Bake on the Run - Authentic Guyanese Masterful Cuisines
Restaurant · Woodstock ·
Guyanese comfort eats: stuffed bakes, chow mein, curry
Guyanese comfort eats: stuffed bakes, chow mein, curry
"Run by mother-and-son team Bibi and Mike Singh, this Southeast Portland food cart in the Heist pod has been introducing West Coast diners to Guyanese cuisine and culture since 2018. Its namesake bake—a crisp, airy, slightly sweet fried bread that was the cart's original dish—is served savory stuffed with bacalhau scrambled with egg, tomato, and scallions or paired with gingery chana aloo (al dente chickpeas, tender potatoes, and peas), and is also offered as a dessert filled with jam or Nutella or in mini versions wrapped around chocolate truffles. The menu includes Guyanese chow mein made with thick, chewy noodles imported from Guyana, a slow-simmered chicken-and-potato curry seasoned with Chennai-style curry powder, and rotating specials such as cook-up rice and pepper pot. Every item is accompanied by Chef Bibi’s family pepper sauce—habanero tempered with cucumber—which is now bottled and sold in Oregon stores. As the only Guyanese eatery for hundreds of miles, the cart draws long-distance visitors and truck drivers, hosts cultural events like a 2023 Phagwah celebration, and centers its service on educating customers about Guyanese history and flavors." - Katherine Chew Hamilton
"This mother-son-run food cart on Stark is essentially an educational center for Guyanese cuisine, with lengthy descriptions and context for each dish posted on the cart’s facade. Here, fluffy “bakes” — fry breads — arrive stuffed with delicately seasoned saltfish or earthy chana aloo, served alongside dishes that emphasize the various cultural influences on the country’s cuisine; for instance, chow mein can come smothered in potato-chicken curry or dal. For dessert, get a bake filled with seasonal jam." - Ben Coleman
"Before this popular family-run cart arrived in Portland, bakes, puffy fry bread sliced and studded with Guyanese curries and hash, were pretty much nonexistent in the city. Now, this Caribbean staple at the Heist pod in Woodstock has won over locals, likely because they’re delicious, filling, and the broader menu is vegetarian-friendly. We recommend the more traditional scrambled egg and shredded salt cod bake or chana aloo, chickpeas and potatoes seasoned with spicy curry powder—just don’t forget a drizzle of Chef Bibi’s Famous Peppersauce, a yellow condiment that’s more piquant than blistering." - krista garcia
"Mother-son duo Bibi and Michael Singh celebrate the cuisine of Guyana, underrepresented not only in Portland’s restaurant scene but also in the country, at their food cart at The Heist pod in Wonderlove. Here, the Singhs emphasize the culinary influences on the South American country — particularly the Indian and Chinese influences — with dishes like a creamy house dal and chow mein made with imported Guyanese noodles. But the true draw of this cart is its namesake bakes: fluffy pockets arrive filled with everything from salt cod to Nutella, though the bake stuffed with chana aloo, where layers of garlic and ginger intermingle with Guyanese curry powder and tender chickpeas and potatoes, is Portland food cart dining at its finest." - Katherine Chew Hamilton
"Before this popular family-run cart arrived in Portland, bakes, puffy fry bread sliced and studded with Guyanese curries and hash, were pretty much nonexistent in the city. Now, this Caribbean staple at the Heist pod in Woodstock has won over locals, likely because they’re delicious, filling, and the broader menu is vegetarian-friendly. We recommend the more traditional scrambled egg and shredded salt cod bake or chana aloo, chickpeas and potatoes seasoned with spicy curry powder—just don’t forget a drizzle of Chef Bibi’s Famous Peppersauce, a yellow condiment that’s more piquant than blistering." - Krista Garcia
