Location: SE 43rd and Belmont
Hours: Daily, 11:30-7pm
The Story:
Portland loves Thai food. That is apparent with Thai restaurants and food carts available in most every neighborhood in the city. Lately though, we’ve been introduced to a new approach to the cuisine – Northern Thai. SE Portland now gets to enjoy what downtown has raved about for the last few months. Yum Zap is in town.
Yum Zap means “spicy dish” in Thai and when I ordered medium, the woman chuckled and asked “American medium or Thai medium.” I’m glad she asked because I like it Thai spicy. Burn my taste buds please. I have become familiar with some of the dishes, marveling at the complex flavors and loving that what I thought was a style of food I had begun to be bored with could still surprise me. The Kao Soy Huang is a vegetarian northern style pan fried noodle dish with fresh mushrooms, shallots, pickled cabbage and textured soy protein (TVP.) Don’t be scared by TVP, it looks, feels and tastes similar to chicken and sometimes surprises vegetarians who question whether the dish is safe or not. The noodles are thin and soak up a ton of flavor along with a bit of caramelization from the pan frying. The dish was hearty, full of flavor and just spicy enough to keep you going back for more.
Yum Zap has created quite a buzz at Good Food Here and I understand why. They have a simple menu with few items which allows them to focus on how to do the dishes right. Head on down, enjoy a “spicy dish” and let them know Food Carts Portland sent ya.
Sample Menu:
- Kao Khlook Kapi: Kao Khlook Kapi rice, sweet pork, fried egg, sliced green apple, shallots, cucumbers, chili and lime; served with soup – $7.50
- Kao Soy Huang: northern style pan fried noodles, fresh mushrooms, textured vegetable protein, shallots and pickled cabbage – $7.50
- Kao Yum: spicy salad of dried shrimp, Basmati rice, fruit, herbs, veggies, sprouts, and special sauce – $7.50
- Gai Dern Soo-un: spicy grilled chicken salad with herbs, veggies, ground roasted rice, dried chili sauce and a side of sticky rice – $7.50
Hours: Lunch daily – 11:30; Dinner – 5pm
Contact: unknown
I love this cart! They have incredible food and are really nice people, a perfect combination! Make sure to get their coconut drink to pair w your food, it’s amazing.
I couldn’t agree more. I have tried several dishes at Yum Zap as well as an amazing coconut beverage, and they have been really good. Especially a stewed pork and ginger dish which I know longer know the name of. And they say that on Wednesdays they are all vegetarian and have an expended veg menu.
Was kind of disappointed. I didn’t find their food the slightest bit spicy. Didn’t really like the Pad Thai at all – I’ve had much, much better. The shrimp here tasted a bit off and fishy.
And after waiting ten minutes, they gave us our drinks after the food. They were frozen. They suggested that we let them sit for ten minutes, then they would be drinkable.
Maybe that would be a good reason to give customers the drink when they place the order.
Yes so glad to see this! Thing to know though is that this is not only Northern but explores Southern also. Talk to them and discover a culture in food that will blow you away. She teaches Thai language also…
Seems some have been confused by Khao Khlook kapi…How to e njoy this dish? The side of broth has thrown some for a loop but think of it as a nice warm cleanser to balance the rest of the dish.
Khop Khun Krap Yum Zap.
Do they start their price $7.5o? pricey?
Yum Zap’s food was bad and I wasted $7.50 on a plate of over-priced food cart food. The meat was over-cooked, the sides of cucumber, rice, fried egg, and soup were mediocre and boring. If this what Northern Thai food really is like then I prefer Southern Thai.
Last Friday night we ordered the Gai Dern Soo-un chicken salad. It was wonderfully flavored. A little on the salty side for me, but still amazing flavor.
We will definitely visit this cart again!
This is the worst food cart I’ve eaten at in Portland.
As an avid cart goer and as a big fan of all things Thai this cart is like swift kick to the groin.
The food is nearly uneatable.
The noodles appeared to be ramen and tasted like it was seasoned with the flavor packet from the ramen then drenched in coconut milk achieving an odd combination of flavor; being both over seasoned and totally bland. Then large cut chunks of mysteriously undercooked/overcooked vegetables and some canned mushrooms tossed in for good measure. The result being an unnaturally even colored small plate of yuck.
Like the Woody Allen joke; “The food was terrible! And the portions were too small…”
If they had simply made ramen, I would have had a bit of nostalgia thinking of my college days.
However this is more like a meal created by your drunk roommate late at night in the worst possible way.
So at any price is would be too much, but at 7.5-8 its like a stick in the eye to all of the great Thai places in town serving excellent food for less.
They ‘Zap’ the ‘Yum’ right out of the food…be aware!
Yum Zap is brilliant. The trash talk on this comment board is suspicious. I am sure folks could find freshly prepared meals of similiar caliber for a lower price elsewhere, say… on the extra value menu-and supersized for a dollar-go for it!
Yum Zap IS the real thing! Their Kao Yum, a northern Thai salad, is such a taste treat. It has an amazing assortment of herbs, veggies and fruit tossed with a hint of lime and mint. And if you are vegetarian, just leave off the shrimp. Not only is Yum Zap’s very select menu superb, but the cart itself is the Cadillac model for all food carts, with it’s super clean environment inside and out. Thank you owner’s, for providing Portland with authenic Northern Thai Cusine, friendly Asian smiles, and food that is sure to satisfy your longing…. for the real thing!
I love this cart! The food is delicious, the cart is clean, and the service is quick and friendly. Thai cuisine is one of my favorites, and Yum Zap doesn’t disappoint. Yummy!!!
It stinks that some of the positive reviews of food carts smell like BS propaganda.
I am so surprised to read the favorable reviews here. I ordered the vegetarian option and was gagging by the second bite. This is truly the worst meal I’ve ever had. And yes, I agree, the noodles appear to be ramen.
I have an idea – Let’s serve the exact same dishes over at Pok Pok for a while, so Portlanders can feel OK to say, “oh, these obscure Thai dishes were just aaabsolutely fabulous dahling.” But then bring them back to Yum Zap and see what happens. A social experiment, if you will.
Socialism experiments? Sounds like some kind of liberal b.s. propaganda! Eat indoors like civilised people! Don’t waste your bucks on foodcarts.
I eat at food carts probably 3-4 times per week, and I almost always go for a Thai cart. This is the best Thai cart I’ve come across yet. The woman who runs it is very nice. I keep ordering the dish covered in mint leaves and I eat it real slow because I am always sad when it’s gone. $7.50 is higher than most food carts, but I think it’s worth it for sure.
HI JUNE, GREAT FOOD I WILL BE BACK AGAIN AND AGAIN
SORRY TYPO, HI GUY’S,GREAT FOOD I WILL BE BACK AGAIN AND AGAIN
Yea, its ramen noodles. Takes forever. Tasts like ramen SEASONING. It would take you less time to go to the store, buy a brick of ramen, and mix in fresh vegetables. Sure, the lady was somewhat nice…what food cart in Portland doesn’t have nice people. $7.00 for this pint size box half filled with insta noodles is not my idea of a good cart. 1/5 stars.
This food cart is fantastic. I’ve been going there almost weekly for about a year (that it’s in my neighborhood is an obvious plus). Apple’s Wednesday vegetarian nights are especially great. The ignorance of the haters on this page shines through in their posts and really requires little comment. But one hilarious example: Apple has never offered pad thai on her menu (at least that I know of, I’ve been going for months), so it’s pretty funny to criticize Yum Zap’s pad thai!