Jan 06 2008
Samurai
***Highly Recommended***
Location: SW 9th and Alder Parking Lot
Description: Japanese food about as authentic as you might encounter in the countless food stalls found all over Japan. If all you know about Japanese food is teriyaki and sushi, get ready for a whole new world here. Japanese street food is some of the best and most comforting of any street food I’ve encountered, and Samurai does not disappoint. Sure they have teriyaki and it is some of the best in Portland by the way (perfectly seasoned and tender), but they also serve things like katsu don (fried and breaded pork or chicken cutlet with a curry or lightly scrambled egg served over rice), thick and aromatic yakitori stirfried noodles (chicken, beef, or tofu), Japanese style wafuu curry, and some occassional specialties such as sweet soy sauce glazed “bbq” unagi eel and seasoned karaage fried chicken.
What makes Samurai really stand out from the crowd though is the way they prepare their food. It’s a family run operation and they really care about the quality, preparing each order as it comes in, and adding little extras such as a side of veggies and pickled ginger. This is Japananese home cooking at its best and the portions are big. They will also offer you a free cup of hot tea while you are waiting (and it doesn’t hurt that the young tatooed Japanese server is extra friendly and quite good looking). I could eat there every day (sigh).
There are plenty of vegetarian options and Samurai is also open until 4PM or so, making a late lunch or hearty afternoon snack a real possibility.
Sample Menu: (note – most items, outside of the noodle dishes, come with a good amount of rice and a side of veggies)
Yakisoba Noodles (beef, chicken, or tofu) – $5.00
Yakitori chicken – $5.00
Ginger chicken or pork – $6.00
Karaage (seasoned and deep fried chicken) – $6.00
Tofu Steak (mild or spicy) – $5.00
Katsu (bread and fried chicken or pork cutlet) – $6.00
Katsu Don (breaded and fried chicken or pork cutlet on rice with egg and onion mixture on top – one of my favorites!) – $6.00
Curry Katsu (same as above with mild wafuu curry sauce) – $6.00
Curry (Wafuu Curry, with choice of pork, katsu, croquette, or fried shrimp) – $6.00 to $7.00
Oyako Don (chicken, onion, soft scrambled egg, and sauce on rice – my personal favorite!) or Tanin-Don (pork) – $5.00
BBQ Eel on rice – $10.00
Tempura or Veggie Tempura – $6.00
Miso Soup – $2.00
Hours: Mon-Fri 11-4pm (give or take)
Phone: (503) 757-8802
Website: None
I’m fairly amazed that they are able to pull all of those dishes off with a tiny foodcart….without a doubt, one for my Portland “eating list”.
Their sauce is very distinctive, it has a lot of mellow ginger taste. This makes the Yakisoba much much better than any other I’ve tried.
Agidashi tofu and short ribs are also best in city.
I wasn’t impressed with teriyaki chicken (salt style) and tofu steak.
bottom line – great Japanese food at an awesome value
My sister got one of her favorite meals in pdx there – a really spicy, but delicious (according to her) teriyaki chicken.
I am curious about their tofu options, but haven’t inquired as to the actual vegan-ness. Any idea?
Most Japanese sauces contain a soy sauce base. However they generally also contain dashi which is a sauce made from kelp seaweed, soy, and dried bonito tuna flakes.
I would ask them if they have dashi in their sauce, or alternately ask if the sauce has bonito or dried fish stock in it. They should understand what you mean.
Keep us posted on the vegan options
thanks!
Ate at Samurai for the first time, and I’m very impressed! I had the pork (tanin?) donburi. The first thing I noticed was how good the rice was — just the right texture, and nice and sticky (for easy chopstick use). The rest of the dish was also nice — the sauce was subtle, but not wimpy, and the meat of higher-than-normal-cart quality.
The only sad thing was that this cart is too far away from my office to allow me to get back to my desk with a hot serving. I’ll have to eat near the cart next time.
And the free cup of green tea was especially welcome on a cold January day like today.
I had a pork katsu the other day, and was not impressed at all. The food was so bland and the pork was very tough and rubbery. I was very disappointed with what people raved about this cart. I thought it was kind of unfair based on my single judgement, so I took my friend with me just to give them another chance and second opinion. We ended up choosing the same dish – chicken teriyaki which was very salty and the vegetables were just filled with soy sauce and it was tasteless. We were not satisfied at all. Won’t go there again!
This place, as most who care already know, is real Japanese food, and it’s even made by real Japanese people. It isn’t five-star dining, but it’s not trying to be, either. They make take-out lunch and hit it dead on. For first-timers who want to try authentic things people eat in Japan on an everyday basis but which are essentially unknown to average Americans, try Oyako-don or Hambagu (not hamburger). The tonkatsu is good as well. I really wish they had a few dishes with Kim Chi in them, but everyone clamors and stamps their feet that it’s Korean, as if most of Japan doesn’t eat it- too bad for us all. That’s a small complaint to file, though. Samurai bento kicks butt. Thanks Daigo san!
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Hello !yes Samurai was my fav for a long time …because it was run by this lovely old japanese couple with the best customer service and the love they used to prepared each an every meal was ART in a plate !.But now, they are run by these young guys now and to me doesn’t taste original anymore .The last time I was there I almost leave the food there after tasting it.Thanks for this blog.