"Within his Northwest 23rd restaurant Phuket Cafe, lauded Portland restaurateur Akkapong Earl Ninsom now houses the James Beard Award–winning 24-seat tasting menu spot Langbaan, which previously hid in a back room behind a bookcase at his other restaurant, Paadee. Menus change frequently, pulling inspiration from historic menus and regions of Thailand. That being said, a few of its greatest hits remain on the menu year-round, including the miang som, dots of cara cara jewels and shrimp sitting on a betel leaf with fish sauce caramel, or the kanom krok, Hokkaido scallop swimming in a coconut cream sauce within a crispy rice cup. The full tasting menu is $135 per person." - Krista Garcia
Carla J. Peña
