where asians actually eat? I"m also doing the research on relocating (from Bend, where all the Asians restaurants are about equally mediocre).

for instance...where could I take my mom who is Chinese, and and excellent cook, without her being totally appalled? (As a benchmark...let's call Panda Express the absolute minimum acceptable (if we're desperate)...and Wong's King on Division, in Portland is very acceptable to the most we can probably hope for in Oregon.)

any places that are in the top tier I should try then next time I do some recon there? I might even head over there this weekend.

thanks.

[Mr Eugenified]

Jade Palace is the only authentic Chinese food in Eugene. Period. A few clunkers on the menu, but plenty of good items as well. Not many Chinese people eat there though since it is located in a so so area away from UO and away from south Eugene where most Asians live in Eugene (better schools, of course). Since they serve so many non-Chinese customers, they have some bad items like sweet & sour pork and also a greasy buffet. Skip the buffet, order wisely from the menu, and you should like it. Definitely not gourmet stuff, but pretty good. I think the day-shift waitress is Vietnamese Chinese. She's kinda annoying but gets the food delivered on time, so that's better than nothing. Decor-wise, it is not good. Kinda like an old wood-paneled diner from the 70's with disposable Chinese decorations tacked up on the walls.

Don't follow the "Chinese people eat there" strategy in Eugene because:
1. We have so few decent Chinese restaurants, sometimes Chinese people eat at crappy places too.
2. We have plenty of homesick mainland Chinese students at UO who don't really know much about good Chinese food in the first place, AND they have very little money. Examples are Maple Garden and Tom's Tea House, two of the worst Chinese restaurants on this earth (seriously), yet they often have a number of mainland Chinese students eating there.

No good Vietnamese restaurants at all. The one on 11th, excellently branded as "Vietnamese Restaurant", is terrible. And Yi Shen, also on 11th, is equally poor. Both specialize in powdered mix pho soup/noodles and the generically named one even serves Thai Iced Tea made from a powdered mix as well. You can still see the clumps of undissolved powder crystals floating on top of the liquid when it reaches your table. Yum...not.

For Thai food, Ta Ra Rin is the best. Chao Praya is second best. The rest are all fairly lame-ish.

[haggardhouseelf]

We have not been impressed with the selection of Asian food here in Eugene - my husband is half Asian and was born overseas and didn't move to the states until he was in high school. His Thai mother was an amazing cook, she was born and raised in Bangkok in her family's restaurant. Needless to say - We just cook it ourselves at home, because it's always such a huge, greasy, and $$ disappointment when we go out to eat someplace here for Asian food. Home-cooked is better.

Why don't you surprise your mom by cooking for her? Mom's love that kinda of stuff. Put a tablecloth down, and fresh flowers.

One time I found a price tag in my pho at the Vietnamese place on 11th. That place really grosses me out. It's so dirty. And a lot of places here put ketchup in their pad thai. Ketchup! Honestly...

I think the worst place though is that Lok Yaun on 11th. I call it "Yuk Yawn". They have this neon sauce they put on everything. Probably radioactive. You suggest that place to people you don't like.

I used to really love Toshi's Ramen... but the past few times we've eaten there it has seemed way too salty and has given me headaches - probably the MSG?

Surprisingly, Brail's (no website, but here's the info: 1689 Willamette St Eugene, OR 97401 (541) 343-1542) has good noodle bowls. We always thought that place was American/Mexican food but there are some surprises on their menu as well. My husband usually order's the teriyaki rice bowl.

You'd probably do better taking your mom to Off the Waffle as a fun and different experience than trying to find a decent Asian place to take her. Unfortunately. Or, the Pizza Research Institute. I always recommend that place, it's very "Eugene" and it's very good, and wholesome/healthy feeling. Oh and a tip for Off the waffle - order one thing and split it. They are pretty huge and incredibly rich and sweet. Definitely a dessert kind of place, that's how we think of it.

[1208]

Originally Posted by haggardhouseelf

We have not been impressed with the selection of Asian food here in Eugene - my husband is half Asian and was born overseas and didn't move to the states until he was in high school. His Thai mother was an amazing cook, she was born and raised in Bangkok in her family's restaurant. Needless to say - We just cook it ourselves at home, because it's always such a huge, greasy, and $$ disappointment when we go out to eat someplace here for Asian food. Home-cooked is better.

Why don't you surprise your mom by cooking for her? Mom's love that kinda of stuff. Put a tablecloth down, and fresh flowers.

One time I found a price tag in my pho at the Vietnamese place on 11th. That place really grosses me out. It's so dirty. And a lot of places here put ketchup in their pad thai. Ketchup! Honestly...

I think the worst place though is that Lok Yaun on 11th. I call it "Yuk Yawn". They have this neon sauce they put on everything. Probably radioactive. You suggest that place to people you don't like.

I used to really love Toshi's Ramen... but the past few times we've eaten there it has seemed way too salty and has given me headaches - probably the MSG?

Surprisingly, Brail's (no website, but here's the info: 1689 Willamette St Eugene, OR 97401 (541) 343-1542) has good noodle bowls. We always thought that place was American/Mexican food but there are some surprises on their menu as well. My husband usually order's the teriyaki rice bowl.

You'd probably do better taking your mom to Off the Waffle as a fun and different experience than trying to find a decent Asian place to take her. Unfortunately. Or, the Pizza Research Institute. I always recommend that place, it's very "Eugene" and it's very good, and wholesome/healthy feeling. Oh and a tip for Off the waffle - order one thing and split it. They are pretty huge and incredibly rich and sweet. Definitely a dessert kind of place, that's how we think of it.

the lady who owns Brail's is Vietnamese which is why a large chunk of the menu is Vietnamese food. But Brail's is popular and is usually pretty busy unless you go on off hours.

anyways, if your mom is Chinese, don't you think she's had enough Chinese food?? take her to a local favorite like Glenwood for a change of pace.

[Mr Eugenified]

Originally Posted by 1208

the lady who owns Brail's is Vietnamese which is why a large chunk of the menu is Vietnamese food.

You should let her know about this. For some strange reason, she seems to think she is Korean. She has even gone to the trouble to look Korean, speak Korean, and open another restaurant in Eugene that serves Korean food. ;-)

Noodle Bowl Restaurant