New Northeastern Thai Restaurant Zaap Will Open in Northeast Portland | Eater Portland

"Opening in early June on NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Zaap Thai will bring Isan (Northeastern Thai) food to a cozy spot, featuring coconut-rich khao soi, fish curry noodles, and several Thai salads — including the ground-meat larb and the Thai papaya slaw som tum — as well as soups served with accoutrements like pickled mustard greens. I learned the menu will highlight fermentation techniques and chiles common to Isan cuisine, offer combination plates pairing papaya salad with grilled meats and sticky rice, and also include a few more “traditional” Thai dishes such as khao man gai. The restaurant will cater to vegans with mock meats, tofu, and tempeh, and owner Sirimanee Tebuteb moved to Portland to run the place with family help: her mother, a longtime chef, will make her famous oxtail noodle soup. Zaap is taking over the former Promise Land Cafe space and is keeping much of the previous decor — red walls and chandeliers — and Tebuteb hopes to be serving khao soi and som tum by June 1." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden