The Portland Restaurant With A Unique Curry I Can't Stop Thinking About

At a certain point in my meal at Gado Gado, I wondered when it would hit the limit of how flavorful a dish could be. The Portland, Oregon restaurant's decor is colorful — full of patterns and prints that match the intensely flavored plates coming out of the kitchen. The outdoor patio has multiple mismatched carpets and bright tablecloths. And still, the food, especially the curries, took center stage.

During every trip back to my hometown of Portland, I go with my parents to try a new restaurant. Gado Gado is in my old neighborhood of Hollywood, a pocket of density in Portland's more spread-out Eastside. Before the neighborhood filled with hip new restaurants, my only option was an outpost of my favorite affordable local chain, The Whole Bowl. 

We ordered Oma's clove scented rice, bakwan sayur (a green papaya and cabbage fritter), roti canai with blistered tomato curry, and the English pea and asparagus green curry. Everything was full of flavor, but the two curries stood out, especially the green. The roti canai came with a warm flatbread that was moist and flaky enough to fall apart, while the tomato curry had deep umami character and a lift of acidity. The green curry was full of shiitake mushrooms, pickled ground cherries, pea tendrils, and a fermented ramp salsa verde. Every bite of it was well-balanced, with a bright pea-soup freshness, light spice, and a subtle coconut undertone. It was complex, profoundly flavorful, and unlike any other curry I've ever had. 

Gado Gado means "mix mix" in Indonesian and is a salad of veggies and eggs with peanut sauce (which is not on the menu here). Owned by Thomas and Mariah Pisha-Duffly, the concept grows out of the cooking of Thomas's mother, who is Dutch-Chinese by way of Indonesia. The food reflects this varied heritage, with rijsttafel — a classic Dutch-Indonesian "rice table" set menu of seafood and veggie dishes. Menu items like Chinese sausage and shrimp siu mai and English pea and asparagus green curry showcase this multicultural influence. 

I won't say what is or isn't traditional Indonesian food, but what Gado Gado creates feels like Indonesian flavors and techniques applied to ingredients from around the world (if you're unfamiliar with the nation's cuisine, there are many incredible Indonesian dishes full of mind-blowing flavor). The restaurant feels uniquely Portland in its setting and approach to cooking, much like my favorite donut shop in the area, Pips.

During the pandemic, Gado Gado, which opened the year before, turned into a casual to-go spot called Oma's Takeaway. This became the spot's sister restaurant, Oma's Hideaway (Oma is Dutch for grandmother). These days, Gado Gado is often crowded, so make your reservations in advance. If you don't see anything available, set up a notification on OpenTable to let you know when a spot opens up, which is how we got in. I'm glad we did, because our whole table discussed this green curry the rest of the night, including on our ride back to my parents' house.