Portland’s Northern Vietnamese Restaurant the Paper Bridge Opens November 9, 2023 | Eater Portland

"Opening on Thursday, November 9 at 828 SE Ash Street in inner Southeast Portland, I see the Paper Bridge as an homage to the food of Hanoi’s Cầu Giấy district and Northern Vietnam created by Quynh Nguyen and chef Carlo Reinardy. The menu aims to introduce Portlanders to regional dishes rarely seen in the city — from phở chiên phồng (rice noodles puffed, fried, and smothered with a light gravy) and Vân Đình‑style grilled duck with glass noodles, chive flowers, daylilies, and bamboo consomme, to the iconic Hanoian bún chả — and it also highlights multiple regional pho variations (a Lang Son‑style sour pho tossed with fried sweet potatoes, peanuts, and herbs and served with smoked pork and pickled chile sauce; Nam Định’s beefy‑broth pho; and a Cao Bằng preparation with pork and duck). Because many ingredients are indigenous to Vietnam, they’re partnering with suppliers there to import components and are making others in‑house: house‑fermented chiles are turned into four distinct chili sauces tailored to different uses, and months of research (including techniques from Nguyen’s cousin and a rice‑noodle machine developed by a Vietnamese mechanics professor) produced a variety of house‑made rice noodles — Reinardy even compares perfect rice noodles to making a perfect croissant. Beverage offerings reinforce the regional focus, from tea picked from 100‑year‑old heritage trees and smoked in bamboo cane to custom coffee blends roasted in Ho Chi Minh City for drinks like cà phê trứng and iced coconut coffee, plus rượu infused with wild mountain apple, rose myrtle, or mulberry. The dining room mirrors Vietnam’s dichotomy with one section evoking alleyway street‑food scenes (low plastic stools spilling onto sidewalks) and another “garden” with traditional seating, hanging plants, and paper lanterns; the restaurant occupies the same building that houses Bar Casa Vale and Scotch Lodge." - Janey Wong