When I heard the fare at Mitr Ping Yang Thai Kitchen described as Thai street food, I figured it would be sandwiches and wraps. Maybe a Thai hot dog.
But what I found when I got take-out dinner there the other day was a sophisticated and tasty twist on what I think of as Thai food. Or at least the version of Thai food I’m used to.
That makes sense, since the Portland restaurant is affiliated with two other local places known for creativity and quality: Mi Sen Noodle Bar and the former Cheevitdee.
Mitr does certainly have things you can call street food, including a wide variety of meats on skewers as well as hand-held appetizers.
A table by the window at Mitr Ping Yang Thai Kitchen in Portland. Ray Routhier photo
One of those appetizers my family and I tried was the kratong thong ($9), which looked like little tacos. Each one featured stir-fry ground chicken with corn, scallion, herbs, and soy sauce in a crispy wonton shell, and was served with sweet and sour sauce. There were three in our order. The savory flavors worked well with the wonton.
We also tried fried egg rolls ($9), with ground chicken, mushrooms, cellophane noodles, cilantro and scallions and served with a sweet and sour sauce. They were very crispy and the dough was almost like filo.
The Yum Woonsen salad at Mitr. Ray Routhier photo
My wife chose the yum woonsen ($14), a salad with cellophane noodles, ground pork, shrimp, red onions, white onion, celery, cilantro, scallions, peanuts and spicy lime sauce. My kids called the cellophane noodles “life changing.”
One of the most interesting dishes we tried was the pad kra pow with chicken ($16), featuring stir-fried holy basil, chilies, garlic and green beans, served with steamed rice, fried egg and chili fish sauce. It was a little spicy but very tasty, with a nice mix of textures.
And because we always do, we got pad Thai with chicken ($14), which had rice noodles, egg, bean sprouts, scallions and peanuts. The chicken chunks were larger than in some pad Thai orders and the noodles had a nice, silky texture.
Kratong thong appetizers at Mitr. Photo by Ray Routhier
The presentation of each dish was very nice, even for takeout. Sometimes when you open a take-out order, the dish seems smooshed into the box and flattened by the cover. But these dishes came in paper containers with see-through covers, with everything placed neatly and nothing flattened or smooshed. I’m not sure it makes its taste better, but it was more appetizing to look at.
One thing we talked about trying next time is the grilled skewers. The skewers included grilled beef, chicken liver, grilled prawn, pork belly, moo ping (marinated pork loin) and chicken satay. For $16.50, you can try an assortment of six.
The menu also includes fried chicken and Thai-style grilled steak, plus sides and dessert.
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