Hat Yai
Thai restaurant · Vernon
1605 NE Killingsworth St, Portland, OR 97211
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23656642/hat_yai_facebook_christine_dong.1.jpg "Hat Yai by Christine Dong")
Highlights
Hat Yai serves up crispy Southern Thai fried chicken with rich Malay-style curry and flaky roti in a cozy, casual spot with outdoor seating.
Hat Yai serves up crispy Southern Thai fried chicken with rich Malay-style curry and flaky roti in a cozy, casual spot with outdoor seating.
"Chef Akkapong Earl Ninsom is by all accounts crushing Thai food in Portland, and that includes fried chicken. Hat Yai's star dish, the fried chicken leg quarter, Malayu-style curry, and roti combo, provides the best of all worlds: crispy chicken and pan-fried bread with rich and spicy curry for dipping. And note: Dipping should be mandatory." - Ben Coleman, Eater Staff
"Akkapong Earl Ninsom did it again: After treating Portland to deftly executed Thai cooking at Langbaan and Paadee, the chef —alongside co-founder and co-owner Alan Akwai — created a casual southern Thai compatriot on Northeast Killingsworth with hardcore devotees. Hat Yai’s shallot-fried chicken, salty and crunchy, pairs exceptionally well with Malayu-style curry and crispy roti, all available in the popular combo No. 1. And yet, diners will be rewarded for straying from the top billing: The restaurant’s searingly spicy kua gling ground pork is abundant with aromatics and alliums, and the dtom som shrimp combines seafood with meaty oyster mushrooms in a broth pleasingly sour with tamarind and ginger." - Eater Staff
"At either location of Akkapong Earl Ninsom’s casual counter-service restaurant Hat Yai, Southern Thai fried chicken is a glorious mix of dripping-juicy meat and a crunchy, cumin-and-coriander-scented crust. Combination sets come with standard Malay-style curry, flaky roti, drumsticks, and thighs, but wings can be added for $3 each. Two wings on their own, plus sticky rice are also available; customers can order them to-go or gnaw away at one of the blue-and-white-checkered tables." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden, Dianne de Guzman
"This Southern Thai fast-casual restaurant in Vernon stormed onto the scene almost a decade ago with Hat Yai-style fried chicken and flaky roti with curry for dipping. We’re eternally grateful. The crunchy wings showered with fried shallots and served with a punchy vinegar-based sauce are reason enough to go, but it would be a shame if people didn’t branch out because there are some hidden standouts, especially if you have a high heat tolerance. King Kla might look like a larb, but it’s fiery pork hit with lemongrass and slivers of lime leaf. You’d be hard-pressed to find other spots in Portland serving bak kuh teh, a comforting, herbal soup, rich with pork ribs, that reflects the town of Hat Yai’s proximity to Malaysia. If you’re in the Central Eastside, Hat Yai has a second location on Belmont." - Krista Garcia
"The only thing better than ordering Hat Yai’s fried shallot-topped, Thai herb-spiced birds — they come whole, halved, by leg, or by wing — is ordering them in the combo, complete with sticky rice, roti, and creamy curry, a rich dipping sauce for the roti and the chicken. The combo is, in a word, iconic. Hat Yai’s chicken pairs well with cocktails such as the cooling coconut mango horchata or tamarind whiskey smash. Hat Yai has locations on both Killingsworth and Belmont." - Ron Scott, Thom Hilton
